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Penny Pinchin' Mom

*CLOSED* Giveaway: VTech V.Reader and Dinosaur Train V.Cartridge (1 Winner)

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WINNER: Janice K. – [email protected]

August is Get Ready for Kindergarten Month.  It just so happens that one of these kids lives under my roof.  Yep – my son starts kindergarten on August 15th.  And for the record, I am sure I will cry on his first day.

There is a lot to worry about when your child start school:  Will he/she make friends easily?  Will he/she thrive in the classroom?  However, I personally know that my son is prepared for kindergarten.  He has been playing with VTech toys for….well…years!

It is important to understand how children learn and play in the digital age, and how these types of products can help prepare children with the basic learning skills required for Kindergarten. A report by Eric Klopfer, Ph.D., Associate Professor and the Director of the MIT Scheller Teacher Education Program, and a platform learning expert on the VTech Expert Advisory Panel shared the following:

  •  Math and literacy skills can be deeply imbedded into digital games, and allow children to acquire important skills via a more natural method that doesn’t look like learning.
  • Digital games often involve problem solving and creative thinking along with core competencies such as math and reading, making them more fun than single curriculum games and helping to develop a broader skill set.
  • Digital learning does not replace learning off-screen – so educational games should not be seen as a replacement, but rather a supplement to time-tested educational methods.
  • Contrary to popular belief, games are not just a solitary interaction between a single person and a screen, but a social activity – kids watch as their siblings and friends play, and post-game conversations involve discussing game strategy.

VTech offers educational products featuring the popular characters from the multiple award-winning Dinosaur Train television series.  This can bea great way to engage children in learning activities and pre-Kindergarten skill preparation.

The V.Reader Interactive E-Reading System, which is recommended for children ages 3 – 7, is a digital learning toy that encourages young kids to learn to read and improve their vocabulary. Featuring brightly colored buttons, a large touch screen, and a see-through protective case cover, the V.Reader helps children develop the necessary building blocks to grow from a pre-reader to a confident and fluent reader.

The Dinosaur Train cartridge features many learning experiences:

  • Watch the Story contains an adaptation of the “T.Rex Teeth” animated television episode
  • Story Dictionary contains an alphabetical list of vocabulary words from the story, along with follow-up questions that relate to some definitions .
  • There are five Reading Games: answer questions about the story in What Happened?, help Buddy and friends spell words correctly in Hopscotch Spelling, match singular and plural nouns in Leaflet, Leaflets, pair uppercase and lowercase letters in Collecting Teeth and hone listening comprehension in Don’s Collection.

There are also just for fun games in Mini Games: children can feed Buddy and friends in I Love Fish, punch tickets with Mr. Conductor in Tickets, Please!, rotate puzzle pieces in Leaf Puzzles and find Buddy and friends i Dino Seek.

Available at retailers nationwide, you can the VTech V.Reader has an MSRP of $59.99 and the Dinosaur Train Cartridges for V.Reader has an MSRP of $19.99.

Here are the easy ways to keep up with all of the great products offered by VTech:

Follow Dinosaur Train:

www.facebook.com/DinosaurTrain

 

Follow The Jim Henson Company:

www.facebook.com/hensonparents

www.twitter.com/hensonparents

 

Follow PBS Kids:

www.twitter.com/pbskids

www.facebook.com/pbskids

Follow VTech:

www.facebook.com/vtechtoys

www.twitter.com/vtechtoys

 

THE GIVEAWAY:

One reader will receive a VTech V. Reader + Dinosuar Train V.Reader Cartrdige!!!

Entry is simple — just leave a comment answering the question.  You can gain bonus entries if I’ve listed them below — just leave a separate comment for method of entry. Note: All comments must be left HERE on the blog. Comments left via Facebook, Google+ or Twitter will not be included.

REQUIRED ENTRY:

1.  What steps do you take to prepare your children for school (whether they are heading into kindergarten or not)?

BONUS ENTRIES:

1.  Follow VTech on Facebook.

This contest will be open until August 10th 11:59 p.m. CST. The winner will be chosen at random and contacted via email. Said winner will have 48 hours in which to provide me with their mailing address so that the prize can be forwarded to them. GOODLUCK!!!

Penny Pinchin’ Mom received nothing in exchange for hosting this giveaway. All opinions contained within this post are her own and were not influenced by any other parties. Be entering this giveaway/sweepstakes, you are attesting that you have read and can comply with the Giveaway Terms & Conditions.

Comments

  1. Sara says

    I do reading, Bedtime Math, educational games, playgroups and art classes for social skills, as well as preschool.

  4. Dawn says

    I do fun workbooks for reading, play “store” and other fun games for math, board games.

  5. Lisa says

    My son loves to read and loves letters, so we spend a lot of time working on that with him.

  8. jeannine says

    we do bedtime reading keep a healthy meals schedule an a regular sleep schedule and plenty of kids craft projects to keep fine and lg motor skills going all summer long

  16. Lisa says

    We read a lot of books, work on crafts, play board games, work on sharing toys, and go to preschool.

  17. Donna says

    We focus on learning something special about at least one thing we see each day. For example, if we saw a worm on the sidewalk after a rain. I will ask her why she thinks the worm came out and we will look up the answer together (whether I know the answer or not).

  18. Leilani says

    We work on reading, math, and handwriting. We also try to work on good attitudes. Thanks for the giveaway!

  19. Sherry Compton says

    My grandkids were just here, and I got to read with my grandson. He is learning to read so I would read for a while then he would read a sentence. So cute. To prepare him for first grade, we get him excited about his supplies and meeting new friends. It’s also helpful if you can take kids to the school beforehand to show them around and meet their teachers.

  20. Jenny Schultz says

    My son is heading to preschool in less than two weeks, and we have started discussing how it will be with new friends, and how he’ll have to sit and listen to instructions. He’s going to miss his in-home daycare he’s been in for 3 1/2 years, but this is the time to move up so he will be prepared for Kindergarten in a year! Of course, we will also do a big school clothes shopping trip, and get him excited to go. We are turning the TV off more often, and encouraging reading and education. My baby is growing up! 🙁

  22. Kim Swieder says

    We have a Letter and Number of the Week every week. I plan lunches, snacks, activities, games and so on for each letter and number. Then after we do each letter once, we start Alphabet Soup, in which all the letters are fair game!

  24. Anne L says

    My son just loves to learn- so we are constantly counting, talking about what we see and looking at signs for letters. Whatever I can do to get him interested!!

  26. Lacee Q says

    My son is 3 and getting ready to start pre-K. We have been working on a new letter each day. We also practice counting throughout the day. For example how many steps are there? and we count as we step.

  29. Melissa says

    We stay active by reading and attending story time at our local library so they aren’t rusty when heading back to school!

  30. Pamela says

    We’re not quite there yet, but I plan to go through a preschool curriculum at home with my boy. We go to the library often for story time and try to do crafts that work on pre-writing skills.

  32. Molly D says

    My older kids (10,9,8) have actually become great at preparing themselves for school…by playing school. I buy the supplies and workbooks and they have fun “teaching” each other, and their 3-yr-old sister. Its a great refresher for them during the summer and they treat it as a game so they’re having fun while learning! And they they get a kick out of teaching the little one her shapes, numbers and letters. Fun for everyone.

  35. Cheryl says

    I begin by making sure the kids sleeping patterns are back to those when school is in session.

  36. KB says

    For kindergarten, I really wanted my son to be comfortable in his surroundings… we have toured the school, met his teacher, and spent time with another boy who will be in his class. I want him to be happy, secure – and ready to learn!

  37. beth w says

    We make a scrapbook of the new school and read through it every day in preperation for the upcoming transition, this way, she is more used to the places/things/people, because we have been looking at them and talking about them

  38. Katy G says

    I think one of the biggest things I can teach my kids is that they are loved and to have confidence in them. School can be a big scary place and I want them to have confidence as they go through these years.

  39. EBONY says

    My child get a proper night sleep and also we work with different words and letters heading up to school to get her back in to the mental state of school

  40. Christy Anderson says

    I get the kids on a schedule of going to bed earlier and getting up early a few weeks before school starts.

  42. Theresa says

    I read with my boys everyday and ask them to share their day with me during dinner. I think interaction and showing a vested interest in their lives, helps them prepare for school. I also believe that our in-home daycare provider is the best ever as she teaches them preschool and challenges their imagination and creativity!

  43. Heidi says

    We read to our kids throughout the day & intentionally teach them a variety of skills through everyday opportunities such as shopping, library visits, playdates, etc…

  44. Julia says

    My son and I have been talking about what his day will be like in school and reviewing some of the subjects he learned about over the past year.

  49. Emily Adams says

    I have been working with my daughter with daily school activity worksheets and also helping her read!

  51. Nikolette B says

    My son is very nervous to be starting Kindergarten this year. I mostly just try to talk to him a little bit every day about it and tell him how much fun it is going to be!

  54. Heather G says

    For my 2 and 4 year old son, we read lots of books during the day, and play ‘I spy’ when we are the grocery store or outside so he understands fun and learning are everywhere.

  55. ConLyn says

    I didn’t do alot to prepare my children for the start of school except to get the bedtime in full swing before school started. Now as a Grandmother I am trying to encourage some hand writing practice before the start of school.

  57. Michelle says

    I try to keep her working on math problems and daily reading so she won’t fall behind in the summer.

  59. Melanie Garibay says

    Besides sending them to preschool, I try to read at home with my son every day. We do puzzles, go over colors, sing our abc’s, etc. Try to do all of these as fun as possible! thanks for this opportunity!

  61. Beth R says

    We read read read!! And we also work a lot on rhyming. I like to teach through discovery so finding letters on signs, going places, things like that

  62. Ambet Mullins says

    My daughter has been in daycare/”school” since she was 2 years old. She is very much in the school routine already.

  64. Shannon says

    My kids love the educational apps for Apple and Android, so are playing those constantly!

  71. alla says

    Each night I read him bible stories and he practices how to write his name. He also likes to have his backpack and all his new supplies with him all day!

  73. Crystal G says

    my son is going in to kindergarten and what we did was have a dry erase board and marker and thought him how to write his first and last name and write his abc’s!

  74. stacie says

    we read a lot at home, do fun activities that practice fine motor skills, sing songs; i was a pre-k teacher before a stay at home mom so we do “educational” stuff all the time but my kids just think it is play. 🙂

  77. Julie d says

    We work on a schedule for the day and teach them how to get ready in the morning. We follow steps which helps them remember what we do to prepare each day.

  80. Amber G says

    We work on fun ‘school’ type things even when they aren’t in school. We have fun workbooks to work on letters, and have special ‘theme’ weeks to learn a lot about certain things. Surprisingly, the one that has stuck with her the most was the flag week. She always points out the American and state flags when she sees them.

  81. Christina says

    We have some bridging the gap books that my kids work on during the summer. My ones going into K , we talk a lot about what it will be like and do some work book pages, reading… but mostly just everyday learning things like counting as we do daily tasks, talking about colors outside, etc

  83. Gwen H. says

    Read, sing and interact with your children daily. Use every event to introduce them to the world.

  84. Rebecca says

    I try to throw different “educational games” into our day – “What rhymes with ….” or “Which of those numbers is bigger….” etc. It’s so much fun to be actively preparing your child for school. 🙂

  88. Deanna Hills says

    We try to get back in the school routine early so it is not a shock. We also continue to have learning time every day so she remembers what she learned. During summer break.

  92. Shonda says

    My older daughter reads to my younger son. It enriches them both. We also play games like I spy to help with colors and shapes.

  94. stefani p says

    I run an in-home daycare, and have a yearly educational program that we go by. All three of my own children love it (11,9,3). My kids and daycare kids learn so much by the time they are ready for kindergarten my parents come back and tell me how happy they are that their child was here with me. They already know everything that was being taught and are so advanced. We read, read, read and do phonics. That is a big part. My 3 year old is already sounding out words to read. He loves to try and read books to the class. 🙂

  95. Janice K. says

    I try to incorporate hands-on learning experiences without them even realizing it, they are just having too much fun!

  96. Rebecca says

    I try to make everything a learning game. My sister taught me to sing ABC song as I wash the kid’s hair! And then count to 10 as we rinse.

  97. Kari Seger says

    Luckily all my kids love to read…so I make sure they always are reading. I ask questions about the books…which does double duty as I know they are enjoying and comprehending what they are reading and it gives us one on one time!

  99. Missy K. says

    We do A LOT of reading and visit the library quite frequently. We also play educational games, do crafts at home, have lots of family conversations, and complete PreK workbook activities.

  101. Tara says

    I have spent time reviewing flash cards with my children. We also have regular “quiet” times when they have to read a book or color. Hopefully, this will provide the necessary discipline to sit still when needed during school.

  106. MaryLou says

    I start getting them ready by making sure we read everyday, we start going to bed early, and start picking out clothes for the next day & by telling them about the new adventure they are about to begin & how much fun they are going to have learning about new things & making new friends.

  110. Jackie F says

    We practice writing and reciting important personal information. We read a book each day. Thanks for the giveaway and hoping to win.

  111. Deanna says

    I help my kids with their colors, letters and numbers to prepare them for school. My 4 year old will not start school until August 2013 and is already very smart in my opinion. 😉

  113. Carla says

    We love to do math together. Our school also hosts play dates for children going into kindergarten so they can get to know some of their classmates before school actually starts.

  114. Kris I. says

    I read to my daughter every night and I try to have her do simple worksheets during the day

  116. joanna says

    I read to my son and do activities to prepare him. Like scissor work, pencil holding, tracing, lacing, tactile bins, stacking, etc..

  120. Sandy says

    We play learning games on the iPad, but we are constantly trying to have our daughter read things (menus, etc) & our son we point out letters everywhere & quiz him.

  122. Ellie W says

    My grandson is starting pre-k this year. All summer I’ve been reading with him and using flash cards and workbooks to prepare him.
    Thanks for the giveaway!
    eswright18 at gmail dot com

  124. Carmen says

    My daughter isn’t quite ready for school yet but when she is we’ll get all her supplies ready, hopefully visit the school and talk about what she will experience.