I can't live without....

I decided to enter a group writing project hosted by Does Mommy Love it?. The question is "A family product I can't live without". Hmm...since my children are at various stages (toddler, almost Kindergartner and 4th grader) there isn't a single product I can think of that is indispensable to all of us.

Right now, I would have to say that my favorite family item right now is the Leap Frog Reading DVDs. Several of my friends have recommended this videos over the years, but I didn't buy any until this fall. We got the "Letter Factory" first. This DVD introduces each letter with a catchy song (found on many Leap Frog products, such as the Fridge Phonics set.)
The B says, "Buh"
The B says, "Buh"
Every letter makes a sound
And B says, "Buh"
(to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell")

My 4 1/2 year old learned ALL of her letters and sounds within just a week or two! My 2 1/2 year old isn't saying any of the sounds, but he does enjoy watching it (and asks for it by name!) It is entertaining enough that my 10 year old doesn't mind watching it.

We liked it so much that we found the "Talking Word Factory" which introduces word families (such as "at"). "The Talking Word Factory 2" which introduces advanced phonics (such as the silent e). Our latest addition is "Learn to Read at the Story Book Factory" which introduces chunking words (like "once upon a time") and even punctuation. (This week I heard my daughter singing about the importance of punctuation! That's not a word most 4 years olds use!)

We often have the videos running on repeat throughout the day. They don't sit very long at a time, but they come back to them and catch a few minutes here and there.