Best Electronic Educational Toys for Children, for Preschool Through Grade School

There are great electronic educational toys available for children today. These toys are so much fun that sometimes children forget they are learning. This first electronic toy is a leader in educational fun for children. The LeapFrog Leapster LearningSystem is an award winning learning system that can be fun and educational for preschoolers through grade school. The software purchased for the Leapster determines the age group. This electronic educational toy can grow with your child and is recommended approximately for ages four to ten. This Leapster handheld electronic toy has won numerous awards since 2003 including the "Teachers Picks (Best New Tech.)," also the "Parents Magazine, Best Toy of the Year Award" in 2003, and the 2004 "Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, Gold Seal Award." This handheld electronic toy has a full color screen and headphone jack which is great for trips and it's a great educational alternative to video games.

The LeapFrog Leapster Learning System handheld game is played using a multidirectional control pad or an attached stylus pen. It teaches letters, phonics, rhyming, spelling, numbers, addition, subtraction, art, music and more. The Leapster comes with a sampler cartridge with six learning games. It has color, action-packed games that teach reading and math skills. It also has art and musical features as well.

The LeapFrog Leapster Learning System requires four AA batteries. There is also a recharging base available for separate purchase. This basic Leapster retails for just less than $60.00 at Wal-Mart and Toys R Us. There is also another version of the Leapster called the Leapster L-Max which retails for about $30.00 to $40.00 more, depending on where you purchase it. The only difference in the two systems is the L-Max comes equipped to plug into a television. Instead of only playing the games on the Leapster's screen, they can be played on the television. The cartridges are interchangeable for either Leapster version, but if you want to play the cartridges on the television screen, then they must be L-Max cartridges. Each additional cartridge purchased will provide hours of playing and learning fun. They retail for about $30.00 each. I highly recommend the LeapFrog Leapster Learning System, it is well worth the price and provides hours of learning fun.

Nitro Notebook, recommended for ages five through eleven

This educational toy will let your child pretend they are on a real computer laptop. This is a great electronic toy to help children master reading skills in two languages. It also reads stories aloud to help teach phonics. It even helps children learn to read at their own individual level with technology called Artificial Intelligence. It tracks their performance and sets the skill levels as needed for each child. The Nitro Notebook also helps with math, Spanish, logic, music and more, all while the child just thinks they are having fun. It has a gray LCD screen, QWERTY keyboard and plug-in mouse. It includes the required three AA batteries and sales at Toys R Us for $49.99.

Explorer Globe by LeapFrog, recommended for age eight and up

This is another great educational wonder from LeapFrog. This electronic globe is another award winner that teaches numerous facts about continents, countries, oceans, land areas, population and more. It even has two interactive games that can include up to four players while helping your grade school child master geography. The Explorer Globe byLeapFrog sales for $69.99 at Toys R Us.

Math Shark by Educational Insights, recommended for ages six through twelve

The toy is a great way for children to practice their math while having as much fun as a video game. It is a portable learning toy that quizzes children on addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, and percentages. It also can function as an easy-to-use calculator. It teaches like flash cards but is a lot more fun. Math problems show on the LCD screen either vertically or horizontally and features eight skill levels in each math category. The Math Shark has lights and sounds and requires two AA batteries and sales for $49.99 at Toys R Us.