Hot Dots® Jr. Getting Ready for School Set #Review & #Giveaway (Canada/US)

Based in Southern California, Educational Insights, is the manufacturer of playful products with serious educational value, including subject-specific classroom products, teacher resources, educational toys, and games. Their products are designed by seasoned educators and parents who know that, first and foremost, learning must be fun.

The first product we got to test is the Hot Dots® Jr. Getting Ready for School Set. This is, for now, my daughter’s favorite educational toy. With her possibly starting preschool in the Fall, it helps reinforce what she learns through play.

The set features Ace – the Talking, Teaching Dog™ – an interactive stylus that uses fun sound effects, encouraging phrases, and blinking lights to guide children through 160 different activities, and 80 double sided activity sheets.

What I like about Ace is that it gives immediate feedback when used properly. Correct answers would make his eyes flash green, and he’d say phrases like “Terrific!”, “Woof! Way to go!”. Incorrect answers would make his eyes flash red, and he’d say phrases like “That’s not right”, “Sorry!” It did take awhile to teach my daughter how to use him. She was initially holding Ace like a pen (on an angle), instead of pressing down like a stylus. I also had to teach her that she needs to press on the black dots on the activity sheets or she will always have the incorrect answer.

The Hot Dots® Jr. Getting Ready for School Set has helped her learn her alphabet, colors, shapes, patterns and numbers. The activity sheets are packed in groups, so that depending on your child’s ability, you can keep the one’s that are beyond their knowledge packed safely away. It has made learning fun for her.

Educational Insights has generously offered to give one lucky reader their very own The Hot Dots® Jr. Getting Ready for School Set.

Contest is open to Canada & US residents only, and ends on August 21, 2011 at 12:01am EST.

** Please read the instructions regarding the “Leave a Blog Post Comment” entry option. Comments of “I would like to win” or “Thanks”, although appreciated, will not gain you entry into the giveaway. Not following the entry instructions will be cause for deletion.**

Disclosure: I received a sample product for the purpose of this review and giveaway. The opinions in this post are entirely my own. This post has not been reviewed or edited by anyone. I was not compensated for this post in any other way. The sponsor of this giveaway is responsible for prize fulfillment and shipping the winner(s) their prize.