LeapFrog Letter Factory Phonics and Numbers

I purchased the Letter Factory Phonics (bucket) and Numbers and the Fridge Phonics Magnetic Letter Set (bus magnet). Here's a comparison of the two sets.The Letter Factory Phonics (bucket)- Has A-Z and 1-9 letters- Bucket to contain all the loose letters/numbers- When the handle is lifted up the top of the bucket is secure so the letters don't fall out- Letter/Number songs - 1 phrase/song for each letter e.g. "A says Ah.." and "3, 3, Count with me 1,2,3"- Music note - 2 Songs: One song for ABCs and One song for Numbers.Fridge Phonics Magnetic Letter Set (bus magnet)- Has A-Z- No bucket, just magnetic backing for each letter. The back is flush vs. the Letter Factory which is hollow- Letter songs - 2 phrases/song for each letter e.g. "D says Duh..." and "D for Driver", the 2nd phrase of the words all correspond to transportation/school buses. If you push the letter once, you get the phonic sound, if you push it twice you get the word.- Music Note - 3 Songs: ABCs, Number song, and Wheels on the BusAfter my son played with both of them, I like the magnetic fridge phonics much more. I was worried about it taking up too much room on the fridge, but it doesn't. I found that I always had to count and tally up the Letter Factory Numbers/Phonics to make sure we didn't lose pieces, which was an extra task to do during clean up. The fridge magnets stay on the fridge, so there's not as much of a concern. I can also place a few letters at a time on the fridge that my son is practicing, so he can play with them while I'm preparing meals or cleaning up.The letters and numbers are semi-interchangeable. The numbers from the Letter Factory do play in the Fridge Phonics bus, but it doesn't fit snuggly, the letters kind of pop out. This might be OK if the bus is on the floor, but on the fridge the Letter Factory letters would fall out.It doesn't seem like LeapFrog is making the Letter Factory Phonics Bucket anymore, but I hope this is helpful for anyone who comes across it. Save a few dollars and get the Fridge Phonics bus (assuming you have a magnetic surface or a container to hold the letters).

We got this for our granddaughter, who had just turned two. She instantly fell in love with it!! It arrived exactly as described, no surprises, and in excellent condition. She has had it for a little over two months now, and it's still in perfect condition (very durable) AND it's still working on the original batteries that it came with, with no sign yet of them beginning to wear out. I think the "automatic shut-off" that kicks in when the toy hasn't been used for a few minutes contributes greatly to that. She has not lost any of the number or letter tiles, because they all fit inside the toy in a sort of carrying case with a handle when they're not in use. And putting them back inside when she's done playing with it has become part of the game, and great fun for her, which is AWESOME! But the most amazing thing about the toy is how effective it is in teaching toddlers numbers and letters!! Within the first week Sam was counting from 1-10 along with the toy, and reciting her ABC's/singing the Alphabet Song along with the toy as well! Now, two months later, she can count from 1-10 all by herself, and she recognizes the numbers on sight and can pick out a specific number when she's asked to find it. Plus she can recite her ABC's by herself, and she recognizes all the letters, and can also pick out any letter she's asked to find. And on top of that, she can tell you what most of the letters "say"! (tell you the sound that a particular letter makes). Keep in mind that she had JUST turned two years old when she got it, so you can tell that this toy does an absolutely AMAZING job of teaching Toddlers their numbers, letters, and phonics! And all while having tremendous fun! Sam never feels like she is "working" on learning, she's just having a blast playing with her toy, and soaking up all this knowledge in the meantime. I can't stress highly enough how much I recommend parents, grandparents, etc., purchase this toy for their Toddler!! You won't have one moment of disappointment with it - quite the opposite!! We have now moved on into the world of reading with Leapfrog learning toys, by purchasing Read With Me Scout, because Sam has all the basics down now thanks to the Letter Factory Phonics and Numbers toy. Leapfrog will forever be my go-to-company for learning toys for my grandchildren, based on the results we've gotten from Leapfrog Learning Toys!!

Pros:- So far so good with this. I received this in 24 hours with prime and I was happy about that. My 2 year old really likes this. The 10 month old likes it too when she can get the letter to fit :-).- My daughter knows the alphabet and her sounds and this is a good reinforcement. The numbers is what we need to work on and this does help.Cons:- Like the other reviews I must admit the pieces all over the floor are an issue. I don't want to loose any so unlike other toys I try to get this picked up before they end up some place where I can't find them.- The top DOES NOT stay on! It fell off when I opened the package. My daughter finds that very annoying and so do I. Its best to just leave it off and play with it on a flat surface.- They should have made some type of whole in the top so once it played it dropped into the container and the top would stay on.

A friend's daughter had a three-letter version of this and I thought it was absolutely brilliant in how it teaches a child to identify letters and words. Unfortunately the three-letter version is no longer available but I came across this (alphabet and numbers) and the alphabet only version. Decided to go with this for our niece (18 mos). Before we gave her this she was pretty good from A-G. We spent a few hours with her in an afternoon and she loved it. By the time we left she was pretty fluent in singing the ABCs from A-Z with some stumbling over some letter groupings. She learned to hit the yellow sun to continually repeat the entire alphabet so she could learn. After we saw such an amazing progression for her in an afternoon we also bought this for a friend's son for his first birthday. It's never too early to start.