Flexible Parenting Reviews

This is a part of Formula Fed and Flexible Parenting. It contains a write-up of products and services that I review, mostly but not entirely related to parenting, families, and children.

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Tuesday, September 9, 2008

V-Motion Active Learning System Review

My kids are 5 and 2 so we've just hit the age where my older one is becoming more and more interested in computer and video games. When The Parent Bloggers Network said they were looking for people to review the V-Motion Active Learning System, I was pretty excited because it's marketed for kids ages 3-7.

The system comes with a game box, the Action Mania Smartridge, and a joystick that can be used by one or two players. The Smartridge is compatible with all V-tech systems, as are the Smartridges from other systems. Since my son is a lefty, I was pleased to see that the joystick can be flipped for either hand. The system plugs right into your TV. There is also a V-link which is a thumb drive that you attach to your computer to download bonus games and scores from the V-tech website.

When I first plugged in the system, I was a little skeptical that my son would be able to fully "get" the games. They seemed to move a little too fast, at least when I was playing them. The V-Motion works with a wireless motion activated joystick meaning that the more I was moving around, the faster the characters moved on the screen.

I had my five-and-a-week-year old son come play the games with me. At first I had him sit on my lap, and we manipulated the joystick together. Because the joystick and the buttons are very large, not only are they easy for little hands, but there was enough room for both of us to use them at the same time. After giving both games a test play, I let him try it on his own. Sure enough it was no problem. I had been concerned for the Backyard Adventures game. The object of it is to collect the missing letter from the word as you drive a car through the backyard. When I was playing it, the car was zooming very fast and I barely had a chance to read the choice of letters before I was past them. However, when my 5 year old played it by himself, he was able to slow the car so that he could pick the appropriate letter.

My son also liked the game where you have to balance the person on the ball. At first the person went really slowly, but as he got more and more into it, it becamse easier for him to play it.

The hardest game for him involved bobsledding. That game shows a sequence of numbers and requires the player to choose the missing number while bobsledding. While my son was able to say the missing number out loud, he was not coordinated enough to actually get the missing number. Am I surprised by this? Not really. Like it or not, many people argue that video games can improve fine motor skills, which my son sometimes needs to work on. I suspect that it won't be long before he has mastered that. Initially the balancing ball was hard for him, and he was able to figure that out on his own. The bobsledding game was my husband's favorite.

The only issue I had with this system was that it was hard to hook up with Tivo. In fact, we ended up abandoning ship and connecting it to our small TV upstairs that doesn't have Tivo (or any TV reception) where it worked fine.

Overall though, I was happy with this product. In addition to getting the kids up and moving, the games were educational and focused on math, spelling, music and problem solving. I liked the way the machine was designed for little hands. From the large buttons on the system itself, to the large Smartridge and the large, simple animations on the game itself, I thought it was well-suited for kids. The games were visually appealing, including things like passing stars or healthy pieces of food like potatoes (that would be announced) that you could grab for points without being overwhelming or too fast paced like other video games. It was definitely designed for younger kids.

posted by Alex Elliot @ 6:25 PM 0 comments

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Name:	Alex Elliot
Home:	MA, United States
About Me:	Professional Mom of two cats, a dog, an ant farm, and oh yeah...two boys: a 5 year old and a 2 year old. Also found in my house is my husband who is known on this blog as The Big Giraffe.
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