A Prize Has Been Chosen

Sarah is not one to let money accumulate or gain interest.  It resides with her for only a short while before being spent.  In this way, she is a completely normal kid.

So... what do you let a kid who won a big chunk of money buy?  I was NOT going to let her convert it into iTunes dollars and end up with 100 MORE apps for her already crowded iPad.

Luckily, the Christmas catalogs are out.  Here also, Sarah is no different from any other kid - she goes through them so many times that the pages get worn, bent, and tattered.  For a while, she's been asking for this:

leapfrog.com

It's the Tag Interactive Reader from Leap Frog.  We've had wonderful experiences with other products from Leap Frog - both the Leap Pad and the Leapsters were well-loved toys, in the days when I required that all video games be educational.  But this pen is designed to help kids learn to read, and Sarah already knows how to read.  It didn't seem much better than the Leap Pad, which did similar things (but not as easily).  So, I had absolutely no plans to buy it for her.

Then she wins that big money prize.  I think it's only natural that she should get something special.  As she's pondering how many apps she can get, I do some quick thinking and suggest that she could buy the Tag reader and a few books.  Now, THIS is an idea that she can get behind!  Dad took her out the next day to help her pick it out.  She was miffed that we wouldn't let her spend the whole amount, but tithing and savings are important, and so she was only able to get 3 books.

I wasn't concerned about her having just a few books - I really thought that it would be a short-term toy (that I could resell on Craigslist/Ebay).  It appears that I was wrong -  she is really into this pen!  I have to admit, it's a lot cooler than I thought.  And, if it gets her into reading books and away from the games on the iPad, that's a big bonus.

Grandparents, take note - Tag books will be welcomed under the Christmas tree.  I'm sure she's got them on her Amazon list.  :)