The JCB Fun Phonics Review

Leo and I have very recently been crowned with a very exciting new title, a role that we are so very excited to take on. We have teamed up with KD UK (formally Inspiration Works) and become part of their new Mumbassadors programme. Our new role is to share our experiences with their products and let you know our honest thoughts and opinions as parents so that you can find honest reviews of the items you are looking to purchase.

With Christmas coming around faster every year, and with less than 100 sleeps to go until Christmas 2013, I hope that our opinions help with Santa’s Christmas grafting!

Our first task as KD UK Mumbassadors is to tell you all about the JCB Fun Phonics. A circular toy with a cut out handle that you can either sit with on your lap or play with on the floor, all the while making lots of great sounds with all of the 26 keys. The aim of the game is to promote learning of new words, the alphabet and letters, in all there are 8 different games to be played which can be achieved by simply turning the pointer over to the new setting.

Leo was really pleased when he was presented with the Fun Phonics, and immediately took it off into the corner to sit and make lots of noise with. He started pointing out the JCBs and telling me ‘tractor’, which of course I expected because he absolutely adores all forms of transportation.

Leo has enjoyed playing with the Fun Phonics, and can independently change the settings himself as it is easy to turn. At present Leo is using it more as a musical instrument, he loves pressing all the buttons and isn’t playing the built in games just yet, but at 2 years old I don’t expect him to be reciting the alphabet word for word or reading the dictionary to me. I do like that Leo is being exposed to these essential life skills in a fun, easy to learn way, and I know that as time goes on this toy is going to really help him in his learning’s.

The JCB Fun Phonics is part of the My First JCB range, which offers a great selection of products from clothes, pre-school toys to Ride-ons and Bikes. As a parent what I personally really liked about this toy was the clear tone of voice that is used to communicate with the children. The volume of the voice is just right and can be heard amongst the hustle and bustle of everyday life, but is not too loud to cause a headache (I know this is what you really wanted to know!).

The colours used for the Fun Phonics in-keep with the JCB Yellow and the multi coloured buttons scattered over the circular plate resemble a multitude of tasty Smarties (before they took all the artificial additives out!) The buttons are en-cased by stickers with all sorts of different images, such as a quad bike, cone and many other industrial items.

The carry handle makes it really easy for little one’s to carry around with them, and it is light enough for toddler hands to handle.

The JCB Fun Phonics is recommended for children form the age of 3 years plus, around the age that many children will be joining in nursery sessions and taking their learning to the next level. So while at the moment Leo is not actively using the Fun Phonics for the desired purpose, he is still loving the bright colours, the clear voice over used to communicate the words the bright design of this pre-school toy.

I can see that just by Leo playing with this toy it is going to help him widen his vocabulary and teach him, without Leo being consciously aware of the fact. Leo loves anything to do with transport, so this is a great way to sit him down with an educational toy.

I do think that this is a great little toy for children learning their letters and ABCs, especially when they take that big step into school. It is definitely a toy that we will be using as Leo continues to grow and learn, as it is such a great learning aid for a child, and not just because it has a JCB on it.

Although…. Leo may tell you otherwise.

The JCB Fun Phonics is currently on offer at Asda at the point of writing this review in their 2 for £20.00 toy deal.

Disclaimer: I was sent the JCB Fun Phonics for the purpose of this review. All views and opinions expressed are completely honest and my own.