Educational Insights Hot Dots Jr. Let's Master Kindergarten Reading Set, Homeschool & Kindergarten Learn to Read Workbooks, 2 Books & Interactive Pen, 100 Reading Lessons, Ages 5+

As a busy homeschool mom, I wanted an educational product that my 5-year old kindergartner could work with that didn't necessarily need me to be right there coaching her every minute while I worked in the kitchen, was on the phone, or computer. I also have tow other older children who often need my help with their lessons, not to mention a husband. This sounded like the perfect activity to incorporate into her daily lessons for those demanding situations, and it was! The minute we inserted the batteries into the Ace puppy pen, my daughter could hardly be restrained. She opened up Book 1, we read the brief instructions, and she went straight to work. The activity is highly intuitive. She absolutely ADORES Ace, and was beaming with pride and joy, saying, "Mom, I'm doing it! Look! I'm getting it right! I LOVE it! This is SO MUCH FUN!!!" She didn't want to stop and zoomed through half the book right away. I was afraid she'd finish it in one sitting she was that enthralled!I also purchased the Kindergarten Math set, but we haven't tried it, yet. I'm sure it will be just as big a hit, though.I wasn't sure whether the Kindergarten level would be too simple for her, since she was halfway through her Kindergarten year and can already identify over 100 sight words, is very familiar with her phonics, can add, subtract, count to over 100, pattern easily, and work out many words she doesn't know, but I decided to start with these because the 1st grader sets don't have Ace the puppy pen and I knew she would really love that pen. Also, I figured there's no harm in review, and it will only build her confidence. Turns out it was a good call. She flew through the first booklet, but by the middle of the second one she was encountering more challenging problems. Now she self-limits her time with Hot Dots to about 10-15 min sessions. Perfect!I had a hard time visualizing how the set works before I ordered it. When you push the pen tip, it retracts a bit. If the pen tip is not pressed onto the correct dot on the page it gives a cheerful negative response. It will also do this if you just press the tip with your finger, or on any surface. When it is pressed on the correct dot, it makes exciting, encouraging sounds which alternate randomly. After 3 correct answers in a row, the Ace pen vibrates and giggles. Kids totally dig it! Each page has four or five simple problems. Many of them can be figured out just by looking at the pictures. The book and pages are rigid and durable enough for the homeschool environment, but in a classroom setting, I could see this getting worn out fairly quickly. I imagine it would be better suited for a Centers Activity, being rotated in and out of circulation to prolong its life.You do need a hard surface to use this, so keep that in mind if you want it for traveling. Each book is about the size of a CD case. I will definitely be purchasing the 1st grade books, and probably the Pete the Cat set, too, just for fun. My daughter will turn 6 in a couple of months.I was not asked to review this product, nor did I receive any special discounts for my review. I decided to try it based purely on other reviews and the available images.

This is a great way to teach your pre kindergarten child to read. Great quality &value from r the price. I will order the one for math next.

Good product compared to hooked on phonics beginners

The pen wasn't what I was expecting but hopefully it works

My 5 yr old loved this! She picked it up super quick and loved the interactive pen.

I loved the preschool version. I purchased this c expecting something just as great. Unfortunately there’s are errors in the beginning of the book. Not exactly good when teaching a little one, and the wrong answer lights up and they get confused when you explain the book has a boo-boo in it

She is going to love this!

This is the perfect product to help prepare kids for kindergarten language arts skills. My 5 year old loves doing hot dots sets and I feel they have really helped her to keep learning at home in a fun way! This set includes two books with 100 lessons on language art skills like upper/lower case letters, beginning consonants, ending consonants, short/long vowels and sight words. I really like how the Ace pen provides immediate feedback so she can do these lessons on her own as well as with me. Hot dots are the perfect alternative or addition to workbooks and work sheets. Personally, I think my 5 year old is too young still to only be doing work sheets/work books (because learning should be fun at this young age!) so I love how hot dots provides a fun way to learn! I’m so glad we got this for my 5 year old because she will be more than ready for kindergarten in the fall!