I love seeing my two little boys have fun with their toys, but its even better when I know that their play is educational. And one of those brands that never fails to deliver educational toys, disguised as toys, is VTech.
My two little boys have put one of the newest toys from the VTech range to the test, the VTech DigiArt Creative Easel. This clever plastic easel is fun and interactive and can transform into three different settings;
- Stand up, light-up dry erase (white board) easel
- Chalk Board
- Drawing table
The easel has six different activities to help kids draw and write, thanks to the interactivity, with more than 150 objects, shapes letters and numbers step-by-step by following the lights using the magic pen.
The kids can learn letters and number stroke order, for uppercase letters A-Z and numbers 1-20 stroke-by-stroke, while getting words encouragement to expand their knowledge and improve their phonics skills.
But it also allows them to be creative and drew anything they like, all while listening to one of 10 classic playful songs.
The easel is targeted at kids aged 3 to 6 years old, and I initially thought it would mainly be for our 3 year old, but surprisingly, our 5 year old has also had so much fun with it. He is learning how to write, but does get the odd letter or number mixed up, turning it the wrong way, such as ie 6 or 9, or confusing a 6 and a G, and actually writing the letters the correct way in a fun way, has been very helpful.
Both boys also love being creative and doing their own thing, or simply drawing one of the 100 different objects possible, ranging from lots of fun things, from shapes and a variety of animals etc.
The easel stands quite tall with its over 40” (over 100cm), is its perfect for the kids standing up. It is quick and easy to assemble, though the fact that it can chance from easel to table, does mean that the legs come off easily, so moving it around can be a little tricky once assembled.
It is easy to operate, and after the initial help with the setting, even our little boy is now navigating the settings and buttons, and the little pen with a great preciseness.
As a parent, I love admit that I am most impressed with the digital part of the easel, actually teaching my boys how to write letter and numbers, and this was also by far their most preferred activity on the table.
But I do also love that it is multi-functional and can be used as a chalkboard too (it comes with 3 pieces of chalk), and also turned into a drawing table - We did turn it around as a chalkboard as they were curious about it, but they quickly asked for the digital board again, where it has since stayed.
I have to say that they have not used the free drawing by pen, for the pure reason that we have not had any white-board makers in the house, so it would certainly have been great if the pack had included at least one of these, as well as a sponge/cloth for wiping clean.
Overall, this is another fantastic toy from VTech and I love that it is helping kids develop their motor skills, along with letter phonetics, all while having fun and being creative.
As always with VTech, is a well-manufacture toy of high quality, and I have no doubt that it will last through all the tear and wear my boys will put it through. And considering both the quality and the electronics development in this toy, and how much time the kids will be playing with it, I also find it is very reasonably priced.
Vtech Creative Easel (available in green and pink) - RRP: $89.95
Available from Big W and selected toy retailers
* Some products may have been kindly provided for editorial consideration, and have been reviewed in accordance with my Disclosure Policy, and reviews are 100% honest and based on personal opinion and experience. Note that The Beauty & Lifestyle Hunter is not a professional or expert, so please do not substitute these opinions as professional advice.
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