Explore the Ocean With The Magic School Bus! {Leapster Explorer/LeapPad Game Review)

If you and your children are fans of The Magic School Bus books or DVDs, you wont want to miss this review! Leapfrog and Scholastic have released an interactive game that can be played on the Leapster Explorer and LeapPad 1 and 2, a game which allows your child to become one of the kids on THE coolest bus around! In this gaming adventure youll be exploring the oceans along with The Frizz and your classmates, learning about everything under the ocean.

Specifically, your child will:

• Discover more than 100 sea animals and learn over 100 facts
• Sort and classify ocean animals by common characteristics
• Learn how animals rely on each other to survive in the ocean

Our Thoughts:

In the Magic School Bus: Oceans Leapster Explorer/LeapPad game, there are several different games and activities that teach facts about the ocean and animals that live in it. As she progresses through the games, Emma (4 1/2) earns badges, providing a fun incentive (I hear a little whoop when she earns another one!). Three different levels of play (easy, medium, hard) make this game perfect for a wide age range Emma usually does Easy or Medium. The game is specifically recommended for ages 5-8, but Emma has enjoyed it very much and done well so I think its safe to say 4-8. 🙂

Here are a couple of our favorite games:

Guess the animal by shining a flashlight in the dark.
You have three chances to guess which animal is hiding in the inky ocean waters
Answers are multiple choice!

Learn about the food chains!
It starts out explaining how each animal is part of the food chain. You begin at the bottom and work your way up the food chain, navigating the ocean waters staying away from those things that might eat you but filling your stomach with your prey.

The sorting game, this is a good one!
You find the animals that have fins, have spots, or other differentiating characteristics by touching them with your stylus.

Other games have Jaedyn tracing the lines to reveal a sea creature, racing to the finish line while avoiding pitfalls, and exploring different areas of the ocean while filling a virtual notebook with facts, photos, and more.

Watch this Trailer to See These Games in Action!

Final Thoughts:

I really recommend this game there is just SO much to do! Emma loves the games and as a mom Im loving the fact that shes learning as she plays. I appreciate that it talks about the fish or sea creature featured briefly before jumping into the game, mentions facts about the ocean and creatures throughout, and that it clearly describes how to play each game (what buttons to use, etc). For the children who cant read yet, it highlights words and reads them out loud. Its been a great fit for us and valuable educationally. I hope The Magic School Bus makes more games like this I will buy them if they do!

Want It?

You can purchase The Magic School Bus: Oceans on Amazon.com or Leapfrog.com. It retails for $24.99 but is currently on sale for only $15.99 on Amazon!

Note: The game reviewed in this post was provided to my family for us to keep and share our thoughts on here at Kindred Spirit Mommy. My Amazon affiliate link is also embedded in this post.