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.

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

I've had this pen for years and it still "works". I was getting ready to throw it away because I knew the battery was fine, but it kept lightning up green on the incorrect answers. My daughter had taken the rubber tip out. I kept rotating the tip until it was back in the correct position. Saved me $$ + taxes & shipping and handling. 😄

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!

I boufht this for my newphew. He loved it. Though he is only 4, he knew exactly how to work it due to having the flash cards that he had prior to this set. Great for educTional purposes.

The Hot Dots Jr. Kinder reading set is so engaging and fun for my kids! Both my 3 and 5 year old really dove into them and had so much fun doing each page. The pen talks to you and lets you know if the answer is correct or wrong. My younger one really likes the dog pen that was included with the set, while my 5 year old enjoys the sleek silver one that I purchased. Having two pens allows both kids to use the set simultaneously. I love how the kids can independently do busy work. I wish I had known about this product at the beginning of quarantine! I will definitely be purchasing the subsequent reading and math sets.

I got three different hot dots for my son who is six. They are very easy to use he loves it and he is one who does not like to do school work. It is really hard for me to get him to sit down and actually be able to do any type of work by himself. I showed him how this worked and he sat at the table for about an hour doing these. So it's definitely a win-win for me

I got this for my kindergartener, hoping he’d learn a few words. Now he’s strutting around the house like a tiny Shakespeare because he can read “cat” and “dog” without help. He even tried to correct my pronunciation the other day. Sir, you just learned the word “the.” Relax.The book is colorful, engaging, and actually makes learning fun—so much so that my kid now insists on reading every sign, cereal box, and shampoo bottle aloud. (Yes, buddy, we know it says “2-in-1 conditioner.” Thank you.)10/10, would recommend—just be prepared for your kid to start narrating life like a very small, very proud audiobook.

Si quieres que tu hijo refuerce el inglés y palabras cortas este es una gran opción.

Pen not working...returned the item

My 3 year old loves these books. I’m interested in getting more that go with the pen.

Buen producto, le gustó mucho a mi hijo