How to save your LeapPad from a watery grave!

Last week my youngest's  LeapPad somehow ended up in a full sink of hot soapy dish water.

We are not quite sure how long it had been in there but by the time my hubby noticed it was in there it was well and truly soaked.

My first thought was .... "well that's the end of that".

But I had to at least try and save this most loved possession.


With no time to wast I drained as much water out as I could and then set to work dismantling it .

I suggest watching this to aid in dismantling.

o

Once I had it in pieces I used kitchen towel to dry everything as much as I could very carefully, as not to damage anything.

Next step was a large bowl and Lots and lots of uncooked rice.

Completely cover and pack rice very carefully, everywhere you can get it.
Put you bowl of rice a la LeapPad in a cupboard and forget about it for a couple of days.

After at least 48 hour, carefully remove all the rice and reassemble the LeapPad .
If you are lucky, as I was, it will spring back to life.

Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure glitch fix.

My Daughter received Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure  for  Christmas from an overseas relative. 

When she started to play I discovered there was a problem with the game. She was very disappointed as there was no way to return the faulty game.  

Luckily it turns out this problem is not with the Cartridge, but with the Skill selected content and is very easily fixed. 

Customize curriculum

Some LeapFrog Explorer games allow you to customize the curriculum by entering your child’s own spelling list or focusing the game on particular math problems.

These games are:

Spelling Games:

Wolverine and the X-Men
Disney Tangled
SpongeBob SquarePants Clam Prix

Math Games:

Disney Fairies Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure
NFL Rush Zone

You can customize the curriculum for these games in the LeapFrog Connect software, connecting the LeapPad to the computer, going into your LeapPad profile and selecting “Skill Selector” from the left side navigation bar.

NOTE: You need to have played the game at least once before your game will show up in the skill selector menu. The pic of the game will show in color once you do this and only then can you create custom  curriculum 

Once you have created custom curriculum  you need to sync you LeapPad so it will be saved on to the device.

The custom curriculum you have made will show up in your child's app library

re-set the curricular level

LeapPad has several ways of determining the right curricular level for your child. 

It starts by looking at the child’s selected grade and uses that to determine what level is most appropriate. 

The games do not cover all possible curricular levels, so if your child’s grade is above or below the range covered in a game the game will default to the closest level available. 

Once the child starts playing,  auto-level of the curriculum based on how well the child is doing. If the child answers correctly several times in a row, the game will automatically move up to the next curricular level. Similarly, answering several questions incorrectly can move the child down to an easier level.

If the game has appropriate curriculum for your child, but is consistently asking questions that are too hard or easy, you may be able to adjust this by changing the grade level in the child’s profile on the device. Check the grade level associated with the child’s profile to make sure it is appropriate. NOTE - This setting is unfortunately accessible to the child and should therefore be regularly checked to ensure they have not inadvertently changed it to an inappropriate level. If it is too high or low, this can be adjusted in the “About Me” screen or from the Manage Profiles option on the Parent Settings menu. If the grade level is correct, try moving it up or down a level anyway, as not all school districts teach the same curriculum at the same time.

Once your child has started a game and answered some questions, the game will store curricular progress, so changing the grade level may not affect a game that is already in progress. If the game has an option to start a New Game or Continue an existing game, try starting a new game after you have corrected your child’s grade. This will clear the curricular progress that has already been saved for that game, and should enable the game to start at the correct level for your child. However, your child will lose all progress in the game.

In some cases, our content includes curricular milestones that are shared between titles. If your child achieved a milestone in one game, other games with the same curriculum may start at that milestone level. If you believe your child triggered a milestone in error (e.g. an older player has advanced through curriculum while using your child’s account) you can clear these milestones from the Manage Profiles option on the Parent Settings menu. 

Manage Profiles listed above> On the Manage Profiles page, tap the button with a graduation cap, then tap the green checkmark button to confirm. This button will only appear if your child has earned curricular milestones, so if you do not see a graduation cap button next to the trash button under your child’s profile, this means there is no milestone data for the profile.

How to fix a non-responsive touch screen.

My heart stopped this morning. My daughter turned on her LeapPad and the touch screen was totally non responsive!

Thankfully, it turns out, this is a very easy fix.

Try this first :Turn off the LeapPad, make sure your screen is clean and pay careful attention to the small gap around the edge, where it meets the body of the LeapPad.

All it takes is a small crumb to become lodged there and it will freeze the touch screen, I used a slim toothpick to gently remove a crumb of Oatee from my daughter's LeapPad this morning.

Once your happy everything is clean and free of any crumbs turn The LeapPad on your screen should be working again.

How to buy games from the app center

Have you:

• Got your connect software installed?
• Set up your parent account?
• Created you children's profiles?

If not, go to LeapPad set up guide. first. 

You will need your 16 digit download-card code or bonus code at hand. 

If you need to buy cards, you can buy them from takealot.com - use the quick links at the left side of the page.You can request that they email you the code so you don't have to pay or hang around for shipping.

Connecting your LeapPad to more than 1 computer.

You will need to download the LeapFrog Connect application to all computers you want to connect your LeapPad to

In order to access your child's Leaplets, rewards, and Learning Path info, you will need to sign in using the same LeapFrog Parent Account on each computer.

To change the LeapFrog Parent Account associated with your handheld:

- Click the "Parent Account" tab in the top navigation.

- Click Set Up My LeapFrog Account.

- Log in with the email address and password that redeemed the Leaplet, and then indicate who plays with each player name on the handheld.

How to remove apps to free up space

If you want to add new content to your LeapPad but you’re running out of space, remove some apps to make room. Here’s how:

1. On the LeapFrog Connect home screen, choose a player name to enter the LeapPad view.

2. Click the On This LeapPad tab.

3. Uncheck the box next to the apps you want to remove.

4. Then turn on your device and connect it to the computer with the included USB cable. Once your device has finished syncing (you will see “Sync complete” at the top of your screen), eject and unplug the USB cable.

"Sneak peeks" = Nagging kids

What i am about to tell you, will save you from nagging and or disappointed children. 

When you revive your LeapPad there is a icon named "Sneak peeks" located dead center of the main menu screen.  

Your child will find this ! and when launched it will display a list of game and app trailers that your child can view. 

I have a sneaky suspicion that a good chunk of that first update download is a whole bunch of new up to date ad's to incite our kids into nagging us in till we get the new game they have just seen. 

Apart from the nagging us parents dread, there is another reason South African Parents will want to disable this feature as soon as you get the LeapPad, several of the trailers are for content we can not access in SA like the Disney Cinderella Ultra eBook 

Which my 5 year old daughter now wants "Soooooooooooo much".

I only found out after my daughter watched the "Sneak peeks" that they could be disabled after doing a Google it.  

All you need to do is access the  Parent Settings and turn off the "Sneak peeks"

LeapPad Parent Settings

How to get there.

Turn on your LeapPad  press the "volume up" and "home" buttons simultaneously. 

As you can see the menu is self explanatory .
Once you are finished press the big Green "tick / check" to save your changes. Then the "home" button to return to the normal screen.

LeapPad Set Up Guide

System Requirements: 
High-speed internet connection
Monitor resolution of 1024 x 768
Available USB port
512 MB of RAM (1 GB recommended)
500 MB free disk space
Latest version of Adobe flash player.


PC Requirements:
Pentium 4 or equivalent
(2 GHz processor or faster recommended)
Windows XP, Vista, or 7
operating system with latest service pack


Mac Requirements:
Intel based Apple computer
(1 GHz processor or faster recommended)
Mac OS X 10.5+ operating system software.


Step 1 Install Connect Software 
Download or use disk provided to install the connect software  
Download link : http://www.leapfrog.com/en/pages/support/product_pages/leapfrog_connect.html


Step 2 Create a Parent Account

Account page link : http://www.leapfrog.com/en/login.html?redirect=http://www.leapfrog.com%2Fen%2Fplay%2Fmy_account.accountmanagementview.html

You need a parent account, so you can download learning apps, create custom skill sets with the Skill Selector option, and redeem tokens your child earns during game play for pet supplies and Micromods. It also gives you access to the LeapFrog Learning Path, which offers personalized insights into the skills your child is developing while playing with their LeapPad.

Step 3 Create your child's Profile on the LeapPad

When you first turn on the Leap Pad you will be prompted to select a Language.

I recommend UK English for South Africa. 

Then you will be prompted to set the time and date  

Your child's name and Grade level  (Use the list below to help select the correct grade level)

• Preschool, sometimes called Pre kindergarten  ages 3 and 4
• Kindergarten - age 5
• 1st grade - age 6
• 2nd - age 7
• 3rd - age 8
• 4th - age 9
• 5th - age 10
• 6th - age 11
• 7th - age 12
• 8th - age 13

Once you have done this you can turn off the LeapPad.

Step 4 Connecting the LeapPad to your computer 
Connect the LeapPad to your computer using the USB provided,  once connected turn on.  LeapPad will automatically launch the connect software (if it does not you can double click on the icon to launch it)


You will be prompted to login into your parent account at this point. 

Then it should self detect the LeapPad you have connected but if not press the find toy button.

Now you need to set up the information about your child for the learning path click on "This is played by:" to add information. 

You can add up to 3 children per LeapPad.


If you have more than one LeapPad, as I do, you will need to do this for each device individually using the same parent account.
Step 5 downloading your free apps


On the PC, click on the  app center tab 

As you can see, Story studio and Art studio are pre-selected for download, browse through the list of apps, watch the trailers and decide which other app  you want. When you have selected hit the download button.
(you will notice the list is very limited)

At this point I would go watch some TV as the first download takes 20 mins plus depending on your internet connection as you are not only downloading the apps but updates as well. 
If, like me, you have a second device to set up afterwards you should be happy to know it goes considerably faster than the first as the updates will have already downloaded to your PC. 


Step 6 Loading the apps to your LeapPad 


Now you need to click on the "on this LeapPad" button to load your downloaded gamed onto the device.

You do this by checking the boxes and it will load those apps to your LeapPad.
when you have finished press the "Eject" button at the top left of the screen and when your leapPad shows its safe to disconnect pull out the USB. and your good to GO.