This Leap Frog Turbo Phonics Battery Operated Electronic Portable Learning toy is in VERY GOOD working condition. Includes 3AA batteries !! There are no instructions ..... but below is an overview on how the toy works !!! Turbo Phonics is one of several Turbo educational toys by Leap Frog. One feature that makes this one unique is the shape. While all the other Turbo toys are cylinder shaped, the teal colored Turbo Phonics looks more like the handlebars of a motorcycle (OK, a little motorcycle). Honestly, the shape of this toy initially turned me off because its much more bulky than the other Turbo toys. However, the slimmer two handles (as opposed to the thicker cylinders) are very inviting for smaller hands. Between the two angled handles is a 1 1/2 square LCD screen, centered in a blue oval. Above and below the oval are the 26 letters of the alphabet, in raised capital print. At the top of the center display is the rhythm selector switch that allows you to slide a clear switch between five play options and off. A circular yellow speaker is located on the top of the center console and a blue volume switch (low/high) is on the right hand side underneath the console. To the left of the volume switch is a headphone jack in case even low volume is too high for the surrounding conditions. The Turbo Phonics will shut off automatically if not played with for a short period of time. It runs on 3 AA batteries that are included. Now for those handlebars
The smooth blue handle on the right has a large yellow button on the end called the Go button. You push this to start the music. On the back of the right handle is a ridged rectangular-shaped yellow button called the Beat Bar. This serves as a drumstick during the Jammin mode. The knobby blue handle on the left turns like the accelerator handle of a motorcycle. This is called the Letter Selector Handle and its used to scroll through the alphabet. Turing the handle towards you goes backward in the alphabet and turning the handle away progress forward through the alphabet. The letters being scrolled appear on the bottom half on the LCD screen. You can scroll slowly one letter at a time by turning the handle briefly and then moving back to neutral. Holding the handle in the turned position will result in rapid scrolling through the alphabet. In the green band above the handle are three yellow Enter buttons, labeled 1, 2, and 3. Once you have scrolled to a letter you want to use, you can press these buttons to enter the letter into the top half of the LCD screen (called the Word screen). The LCD screen has three corresponding numbers directly below the Word screen to represent the three spaces in the word. You can enter letters in any order you can do that last letter first if you want and then enter the other two later. Thats it for the parts of this toy. Take a break, take a nap, and then come back on see how they all work together
Spelling Words to Your Favorite Beat The first step in playing with this toy is to pick a rhythm mode. The choices are: ~~ Shake It ~~ Rumba ~~ Hip Hop ~~ Rhyme Time ~~ Jammin After you select a rhythm, you enter three letters, and then push the Go button. Once you select a rhythm, the toy will prompt you to enter three letters. Each letter will be identified by name once its entered on to the Word screen. After entering the three letters and hitting the go button, Turbo Phonics will say each letter in sequence, followed immediately by that letters sound. Then it will sound out the three letters together and say the word. If its actually a real word, then youll here some sort of congratulatory remark (All right! ) and if its not a word, the toy will say Great sounds! Then the musical rhythm will begin and the letter names, sounds, and word will be repeated through out the song, in rhythm to the beat. As letter flashes on the screen whenever the song says its name or sound. With the Rhyme Time mode, you have to start with a rhyming word (like Cat) and then see how many words you can create to rhyme with that word during a single song. As soon as a new letter/word is entered, the song incorporates the change. At the end, it will tell you how many rhyming words you spelled. In the Jammin mode, you control the beat. The letters are only played when you press the Beat Bar. In any of these modes, you can change letters during the songs.
