PARENT GUIDEwww.leapfrog.com

THIS GUIDE CONTAINS IMPOR TANT INFORMATION.PLEASE KEEP IT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.

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THIS GUIDE CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION. PLEASE KEEP IT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.

CHECK OUT THE EVER-GROWING

LEARNING GAME SYSTEM LIBRARY!

CHECK OUT THE EVER-GROWING

LEARNING GAME SYSTEM LIBRARY!

© 2006 Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2005 Gullane (Thomas) Limited

© 2003 Viacom International Inc.

PARENT GUIDEwww.leapsterworld.com

Actual covers may vary. All titles may not be available in all markets.

© 2003 Viacom International Inc.Created by Stephen Hillenburg

© Disney Enterprises, Inc./Pixar Animation Studios

© 2003 Viacom International Inc.© Disney Enterprises, Inc./

© 2006 Scholastic Inc.

Getting Started:Insert the cartridge with the printed side facing front.

Press the On/Off button to begin.

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Sign In:1. Follow the on-screen instructions to sign in.2. Your Leapster™ system will store the game information for up to 3 players. To remove or replace a player, touch the X button on the screen.

All images in this Parent Guide are representative of gameplay only and do not reflect actual screenshot pixelation.

Many Ways to Play The Backyardigans presents a variety of interactive games that help children

explore their imaginations and creativity! Plus, they can also dance along with

their friends, the Backyardigans!

Touch an icon on the backyard screen with the stylus to start the adventure.

You can also use the directional arrows to scroll through and highlight icons, then

press the A button to select. To skip the introductory movie after you’ve seen it

already, touch the screen with the stylus or press the A button.

To turn off the background music, touch the music note on the screen. This

setting will return to “music on” each time the unit is powered on.

Welcome to The Backyardigans! Come join your friends—Pablo, Uniqua, Tyrone, Tasha and Austin—on their fantastic adventures! This collection of imaginative games will help strengthen your child’s preschool readiness skills and creativity.

Music MakerThe Beach

Frozen North

Sandy Desert

All titles may not be available in all markets.

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Welcome to THE BACKYARDIGANS!Join Pablo, Uniqua, Tyrone, Tasha and Austin on all sorts of adventures without leaving your backyard! You can venture into the Frozen North, look for the perfect wave at Tiki Beach or explore the hot Sandy Desert. Travel to these unique destinations to help the Backyardigans! Come along! There’s so much to explore, see and do!

Learning at All LevelsThe Backyardigans reinforces important early reading, mathematics and memory skills with six interactive games. Young learners can easily play at their own pace and ability. To reinforce and expand children’s knowledge about important concepts within each game, there is a progressive increase in challenge of the skill being taught.

How a Tutorial WorksThe goal of a tutorial is to provide clear demonstrations on how to break down a skill into smaller parts. A tutorial is activated when the player presses the Hint button. If a player has trouble building a consonant-vowel-consonant word in X Marks the Spot, for example, the narrator carefully demonstrates the sound the letter makes, while the letter is visually reinforced on screen.

Frozen North: Yeti SearchHOW TO PLAYDo you think there’s such a thing as a Yeti? Join the Frozen North Explorers on their mission to find out by searching for Yeti clues! Frozen North Expert Uniqua has her camera so you can take pictures of what you find. Use the arrow pad or joystick to move the camera around to search for objects hidden in the scenery. When you find an object, press the A button to snap a photograph. When you find all the clues, you’ll find the legendary Yeti! Yeti-yeti-yeti-yetiiii!

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WHAT’S BEING TAUGHT?Visual Discrimination: The ability to visually identify important details of an object, picture or symbol. Searching for hidden objects encourages children to look for and identify similarities and differences.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?A child’s ability to visually discriminate is fundamental for success in reading, writing and mathematics. Children need to be able to observe important details. Developing visual acuity is important when learning numbers and letters. The reinforcement of the names of the items on their search checklist also enhances vocabulary development.

Frozen North: Cave PartyHOW TO PLAYYou know what else the Backyardigans can do in the Frozen North? They can be prehistoric cave people having a drum party in a mountain cave! Help them create and play ug-cellent drum beats. Listen to the sound pattern, then use the pen to repeat it. Once you have completed a set of patterns, crank up the cave party and howl at the moon!

Level 1: Match and extend simple sound patternsLevel 2: Match and extend more complex sound patterns

WHAT’S BEING TAUGHT?Pattern Recognition: The ability to distinguish a group of sounds that repeat. Players gain practice matching and extending simple to morecomplex patterns.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?Being able to discriminate between different sounds and sound patterns is an important skill that underpins critical reading and spelling skills. Over time, children associate sounds with letters and notice when words begin or end with the same sound. Children who can easily discriminate and identify sounds are more able to learn to read with ease. Repeating these sound patterns also aids in memory development.

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Sandy Desert: Echo CanyonHOW TO PLAYCowboy Pablo and Cowgirls Uniqua and Tasha are tracking a mysterious bandit in the Wild West, but to find him, they need to cross Echo Canyon! Help them make echoes so that the boulders will tumble down to make a bridge for them to cross. Listen to the pattern of shapes called out, and use the pen to select the shapes that repeat the pattern. Then the rocks will tumble and the cowpokes can cross the canyon! Yahoo!

Level 1: Match and extend simple patternsLevel 2: Match and extend more complex patterns

WHAT’S BEING TAUGHT?Pattern Recognition: The ability to distinguish a group of objects that repeat. Players match and extend simple to more complex patterns.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?Understanding patterns lays the groundwork for memory development, problem solving and logical reasoning. As children determine what comes next in a pattern, they need to look carefully for similarities and differences, and develop mnemonics to aid recall. This game also reinforces knowledge of basic geometric shapes.

Sandy Desert: Tumbleweed JumpHOW TO PLAYYou know what else the Backyardigans can do in the Sandy Desert? They can be Desert Questers searching for water! Help Desert Questers Pablo and Tyrone search by crossing a path of tumbling tumbleweeds! Use the arrow pad or joystick to align yourself with a passing tumbleweed, then press the up arrow or move the joystick up to jump on the tumbleweed. Listen to the prompt so you know what numbers to jump on. Get a jump on it!

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Level 1: Identify numbers through 18 and count forward and backward to and from 18

Level 2: Count forward and backward to and from 99 and skip count/counting on by 2s, 5s and tens up to 50

WHAT’S BEING TAUGHT?Numeration: The ability to understand numbers and number relationships

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?A child’s ability to count, identify and sequence numbers advances his or her understanding of mathematics. Gaining proficiency in recognizing/recognising and counting numbers lays the groundwork to develop strong computation skills.

The Beach: Surf’s Up!HOW TO PLAYSurfers Pablo, Uniqua and Tyrone want to surf the perfect wave at Tiki Beach, but Mystery Lifeguard Austin says they’ll only be ready for it after they collect some rad surfer stuff. Use the binoculars to help them find everything they’ll need! Use the arrow pad or joystick to move the binoculars around in search of objects hidden in the beach scenery. Once you find an object, press the A button. Collect all the stuff and you’ll be ready to surf the perfect wave!

WHAT’S BEING TAUGHT?Visual Discrimination: The ability to visually identify key characteristics of an object, picture or symbol. This game gives children practice in identifying similarities and differences between objects.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?The ability to visually discriminate is fundamental for success in reading, writing and mathematics. Developing visual acuity is important when learning numbers and letters. The reinforcement of the names of the items on the search checklist also enhances vocabulary development.

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The Beach: X Marks the SpotHOW TO PLAYYou know what else the Backyardigans can do at The Beach? They can search for buried treasure as pirates! Help them reach the X that marks the spot by jumping on logs to safely cross the quicksand. Use the arrow pad or joystick to move them in front of the moving logs, and press the up arrow or move the joystick up to jump on the logs. Listen carefully to the prompts that tell you what letters or letter sounds to jump on. Arrr!

Level 1: Identifying letter names and letter-sound relationshipsLevel 2: Basic word building

WHAT’S BEING TAUGHT?Letter Identification: Understanding letter names

Letter-Sound Relationships: Understanding the relationship between letters and their corresponding sounds

Spelling Patterns: Identifying simple consonant-vowel-consonant patterns in words

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?In order to become proficient readers and writers, children must apply their knowledge of letters and sounds. Children who can quickly recognize/recognise letters and letter-sound relationships are ready to build and decode simple words. Understanding these important skills is critical for a child’s future success in learning how to read and write.

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Music MakerHOW TO PLAYNow that you’ve learned so much, it’s time to celebrate and groove with the Backyardigans! You can create your own music sequence, and pick a friend to dance to it! There are many styles of music tunes to choose from—disco, jazz, mambo, hip-hop, swing, funk and much more! Just drag pictures to the grid with your pen. When you’ve chosen all your sound icons, press Play with the pen. Once the music begins, it’s time to get up and dance with the friend you’ve chosen!

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?This game encourages creativity through music building and active play— essential for a child’s well-rounded development. The Music Maker allows a child to explore and experiment with different sound combinations and sequences. Through experimentation, children learn cause and effect as well as how to better control what they are creating.

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U. S./Canada Consumer Service Contact:Please visit our U.S. Consumer Support Web site at: http://www.leapfrog.com/support, or our Canada Consumer Support Web site at: http://lfcanada.custhelp.com, 24 hours a day. You can search for frequently asked questions, review your previous questions, or submit a question to our support staff via e-mail.

U.S./Canada Office:Telephone: (800) 701-LEAP (5327)Hours: Monday through Saturday, 5:00 AM to 7:00 PM, Pacific time.

U.K. Consumer Service Contact:Please visit our U.K. Consumer Support Web site at: http://leapfroguk.custhelp.com, 24 hours a day. You can search for frequently asked questions, or submit a question to our support staff via e-mail.

U.K. Office:Telephone: 0800 169 5435Eire: 00 44 1702 200244Hours: Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Australia Consumer Service Contact: Please submit questions to our support staff via e-mail at info@funtastic.com.au

Australian Office: Telephone: 1800 244 543 Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PMCustomer Service e-mail: info@funtastic.com.au

IMPORTANT: Please notify the LeapFrog Consumer Service department of any difficulties before returning this product for any reason. Returns must have a Return Authorization/Authorisation number (RA#) in order to be processed. If the service representative is unable to solve the problem, you will be given instructions on how to replace the product.

Warranty InformationThis LeapFrog® product is warranted only to the original purchaser for a period of three months from the original purchase date, under normal use and service, against defective workmanship and material. This warranty is void if the product has been damaged by accident or unreasonable use, immersion in water, neglect, abuse, battery leakage or improper installation, improper service, or other causes not arising out of defects in workmanship or materials of the product. All warranty claims are subject to: (1) LeapFrog being notified of the warranty claim within the warranty period, (2) LeapFrog verifying the existence of a defect in the product and (3) receipt of valid proof of your purchase date.

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Before returning a product for any reason, please notify the LeapFrog Consumer Service Department. If the service representative is unable to solve the problem, you will be provided with instructions as to how to go about having the unit repaired or replaced if it is under warranty. Return of a product under warranty is governed by the following rules—If LeapFrog believes that there may be a defect in materials or workmanship and LeapFrog confirms your purchase date, LeapFrog will provide you with prepaid shipping instructions for returning the product. Otherwise, you must return your product, shipping prepaid and with proof of purchase date, as instructed by a LeapFrog service representative.

In the event that a product under warranty is repaired or replaced, the replacement will be covered under the original warranty or for 30 days, whichever is longer. Repair or replacement is your exclusive remedy, and LeapFrog’s exclusive liability, under this warranty. Replacement may consist of replacing the product with the same product or with a different product of the same value. LeapFrog shall not be liable for any incidental or consequential damages for the breach of any warranty on this product. Any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose on this product is limited to the duration of this warranty. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, or limitation on how long an implied warranty lasts, so the above limitations or exclusions may not apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights, which vary from state to state and country to country.

Canada: In addition to the above-referenced warranty, the hardware component shall be free from defects in material and workmanship for 12 months. The above express warranty and any applicable implied warranties are limited in duration to the warranty periods described above. Some provinces do not allow limitations on how long an implied warranty lasts, or the exclusion of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitations do not apply to you. You may also have other rights, which vary from province to province.

U.K.: In addition to the above-referenced warranty, this LeapFrog product shall be free from defects in material and workmanship for 12 months where the 3-month warranty period is not valid. The above express warranty and any applicable implied warranties are limited in duration to the warranty periods described above. You may also have other rights under U.K. law, which this warranty does not limit.LEAPFROG, the LeapFrog logo and LEAPSTER are registered trademarks or trademarks of LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. Copyright © 2005 LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved. ©2006 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. Nick Jr., Nick Jr. The Backyardigans and all related titles, logos and characters are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.

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