If you’re a child of the 90’s then I bet you had a Spirograph, right? I did and I loved it. I would spend hours concocting all manner of patterns with my stencil kit. So it was with immense excitement that I discovered Vtech have updated this crafting tool for the children of now!

The DigiArt Sounds & Squiggles from Vtech has all the same elements of its Spirographic predecessor but it speaks to you. Us creatives all need a little encouragement and the DigiArt certainly provides it, as it encourages youngsters to try out the different animal stencil templates and turn a blank piece of paper into a work of art. This courtesy of Drawing Mode via the sound button, which emits a series of phrases like “I can’t wait to see what you’ll draw.”

What’s included in the box?

The DigiArt Squiggles & Sounds consists of a spiral art board and frame, within which you can insert blank paper which the board holds in place while you draw. The frame houses the power button, the sound button to alternate between music mode and drawing mode and the silly sounds sensor. There are four animal stencils and five coloured gears with designated storage spaces along the right hand side of the board. To stow your animal stencils, stack them together with the frog stencil on top and then insert the stacked stencils into the frame. When you take the product out of its packaging for the first time, it is pretty easy to disable the default Try Me mode, all you need to do is insert one of the animal stencils. There is one blue felt pen included but of course you can use whichever other coloured pens you wish to!

You can of course use the gears without the stencils as my daughter is shown doing below, it is an incredibly diverse product. That is the beauty of the DigiArt.

The DigiArt’s four brightly coloured animal stencils have, in themself sparked my 3.5yo’s imagination. This colour response is in fact an important part in the making process when it comes to the products Vtech develops. From that basic attraction to colour, sound and texture in babyhood to the desire to extend that learning into the tools that will see them through early education; the beauty of Vtech’s toys is in their innate understanding of what a child needs at any given age.

As a Preschooler, my 3.5yo is enthusiastic to use toys that are interactive. He is particularly curious as to discovering how things work and is showing great interest in following in his big sister’s and my footsteps with his passion for drawing. The Digiart Squiggles & Sounds is the perfect tool to refine his developing creativity, giving him a literal border within which to learn and create as well as specific instruction as to how he should utilise his skills.

He also loves colouring inside the various features of the stencils once he has completed use of the gears to make all manner of shapes and patterns. I can see how much pride he feels at removing the paper at the end to see what he has drawn.

A fabulous feature of the DigiArt is the silly sounds sensor which elicits funny sounds when the spiral gears are rolled around any of the animal stencils. My son loves pressing the sound button to hear the animal talk, particularly the Frog King, as he’s renamed him!

While the 3.5yo is just developing his creative skills, my 6.5yo’s are undoubtedly more defined so for her the DigiArt presents her with a great and fun way to further challenge the realms of her own creativity. She too enjoys the interactivity of the product while she’s working and with so many combinations to try, it has become a fabulous activity for a weekend afternoon or rainy day.

The DigiArt Squiggles & Sounds is $34.95 and is available from Big W, all good toy stores and online retailers.

For further information on VTech and its products, visit www.vtech.com.au , or check out the VTech news on Facebook @ VTechANZ and Instagram @vtech_toys_anz.