Activities and Learning Reviews

My son received this last year for Christmas (age 6). This Crane / Sodor Cargo set is a great add-on to any existing set. I could only recommend before purcahsing these larger peices, to consider the purchase of additional curves and straight aways. You will notice your child wanting to lay track and then adding to it these larger pieces.

The cargo crane is a great addition to the Thomas tracks. It has double tracks so two layouts may be set up to run through it, and it comes with a cargo car and block with a magnet. The crane can move sideways and the magnet can be raised up and down. My son enjoys removing the block from the cargo car with the crane's magnet. This is a fine addition to the Thomas system. It is strongly built so it can take hours of play. Your children will surely enjoy this fine toy.

My son received this for Christmas a year ago. It is still his favorite part of his train set. He is currently 4.5 years old. We purchased additional blocks (with magnets) so that he would have more cargo to move than what came with the original.

My kid (2 1/2) loves this toy. Like another reviewer mentioned it's hard to get other track through the arches (solved by adding a short piece of track between them) and the trains sometimes seem to catch on the track going up hill (particularly Toby). Great overall, well made, well used, well loved by my Thomas fan.

My son received this to go along with his other track accessories. When we are building tracks, the track that runs underneath this MUST be straight on, or the trains will hit the underside of the bridge. The wooden pull tabs that come out at the top to support the "climbing" track are neat. However, the next time I buy a bridge, I'll double check the clearance.

Have had this book about 4 weeks. My kids, 7 and just 5, boys, can rattle off so many facts and figures about the solar system after playing with this book it is incredible.
They understand them too, it is not just parrot fashion. They can both name all the planets, tell you things about them and they just love this title. None of their other leap pad books get a look in. And its aimed at 3rd grade - my oldest is in 2nd and youngest the year before 1st. It's brilliant and I hope they release more magic school bus leappad/quantum titles.

I purchased this for my 4 yo.Much of it is way beyond her,but she was able to learn a lot about the solar system.Ms.Frizzel is so funny.This is a toy that can really grow with us

My 22-month-old has loved this toy for almost a year. The shapes are attractively colored and very pleasing to hold, and the attached hammer never gets lost! All in all, a very nice version of a timeless toy.

I am constantly looking for non-electronic toys that don't "play themselves". I bought this toy for my 9-month old daughter-each of the shapes have a different rattle sound and she loved to shake them. Now that's she's 11 months she's starting to learn the shapes and using the hammer. My husband and I love to play with this too!

This is actually a very cute toy...and a great teether, if nothing else. However, the little squirty thingee had at least one hole in it after maybe 5 baths! And it's not a hole from my 10-month-olds tooth...it's along the seam of the toy. However, the stacking feature is pretty cool, and the bright colors intrigue her in the tub.

My 11 month old daughter received this toy for Christmas. When I gave her a bath, she loved it!! There are various activities for the child. There is a water squirter...which she loved, and she tried stacking the shapes into the main piece. There is also a sponge-like toy that she enjoyed squeezing!
We didn't have many water toys...just rubber ducks....and this is a wonderful addition. I would highly recomend this toy!

This toy was given to me as a gift- and at first I thought it was adorable. However, some of the toys are too small and a choking hazard. The worst thing is that the material is so cheap on the animals that as the baby chews them the color will come off in their mouth. Babies do love to chew these animals- my daughter loved chewing them- until I threw it away because of her mouth turning purple! Beware- it is a very expensive toy and your money would be much better spent elsewhere. Mommy of 2

This is a wonderful toy. It can be played with and cuddled too. It is also really cute. There are lots of things you can do with the many animals: match them, put them in the side pockets, roof pocket or under boat pocket. Or just play with them by themselves. When my son was younger he liked to chew on them. The boat and animals are very well made, I've even put a few through the wash. The company also offers a lifetime guarentee for free replacement animals if any are lost.

This is a great toy for young children. My son (22months) has been playing with this since 8 or so months and loves it. He know all the animals, can arrange them two by two and remarkably will play with this in his crib for up to an hour. Great gift idea!

My son, now almost 6 months old, loves this rattle. I think the bright colors are wonderful and the fact that he can see the little balls inside that are making the rattling noise is supposed to be good for his cognitive development.

When he was younger, it was great because even before he could really grab the rattle in his tiny hand, he could stick his arm through the middle of this toy and shake it up and down to make noise.

HOWEVER, I think my husband and I may be taking this toy away from him soon, because we're afraid he's going to hurt himself. He shakes this rattle around with such enthusiasm, he keeps smacking himself -- and we know from the times when he smacks us with it that it hurts!

One of my favorite things about this toy is the pattern that the colored "legs" of the triangle are laid out in. When turned slightly differently from the picture, you get the 3 primary colors on the top, and the secondary colors that they make when blended together on the bottom. Very nice way to teach colors and color mixing. The baby loves to shake and rattle this all the time. Easy to sanitize after a long day in the park as well!

My daughter adores this rattle. It is the first toy she grabbed and held onto. It's colorful handles attract her and the beads move from one sphere to the next. As soon as it's in her grip, the sphere is in her mouth. She'll gum this toy all day if I let her. I haven't had any problems with it hurting her gums as some of the other reviewers did. However, she does occasionally knock herself in the head with it. The manufacturer isn't at fault for that....it's just babies' developing hand-eye coordination. It's very light, despite it's appearance and she never gets hurt. She's been interested in it since she was 3 months old and her attention hasn't waned yet. Lamaze comes through with another winner!

We bought this rocker/vibrating chair for our 3 mo old son after pondering over which bouncer to buy for him. Most of the bouncers are hardly as versatile compared to this product. The mutliple recline positions are helpful for when our son wants to either sleep or sit and "vibrate" and rock and watch everything happening around him, including the tv. The only problems are; 1. The seat could have been more padded rather than a cloth covered board on his bottom. 2. The on/off switch for the vibrating mode can be easily turned "on" by accident and uses up the battery power without your knowledge. 3. After some time when using the vibrating mode, it makes the screws (holding the chair together) loose and makes a loud, annoying "buzzing" sound and then the structure of the entire chair can feel a little loose. 4. The velcro straps holding the toys on the toybar are too small and the toys tend to fall off on their own. Otherwise, since these complaints are minor, the chair does a much BETTER job than a standard bouncer. I even considered the NEW baby Papasan chair, but it did not nearly have as many options and was not as versatile as this chair, PLUS this product was almost half the price of the Papasan chair. We are happy with this choice.

A friend suggested that I register for this. Initially I wasn't interested in this rocker because it is so unattractive. However, it's a very practical product. It not only vibrates, but it is also a rocker that can be used up through toddler age. We also own the Ocean Wonders Aquarium bouncer. I use it when my baby is awake. The Infant to Toddler Rocker is best for napping and relaxing. It has a kickstand so it reclines back further. It also cradles the baby and is much more comfortable. My baby is 2 months old and has been taking all of her daytime naps in it since she was 1 week old. We don't have to secure her in it yet with the belt so it's so easy to take her in and out of it. I also bought the Snuzzler infant support. It's a head and body support pillow that can be used in a car seat, stroller, swing or bouncy seat. It conforms to her body and keeps her head stable. It makes the seat even more womb-like & comfortable. This seat along with the Snuzzler are the best gifts I've received!

This rocker is SO great! It calms an infant with it's vibrations, safely holds a 6 month old when Mom or Dad needs a free hand; straps in a 12 month old to feed and is a right size chair for a 2-4 year old! We used it regularly until our first child was 3, then our second child had us using it all over again! Great gift for the money!

My son got this for christmas last year and He plays with it about every other day. I think its a cute toy but not a must have, there are better toys out there.

My daughter recieved this Christmas gift just this last christmas at the age of 10 months. Unlike others who have responded, I have found it to be extremely sturdy and durable, It can hold her weight just fine(she is NOT on the small side), and she uses it to stand assisted. After watching my husband and I put the balls in the slots a few times, she quickly figured it out on her own. she will drop all the balls in and then reach down to retrieve them and start the process all over again. The music is lively, but not annoying. I like the fact that she is getting to experiement with the idea of cause and effect as well as strengthing her leg muscles by standing :) I would highly recommend this toy to any parent of an almost one year old who can or will be able to stand even assisted soon. It is a toy that she constantly goes back too, while ignoring her humoungous toy box full of toys she would have to sit down to play with!! GREAT PRODUCT from Fisher Price!

I bought this product when my child was 7 mths. old and she learned very quickly to pull up on it, it is very sturdy. She is now 9 mths. old and is always playing with it and she weighs 20 lbs. and it holds her up just fine it has never tipped over with her. This was a very good investment. Putting it together was a little complicated but as far as that I would recommend it. Your child will absolutely love it!!!

My daughter received this as soon as she could sit up, and she is now almost 2 and still has no interest in it. The only thing she seems mildly amused by is the little star shaped music changer. I'll be packing it away pretty soon here. Kids are different, so the next one may like it, and yours may love it. If you can test one before you buy it, I highly recommend you do so. For now, we're having more fun with the pots and pans.

My child played with this toy very little compared to the other educational/activity type toys she has. She was bored with it very quickly. My daughter has a lot of the Leap Frog products, this one just doesn't compare to Leap Frog's other toys in the same age catagory. Keep shopping, there is something out there more fun for your little one.

My son likes it, but he hasn't learned anything from it. Oh, I take that back - he learned how to turn toys on and off - over and over and over and over again!! And how to turn the volume up!! He likes to pound it, but that's about it.