Activities and Learning Reviews

I got some sea monkeys and was really excited to see them hatch and grow. They did grow and develop and they grew pretty big but they were kind of boring to watch. I wasn't really satisfied though. I knew and did take care of them as much as I could but the tank got really nasty and it was too gross and dirty to look at. I wasn't very satisfied and didn't get what I expected.

I LOVE sea monkeys now, and it's thanks to this set that I do. I've even got babies now! It is so much fun, and not a big deal to take care of. Some people might say, "Sea monkeys? Why? They're just dumb little fish! A total waste of money!" NNNOOOOTTT! Sea monkeys are brine SHRIMP, and they are extrememly active from the minute that they're born. (Lots of fun to watch)

I bought my 5 year old daughter the "Sea-Monkys Magic Castle" for a reward. She has had so much fun watching them hatch and grow from tiny specs into full grown shrimp. She loves the fact that there is a castle in the tank. I like this product because it is small and compact, about the size of a snow globe. We followed the directions exactly, except we used tap water instead of bottled water. They still hatched!!!!! They are still growing and seem to be thriving. We aerate the tank everyday to give them some oxygen. My daughter liked her Sea-Monkeys so much we decided to buy some for her nana to have on her desk at work. If you want an inexpensive, low maintainance pet; Sea Monkeys are the way to go!!!!!

We have 4 kids in our house and every time we saw this in a toy store, they played with it. I gave it to them on a Friday and by Monday night, it wouldn't collapse any more. They did have fun pulling on it and rolling it around, but it is not made to handle the tug of war games my 3 and 4 year olds put it through. It's fairly expensive for a toy that just opens and closes and isn't very durable. I don't see how people can say it's educational except to teach colors. It's like saying a ball or a slinky is educational. I wouldn't recommend this toy to a family with active children.

I keep one of these on my desk and it's great for when you want to do something with your hands while you're thinking. It even makes trips around the office, because other people borrow it to use while they're brainstorming. When you've got writer's block or are trying to puzzle out a difficult problem, it's better than a squeezy for working out your thoughts.

We bought one small sphere and it's been the favorite toy of my nephews age 3 & 11. It's also amazed my almost 17 year old son. It's a stress reliever and entertainer all rolled into one. It hangs up, plays catch, spins on the floor to open and close and if you start at the top of the stairs with it closed by the time it gets to the bottom it's open. It's amazing. We find new things it will do every day. We just ordered our second one for my nephews and will soon be ordering the large sized one for my 17-year-old. Maybe he'll give me the small one to take to work. Well worth the price for the hours it has occupied my nephews.

My son LOVES his guitar. Because this guitar looks like a real guitar, my four year old thinks he knows how to play. However, it never stays in tune, and now after 1 1/2 years, it is cracked and needs replacement. This is great if your child isn't ready to really learn to play, since it will rarely stay in tune, but great fun for the music enthusiatist who only wants to play along with his/her favorite musician.

I first found out about this guitar when my 11 year old neighbor got one. She brought it over to my house to show me. At first I never thought I would be interested in a guitar because I play the trumpet and I thought it would be hard to learn to play 2 instruments. Whenever I go over to her house I always ask if I could play it and now I can play a chromatic scale on it. This should not be considered a toy because it is a real instrument. Sadly it seems like the strings are not very strong and I'm always afraid of them snapping.

My six-year-old expressed an interest in playing guitar with me. I was hesitant about the First Act Guitar due to it's low price and thought I would have to pay much more for a good student guitar. However, I purchased the First Act Acoustic and have been enjoying my time with my daughter ever since.

The guitar has a good sound and tone, is easy to tune and plays very well. I can use it to demonstrate chords and strumming so that my daughters (my five year old is now playing too) can hear what it will sound like on their guitar.

Playable, affordable and fun ... who could ask for more!

worst toy i ever had first i liked it now it is a worthless peice of junk liying in the garbage.

THIS toy gets me so mad you charge is for 15 houres and 2 min's after you take it off the charger the battery died. I threw mine out the windows. I hate cybikos never buy one. I dont care if its free do not get one

I would like to start my review with a correction to the statment above the says Cybiko cannot connect to Macintosh, I have a Cybiko and it hooks up to my IMac just fine with an adapter. Cybiko is a cross between a game player and organizer, but is pretty good in both areas. I'll start with the organizer and applications, they're are a lot of different applications like Music Composer, Drawing, and a calculator all the apps are pretty good and very helpful. The games on Cybiko are, for the most part, very good, Cybiko has a black and white screen so it won't look as well as a Gameboy Color. The games are well made though most for download are card games and hangman they're are some pretty nice games such as Cylandia (like a Virtual Pet), Lost in Labyrinth (A first peson shooter), and PHAT Cash (an eight-player puzzle game). To get the most out of Cybiko you really must be able to connect it to your computer, otherwise your get bored with it.

Cybiko is for:Kids who want a PDA and Kids that can't afford a gameboy. Cybiko is NOT for: Kids who don't have a computer

All in all Cybiko is a really cool little toy and I love mine. Hope I could help.

I got this for my children's room, a 3 year old boy and a 6 month old girl. We love sitting on it and playing since it makes a soft playmat on our hardwood floors as well as minimizing noise. It's very large so the family fits easily on it! My son loves to take all the letters out and put them back where they belong or jump between letters. He already knew all the letters when I got this mat but it has only emphasized his fascination with letters and added a new dimension to our word and letter play as well as other games. Cars and balls roll easily on it. The mat has numbers 0-9 which is good. The 6 month old has spit and drooled on it a bit and I have found it easy to clean under running water and wipe dry.

I liked the idea of this toy. I wanted a soft mat for our son to play on and I liked the puzzle factor. It just hasn't been a toy our son is interested in. Maybe when he is older he will put the pieces together, but it seems too difficult for him at this age. He just tears it all apart, and so it is useless as a mat. I end up piecing it all together, which is time consuming, and then he destroys it. I've put it away for when he is older, and I'll try it again then.

We registered for this mat hoping that it would be great to use as cushioning in the play room and a fun learning tool as our baby grew. And it does cushion, when it's not falling apart. The edging and the centers to the letters and numbers, and the letters and numbers themselves, are always popping up as our baby crawls on them, catching her hand or foot the wrong way. It just doesn't stay together - we've tried everything. It's really more annoying than it's worth. Now we use it outside under our daughter's kiddie pool for a little cushioning - I don't care if it blows away at this point. What a waste of money. They sell larger squares w/o letters and numbers - I'll maybe try those instead.

I bought this for my son and when I took it out of the package and played it for my two month old son, he could not keep his eyes off of it. The colors facinated him, the sounds amazed him and he just wanted to stay focused on it as long as possible. He looked at it for hours, smiles at it and finds great enjoyment. I feel he will get plenty of use out of this fun, educational toy as well as being durable to take everywhere with him. I would highly recommend this for any baby to encourage thier visualization & listening skills, then motor skills later.

We brought this toy for our son when he was 4 weeks old. Although we doubted he would be able to operate the legs on his own for a while yet it has prooven to be a fantastic way for adults to interact with him. He started by watching and smiling or just staring when we played the leg's. It then became something of interest for him to reach out for and then chew on. He's just about five month's now and when he see's it on the ground gives it a big smile and tries to wiggle around to grab at it. We love to sit down with him and squeal the legs while he mouths any part he can get to. I think it's a fantastic investment for those parents that really want to enjoy and be part of their children's lives.

I took a chance buying this toy. I felt it was expensive, but reasoned that although my then 6 mo. old baby would not use it for more than a teether, he'd later be able to play it himself at age 2+. My son liked it initially, but beyond grabbing it and eating the handle, legs and tassles, he was not able to play it except by accident or with his feet by 8+ months. I (and other adults) play songs or notes for him, which he likes, and am hoping that in the future he'll play with it rather than use it as an expensive teether. He tries, but it's hard for him to play notes right now. I did not know that the toy was scented and thought it was from the strong-smelling odors of the store from which it was purchased. I do not like artificial scents, but it doesn't bother me now. If you like long-term toys, this is a nicely colorful, non-electronic purchase that encourages interactive play. I use it to also teach colors and or general play. I would give it 5 stars once my baby can play the notes.

This is definately a five star! My son loves this. He is learning so much from this toy and will play with it for up to 20 minutes by himself. For 8 months old, I think that is great.

My baby received this when she was 3 months old and too young to figure it out, but loved it when Mommy would make the lights and sounds go off. She has now (at 10 months) figured out how to put the balls in the holes, and to push the button to make the noise and lights go on. She hasn't used the hammer except to bonk herself, and me and the dog, in the head or to chew on. The hammer really seems unnecessary, and she has more fun without it.

My baby and I have fun with this toy! The music is so happy and cheerful so when baby gets the balls in it makes her feel like she's accomplished something great and every mom loves to see that on their baby's face. I think she uses it more without the hammer that came with it but she has found other uses for that!

I had such high hopes for this toy! My daughter just loved it. I even enjoyed playing with it. She loved the microphone! I thought the scanner was really cool... BUT, the thing stopped working less than 3 weeks after Christmas!! VERY frustrating. To top it off, I was unable to find one to exchange it with so I had to return it (therefore losing the 1/2 price off I'd received when I purchased it, not to mention a sad daughter...) The lady that helped me with the return said her grand-daughter had one that was going on 3 years, so hopefully I just received a "lemon". But, after reading other reviews, this toy just doesn't seem durable enough for the $40 price tag. I do plan on trying another one (if I can ever find it again...), but I will certainly keep up with the receipt AND the box it came in...

this is a cool toy especially for younger ones. I used to play with it, and i remember it was fun. And you could learn a lot actually! I think it helps in math. You could learn to count and add and subtract. Also it is fun because almost everyone loves shopping and this is almost like shopping in your very house! You could use any item in your home and turn it into an item for sale at your "store," You can choose your own price, whether its on sale or not and more! I remember i used to have much fun with it especially when friends came over. In general, it is a great toy! But one thing i dont really like is that the cash register (barbie) does all the talking. IT says the price, and welcome, and all that stuff. So the "clerk" doesnt really do much but check out and give money back and stuff like that. But other than that its great!

I had such high hopes for this toy! My 4-year-old received it for Christmas and just loved it -- especially the microphone. But the entire thing (except the microphone) stopped working less than 3 weeks after Christmas! To make matters worse, when I went to exchange it, I couldn't find it at any local Target store so, since I bought it at 1/2 price right before Christmas, I had to return it and lose out on my special deal. (Not to mention a VERY sad little girl...) The lady who helped me with the return said her grand-daughter had one going on 3 years so I'm hopeful mine was just a lemon, but the reviews I've read on other boards seem to indicate a real problem with durability. I probably will buy another one (though probably not at the normal $40 price tag -- the toy isn't durable enough for that kind of price), but will make sure I keep the receipt AND the box it came in for awhile...

For the price this is a great accessory for your LeapPad! My son gets twice the number of cartridges and books it it with plenty of room to spare. We even have some ziplocks with extras that can fit in no problem. The padded straps are easy on the shoulders and everything is neat and safely transported from grams house to friends to the doctor's office and everywhere in between. If you travel with your little one and their pad this is a great help.

Oh and big deal about the color difference. IF that's such a concern that it warrants a trip back to the store you have WAY too much time on your hands. My advice: use that extra time to read with your child! Life is too short and childhood too precious.

The price is great and IT WORKS just as it should and more. Another great Amazon offering.

Go to Walmart.com. They have a LeapPad Storage System, which holds 12 cartridges and books, for $20. It has a handle so it's just as easy for kids to lug around. And, in my opinion, is much more attractive and practical than a backpack. A much better deal.

Just wanted to let everyone know that if your child has the leapfrog, this is a perfect addition. My son receieved the frog for x-mas, and I could not find a case anywhere. The books and tapes were everywhere, know they are all together, and he thinks it is cool to have a little backpack. Plus as an added bonus, the green and blue, are the same colors as the leapfrog, so we also coordinated.

Really neat to see ants run through tunnels, have meetings, and dig. They can really work hard! Very durable, but carefull not to scratch it. All in all, a fun pet.

I think you have to view the Ant Farm as a product in three seperate stage.

1) You get the ant house and wait for the ants. The delay in receiving the ants is difficult (it made us all "antsy"? ) but we were pleased with how few dead ants there were on arrival. Think of it as a chance to read up on ant behavior....

2) The ants arrive and do their thing. Watching them build their tunnels was absolutely fascinating -- for a week. The adults in our house were just as fascinated as the children.

3) The decline and fall of an ant empire. After a week, we had a dramatic die off, despite rigerously following the instructions re. feeding, temperature, humidity, etc. Now we have ONE lone ant, wandering the tunnels, who has lived 4 weeks past the life of her companions. Kind of a sad end for a social creature, when you think about it....

Bottom line: If I had known 99% of our ants would die at the end of a week, I would not have invested [the money], but we enjoyed them while they were there.

Uncle Milton's Giant Ant Farm is a fun, interactive way to teach children ages 5 and up about unceasing, backbreaking toil and the cold, inescapable reality of death. My little ones had a front-row seat as worker ants labored, day in and day out, until they inevitably died of exhaustion, their futile efforts all for naught. The ant farm, complete with stackable tiny ant barns, see-through 'Antway' travel tubes, and connecting 'Antports,' is a child's window into the years of thankless, grueling labor that await them as worker drones in our post-industrial society. It's the fun way to teach your kids to accept their miserable fate stoically. The ants, which come separately from the farm, are bred in New Mexico and mailed directly to your home. Within days of arriving, a majority of the ants die at the hands of the small children responsible for regulating the temperature, humidity, and food supply in their delicate pseudo-ecosystem. Even under optimum conditions the ants survive no more than 20 weeks in the farm. As a result, children are assured the chance to contemplate the inescapability of their own mortality and the whole family will be reminded that the spectre of death hangs over every creature on this Earth. The lesson that the ants' labor is all in vain becomes clearer as time passes. During the first two to three weeks, the exclusively female worker ants are extremely productive, building an elaborate system of tunnels and hills amongst the miniature green trees and red plastic houses dotting the interior of the plastic dome. However, because neither male ants nor a fertile queen is provided with Uncle Milton's Giant Ant Farm, making reproduction impossible, the farm is doomed to extinction from day one. You'll learn such fascinating things about the natural world, like the fact that the social structure of an ant colony is extremely complex, with individual members occupying such castes as soldier, messenger, and larvae attendant. At some point, Uncle Milton's ants become cognizant that their hierarchical structure has been stripped away, rendering their already near-meaningless existence totally futile. There seems to be a breaking point at about the 22-day mark when the dejected ants begin to die off en masse. At this point the ant farm enters what is known as the "death-pile phase." A spot is chosen by the worker ants to deposit their dead, and the burial mound steadily grows as the few remaining ants devote more of their time to gathering and burying others. Yes, with Uncle Milton's Giant Ant Farm, arbeit macht fun!