developmental fun for many months!
Written: Jun 24 '00 (Updated Jun 24 '00)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: developmentally helpful, better than the competition
Cons: um...none, unless you ARE the competition!
|
|
|
| ceylona's Full Review: Shape Sorter Ball |
At 9 months of age, our son was ready for some developmental toys that encouraged his improving dexterity and thought processes. The Fisher Price Shape Sorter Ball was great for this, and better than the competition for a great many reasons.
The idea of a shape sorter is to teach recognition of shapes and colors, with the goal being your child choosing the correctly shaped cut-out hole in which to place a plastic piece of the same shape.
First, in the Fisher Price version, we liked that there were a variety of six shapes of six colors to work with: square, circle, triangle, star, pentagon, and cross. Many shape sorters offer only 3-4 different shapes for your youngster to be introduced to.
Second, the globe-like container in which the shape pieces are collected has a clear bottom. Seeing the colorful pieces in there intices your child to try to get at them! Many shape sorter containers are opaque. The top half of this Fisher Price toy is in fact opaque, but this is where the shaped holes are, all around the globe of the container. Here is where the child is to place the colorful pieces!
Third, the design of this container allows your child to reach into an opening in the top to get at the pieces. At 9 months of age, this was a first learning experience of many for my son that will be encouraged by this one simple toy! At first he was intrigued simply by the colorful shapes that rattled in their container when he shook it! (The container is equipped with a handle to make this sport easier). Next he discovered the fact that there was a specific way in to get to the colorful objects. Also, he revels in the discovery that if he turns the container upside down, the coveted pieces fall out! In contrast, many shape sorters have lids in which the cutouts are placed. The parent must retrieve the pieces until the child becomes developmentally able.
It will be some time before my son understands the shapes and the colors, or the most basic object of this toy: the placing of the shapes into the holes. But he enjoys what he is able to do today, and I dutifully call out the names of the shapes and the colors as he observes them. Over time he will continue to learn many things from this one toy. What a great purchase!
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
ceylona
|
|
Location: Florida
Reviews written: 22
Trusted by: 8 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.