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ELC Shape Sorting Bus
by scooch12
We bought our daughter this shape sorting bus for Christmas and I'll be honest, I ordered it online from Boots as part of their 3 for 2 deal and hadn't seen it for real until it arrived at my house (I then sent it straight off to Father Christmas for him to wrap and deliver on Christmas Day obviously). The description and design of the ... bus really appealed to me and a shape sorter was one of the definite items on her Christmas list - I remember using them as a child and I think they are very educational and help massively with co-ordination, problem solving and learning to identify shapes. This bus is available in different colours, there is a red bus and a pink bus - I chose the pink one. It says on the Early Learning Centre website that it measures 28cm x 27cm x 16cm but I think it's a bit smaller than this to be honest, I don't think it's as tall as they say (although I've not got a ruler on hand to check). Either way, it isn't huge, just a nice size to store we find. The toy normally retails for around £16, although I have seen it since Christmas on offer at various times with 20% off so it's worth a look before buying. Obviously I managed to get it as part of that 3 for 2 special offer.
Packaging
The bus comes in the most annoying packaging - it was one of the toys we opened to play with after Christmas so luckily it didn't take up time on the big day! I just remember it had endless ties to undo to get to the toy out to play with and by the time we'd finished the moment had gone and she'd moved onto one of the other toys she'd got for Christmas!
The Bus
The bus is very cute I think, it's similar to an old double decker bus in design. It comes with moveable wheels, so it can be played with as just a moving toy on the floor, putting it's shape sorting feature to one side. It has a cute little face on it, with the eyes being it's headlights. It's mostly made of plastic, making it easy to wipe clean from dribbles and mess. Across the plastic at various points are stickers, one features the driver of the bus, there's letters 'abc' and numbers '123' too. These stickers are in my opinion, no good for babies - our baby has already started to scratch some of them off with her new teeth - she's done this on most of the toys she has with these stickers on and to me they are such a silly thing to use as I assume most babies will do the same. The windows of the bus are also cut out shapes, but these are not where the 3D shapes can be slotted, they are just for show. These are designed to be similar shapes to those of the 3D shapes. The 3D shapes are slotted through their designated slots on the roof of the bus. The bus has an opening at the back of it that will release the six shapes from it whenever you want, all it needs is to be pulled downwards and once removed, it just clicks back up into place.
The Shapes
The bus then comes with six 3D objects, all of a different shape. They aren't easy shapes, there is a square and a triangle which I suppose are pretty basic but there is also a flower, a heart, a hexagon and a trapezium shape which I think are quite advanced considering the recommended age for the toy is 6 months and upwards! My view is that it can never be too advanced as she will need to learn these shapes at some stage anyway, why not now? The 3D shapes are made of plastic, some parts being clear and some being coloured. The coloured part co-ordinates with the colour of the shape on the roof of the bus where the shape slots. Two are yellow, two are pink and two are light blue. Within the clear part of some of the 3D shapes, there are little balls, rings, mirrors and other plastic parts for baby to look at and shake to make rattle noises. This is where I get a little concerned - some of these bits are tiny and every time my baby uses the shape sorter at the moment, her main aim is to put these shapes directly to her mouth rather than sort them. These bits are enclosed within the plastic but I am very worried that the plastic may crack with her continuously chewing on it with her little teeth and that these tiny parts may enter her mouth. I therefore watch her like a hawk whenever it comes to playing with this toy. Direct supervision in my opinion is definitely needed.
The shapes also have a bit of a hygienic issue. Some of the shapes have little holes at the bottom where air can get into the plastic. This also means that when my baby chews on them, dribble ends up making it's way into the shape and as it's enclosed for the most part, it is impossible to clean properly.
Our Experience
My daughter is now 9 months old and has played with this toy quite a lot over the last 3 months although she is still limited as to what she can do with it, she certainly doesn't use it the way it is intended at the current time. It's a great toy to catch her attention, even the noise it makes with the shapes inside when you pick it up makes her immediately look up to see what's going on. I tend to sit with her on my knee and show how each shape fits into it's corresponding slot in the bus although she is still more interested in chewing away at the remaining shapes still to sort and doesn't really care that the pieces disappear into the bus. There has only been a few instances where she's peered into the bus as though she is thinking about where the shape has gone. I'm sure that in time she will learn how the shapes sort as she improves with her co-ordination and learns how the difference shapes each have their own special slot and I suppose that just means that the toy will last quite well - apart from the issues I've raised above, it isn't showing many signs of wearing. It is also good that the shapes come in pairs in terms of colour, as she will also be able to learn to sort by colours instead of the shapes themselves eg I can ask him to putt the yellow shapes in.
Conclusion
Overall, I rate this toy 4 stars but if there was an option for 3.5 stars, I'd have gone with that. I think it's definitely an eye catching, loving looking toy and holds her attention well, although the 3D shapes could be better designed. At 9 months, she's more interested in the shapes themselves than the bus, although I suppose they are part of the toy too. The recommend age seems fair although not really for it's intended purpose, just as a toy. We've been able to have limited use from it though at this stage and I assume as time progresses, she'll get more from it as her co-ordination develops.
Thanks for reading :o)
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Carousel Hammering Bench Wooden Toy
by Whizz11
Given that he is a one year old boy, my son loves to bash things. Now, I am trying to harness that creativity and make sure he is not actually bashing his older sister and so this wooden hammering bench is perfect for that. He can bang away to his hearts content and at the same time it will improve his hand eye coordination, his ... understanding and knowledge of colours and more importantly, it's fun!!
I love wooden children's toys and this one looks really nice, is well made and is a classic toy that will last for a long time. It consists of five differently coloured wooden blocks that fit into their corresponding holes and you bash them through each side and then turn the bench over and can do it again. There is a green square, a blue circle, a yellow triangle a red heart and an orange pentagon/flower type shape. The colours are all really bold and bright and quite eyecatching which is good. The shapes are actually long and thin and so the circle is actually a cylinder, the square is more of a rectangle etc, etc.
The shapes fit into their holes quite snugly and you do need to give them quite a good bash. Luckily this bench also comes with a small wooden hammer which you can use to bash them through. My little boy has no trouble working this hammer and knows its just for the bench and nothing else! The wood is fairly hard but a little bit soft too as you can see lots of little marks on the top of the shapes where they have been hit repeatedly. What I like is that there's a little hole/slot on one side of the bench into which you can slot the hammer when its not in use so you can keep the toy together quite well.
The bench stands up well on its own as it has wooden sides to it too and once you have bashed one side through you can turn the bench over and bash the other side. All in all this is a simple but very effective toy and one my son loves.
The bench costs £7 and is available from Tesco.
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Disney Princess Sounds Castle
by taramorg23
We love Disney in our house. My little girl watches the films regularly. Just before Christmas we bought Cinderella and inside was a leaflet advertising this castle. I decided then that I would get ot for my daughter for Christmas. The castle is available in Toys R Us for £39.99 inside the box you also get two Princess figures Snow White ... and Cinderella.
Separately for around £8 you can also get 4 different figure sets; Cinderella and Prince Charming, Belle and the Beast, Aurora and Ariel and Rapunzel and Tianna. You can also get two carriages a Cinderella pumpkin coah which comes with a Cinderella figure and a Little Mermaid coach which comea with Ariel and Eric, these retail as around £30.
As it was Christmas my daughter ended up receiving the whole collection from various relatives.
The castle needs to be built. It is relatviely easy to put together there are also a few screws so you will need a screwdriver. Batteries are not included in the castle so you need to get these separately 3 x AAA. Once the castle is put together it is robust. The plastic is good quality.
The castle consists of a base and two towers, on the left hand side there is a lift and three floors, the first floor is a living room which has slots for the figures to stand, the next floor has a mirror and a slot for a Princess. The final level on the left is a balcony. Each level has a window. The right hand side of the castle has a slightly smaller tower which only has two levels. The ground floor is a kitchen with a stove and oven. The next level up is a bedroom which has a removable bed that sleep two figures. In the middle of the castle there is an upper floor with a star and fountain from The Princess and the Frog and finally the uper level which is the attic from Cinderella.
The lower level of the castle is a dance floor which leads to double doors out of the castle.
The castle can be played with both ways. The front of the castle is bright pink and purple and has a clock which moves. There are also steps leading to the double doors which can be opened from both sides. There are stickers over the castle which show characters and scenes from various films.
The castle makes several sounds. Firstly when the double doors are open a fanfare sounds. There is also a kettle on the stove which when pressed makes a bird noise and animal sounds from the Snow White film. The dance floor moves it has two slots for princesses to dance. When the dance floor is moved it plays a song. Finally in the centre of the dance floor is a magic slot which when the princesses are placed on a pressed down they sing and say various sentences. Each princess says 3 sentences from the film and also sings a short rendition of a song from their film.The voices are realistic I was very impressed. The songs are recognisable. The princes that you get don't sing when places on the spot instead they just play a little jingle.
The castle has two volumes we have it on the lowest setting.
The figures that come with the castle look like the Disney characters but are in the style of other little people figures. They are the right size for little hands. The age range for the castle is 18 months to 5 years.
You also get with the castle a banquet table and two chairs.
On Christmas morning my daughter was thrilled to see this, I had already built it the night before. Immediately she picked up the characters and told me their names. She was able to work the castle with ease and had no problem getting the princesses to speak. Since Christmas this has been played with regularly I have to admit I like playing with it too being a huge Disney fan.
The castle is a lovely toy and as my daughter plays with it more I can see her interacting with the characters and moving them around the castle. The batteries are still going strong even with regular use.
This castle is one of my daughters favourite toys and it is something we can play with together but she can also play with alone. 5 out of 5 from us.
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