LeapFrog Discovery Ball
by LeapFrog
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Our Price: $15.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Toy See more product details |
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Toys and Games Reviews of LeapFrog Discovery Ball
Customer Review: What a wonderful Discovery!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this item at a garage sale, not really sure what to expect as the batteries were dying and the only thing I could hear was a very slow version of the ABCs. But for a fraction of the retail cost, I figured I could somehow salvage it even if parts of it were broken. Changing the batteries was somewhat of a challenge. The pictures helped, but the ball was so firmly stuck on, I was afraid I would damage it before it finally came apart. After the new batteries were installed, I "discovered" that there were many interesting features to this toy. Hubby and I eagerly went through pressing each letter of the alphabet in music mode trying to identify all the songs. It seems the names actually correspond to the letters of the alphabet ("A" = Are you sleeping", ... "L" = London Bridge is Falling Down", etc). There are still a few we don't recognize, but it gives us something to amuse ourselves with. The cause and effect feature of this toy is quite remarkable and is easily understood by our son. This is his third favorite toy and has been for the last 2 months or so, so it has gotten great use for what I paid for it. My complaints: neither I nor my husband recognize the song that is played when the ball is spun, and when a letter is pressed in music mode, just moving the ball a tiny bit restarts the spin song - in other words it responds much too easily to very small motions, which also means we have to turn it off all the time or small gusts of air (or the poltergeists in our home???) keep causing the ball to activate on its own in the middle of the night. I would have preferred a behavior such as this: press a letter for a particular song, which would cause the ball to be in that particular song mode, and when it is spun, THAT song is played until you press another letter to change the mode. Anyhow, I highly recommend this toy for children as young as 4 months onward. It seems to keep their attention and teaches them continuity of melody, and hopefully, it might actually teach them the alphabet song!Customer Review: Positive experience all around !
Summary: 5 Stars
Wow...many mixed reviews & some have me baffled. We have had our LeapFrog ball for 4 and a half years now. My youngest three have all played with this toy & my soon to be 5 yr old loved it as a baby,{it was one of her favorites} & has fun "helping" her younger sister with saying her ABC's. Not only that, it did help her to learn her ABC's...It said, "A" she said,"A" and so on. She found favorite tunes & remembered which letter to push for that paticular song. I would also hear her practice the letters' sound. My soon to be three year old didn't like it quite as much as my older daughter but she does like to detach the ball and roll it more than simply pushing the buttons or spinning it.
My 7 and a half month old son is starting to gain more interest in it now that he is able to sit up, until of course his sisters interupt & think they need to show him how to spin it.
It's amazing that there is a toy like this where the older child wants to help the younger child with sounds & the youngest with spinning & pushing the buttons with no fighting-that is worth the amount it cost alone.
But I did take initial interest in the toy myself so that my children could see that this is a toy to be enjoyed & have fun with.
A lot of times I find that if I take interest in the toy & will play along with them, they will play with that toy more often.
My children always laugh & play longer with any of their toys if I take a few minutes of the day & play with them & praise them...{Example}..when they are able to pronounce the sound of the letter & sing their abc's.
This toy has a lot more play coming it's way and best of all it's sturdy. Note ... you might want to make sure you remind the little ones that this ball is for rolling only {while detached}
Overall this paticular toy has been a positive experience all the way around !!!
Customer Review: Is INDEED a development toy
Summary: 4 Stars
I disagree with the previous reviewer that says this toy has no developmental qualities . I bought my daughter this 2 weeks ago when she hit 6 mos. At first, she was frightened by the sound coming out of it, as she is by most sound-making toys at first, but she is sitting right next to me right now, quite contentedly rolling it on its base and giggling away. She's been busy for nearly 1/2 an hour with it. Children learn by repetition and each time she rolls that thing, it sings the alphabet song and how else do preschoolers learn their abc's and 123's? I agree, the letters are too small, too closely-spaced and too hard for a 6 month old to press, but no learning tool will do its job if you intend on simply placing it next to your baby in a pack-n-play and walking away. I sit with her and press the buttons and sing and talk to her. No child can learn by herself given a chalkboard and chalk, but she certainly can, given a chalkboard, chalk and a willing teacher. So yes, if you think this or any other learning tool will make your child into Einstein by simply handing it to them, you'll be sorely disappointed. Used as intended -- with parental interaction -- it can certainly be used to teach and hold your child's attention for as long as it can hold yours. My only peeve with this toy is that you can't make it stop singing. I'd like to push a series of letters to spell and sound out words like the Leapfrog Caterpillar does, but each time you push a letter, it plays a song/sings the alphabet, and messes it up.Customer Review: What a Wonderful toy!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this for four-month-old grandson and gave it to him early last night when he was fussy...talk about an instant distraction. His eyes grew wide; he started batting it, got a reaction, batted some more. He was excited, focused, enthused, delighted. After about 10 minutes of intense concentration playing, he had "sensory overload" according to his mom. That's when 3-year-old grandson and my husband began to play with it.
Grandson listened to, then started singing along with the alphabet song, looking to each of us for affirmation - so proud of himself, so thrilled to learn. My husband "discovered" the 3 settings and started playing the individual alphabet songs. I even looked up the lyrics to one of the upbeat songs, Wait for the Wagon (for the letter W)- written 1851. Then he and the boy pressed the alphabet letters to make the sounds of each and repeat. I had no idea what all this ball could do when I bought it - it's pure magic, wonderfully entertaining and provides a wealth of diverse fun and educational activities to bring joy and smiles to old and young alike.
The individual buttons may be slightly difficult for little fingers to press, but that's what parents (and grandparents)are for - to become involved and share in learning and *Discovery* with their children. Love this toy, can't wait to return Christmas day and maybe I'll get it all to myself, although I'm kind of looking forward to playing with the remote control train.
Customer Review: The Discovery Ball by Leap Frog Is One GREAT, GREAT TOY!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought the Discovery Ball by Leap Frog for my granddaughter, who at the time was only 9 months old. Once opened it was the only toy she played with the rest of the day. She loved all of the songs, and the lights and being able to roll that ball on its stand is a G-R-E-A-T BIG PLUS for this toy. I will not buy anything but educational toys for my grandchildren. This ball, is a great size for little hands. It has three play modes, volume control, however even if it didn't have a volume control, the music is great to listin to. I gave this little granddaughter of mine two musical toys at Christmas time last year - the other one was much higher priced - it is the Sunshine Symphony, which plays classical music - between these two toys if my granddaughter can choose she will go for the Discovery Ball every time. She started to walk at 10 & 1/2 months of age. Now that she is walking the ball has been removed from the stand and has been rolled all over the place and even dropped down some stairs by accident - but it is a very tough ball and the fall never hurt it a bit. Oh by the way my little granddaughter's older sister who is five even likes to play with it. People, please, take it from an old grandmother, if you only have enough money to buy one toy for your child per year - by the Discovery Ball by Leap Frog - Trust me, you WILL NOT be sorry for the small amount of money spent on this toy - it is worth every penny of it.