Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Learning Table; Pull Up A Chair and Join Us!
Written: Dec 28 '04 (Updated Jan 22 '05)
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Pros: ABCs/123s/colors/shapes/opposites - lots of educational opportunity; cute; lots of variety to keep baby entertained.
Cons: Needs batteries; may be too tall at first with legs (but that's an easy fix.)
The Bottom Line: Baby will have so much fun with the Laugh & Learn Learning Table that she may not even realize she’s learning!
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| krissingene's Full Review: Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Learning Table |
I’m a big fan of toys that are easily accessible from the store shelves – those that I can make sing and dance their way down the aisles or, even better, gauge my daughter’s reaction to before deciding whether or not to drag the thing home. The Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Learning Table is one such toy, with a box lid that lifts away from the packaging to reveal the toy. We had stopped to play with the table several times before my father asked what Rachael might like for Christmas; since I knew she enjoyed it (and it went along with the Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Learning Home that I had already planned to get for her first Christmas), I hinted that this may be just right.
This toy is recommended for babies and toddlers ages 6 – 36 months – if your baby is able to sit well before six months, he or she could certainly play with this toy earlier and, of course, some children may lose interest sooner or later than others.
~* Batteries and Assembly *~
The box warns that wire cutters are needed to remove the toy from it’s box. I confess, my attention was elsewhere when the toy was freed, so I can’t attest to that fact. May want to be prepared, just in case. The toy operates on three AA alkaline batteries, surprisingly included.
There is very little adult assembly required as the tabletop – the main part of the toy – is one large piece. All that’s left to do is to snap four blue plastic legs into the base of the table; buttons near the top of each table leg make snapping the legs in (and, if need be, removing them later) a cinch. For younger or smaller babies, you might as well put the legs to one side for a while since the table will be too tall for babies to reach at the lower end of the age spectrum. Once your child is taller or able to sit in a small chair to play with the Learning Table, the legs will raise it to the perfect height for a toddler; in the meantime, I place the table flat on the floor for playtime.
~* Learn Something! *~
Like most baby and toddler toys on the market these days, the Learning Table promises to help teach children a plethora of things. This toy has two interactive play modes: the “learning time” mode teaches the alphabet and counting to ten, while the “musical fun” mode features sing-along learning songs and silly sounds. According to the toy’s packaging, this table teaches letters, numbers, colors, shapes, words, opposites, actions, textures and even (could be it be?) manners. And if that last bit doesn’t appeal to parents, I don’t know what would.
The box goes on to explain that the Learning Table engages babies/toddlers in “early academics” in the following ways:
* Promotes understanding of letters, counting, colors, shapes, textures, opposites, first words, foods and manners.
* Encourages problem-solving skills as baby learns how to activate music and sounds in multiple ways.
* Enhances language development with repetition of simple words, descriptive phrases & sing-along songs.
It is also designed to imitate everyday experiences:
* Provides an opportunity for baby to imitate mom and dad, introducing early role play.
* Introduces learning in a way that relates to baby’s world – eating, singing, imagining, playing.
* Reinforces learning concepts through delightful music, sounds, songs and activities.
* Shares familiar greetings and fun phrases.
One side panel of the box includes “playtips” for parents, which recommend pointing out concepts introduced by this toy in baby’s everyday life – counting crackers and peas on baby’s plate, pointing out various shapes of foods, plates and other mealtime objects, comparing sizes of plates and glasses, etc.
~* Where to Start? *~
There is so much stuff on this tabletop that I scarcely knew what to play with first. This, however, was not a problem for my 10.5-month-old daughter, who dove right in after liberating the Learning Table from it’s box. The tabletop itself is white and rectangular, curving inward on all four sides to allow baby to scoot closer during play. A bright orange plastic rim encircles the outside of the table, featuring molded lines, bumps and waves sure to attract the attention of younger babies.
The most prominent toy on the tabletop is the large bowl stationed in the center. The clear bowl has a bright yellow smiley face in the bottom, and several colorful letters suspended around the inside. The large rim purple, and has the entire alphabet printed in fat, cartoonish white letters encircling the bowl.
To one side of the bowl is a tiny Fisher-Price logo and the blue power/mode switch. When positioned in the middle, the toy is turned off; sliding the switch to the left sets the toy to learning mode, and to the right, music mode. (The toy’s volume control is located on the underside of the table, easily accessible to parents. The lower setting is usually adequate for play in our house; if there’s a lot of background, I sometimes switch it to a higher volume, but the need seldom arises.) Just below the power/mode switch, two yellow crackers are molded into the table top, the tiny holes dotting their surfaces cleverly disguising the toy’s speaker.
Moving around the table clockwise from the mode switch and speaker are the following:
* A slightly raised lime green plate, on which sits a red apple that spins in a circle, a squishy rubber banana with a red heart on it’s peel and a bunch of five blueberries that slides back and forth. All of the fruit, down to the individual berries, are smiling.
* A translucent blue sippy cup, complete with top and spout, filled with…orange juice? Pudding? The color is definitely orange, but the swirled contents, visible through the top of the cup, certainly reminds me of pudding. The sippy cup bounces up and down in it’s round holder; when pushed down the first time, the contents of the cup stay at the bottom, making the cup appear empty. When pushed again, the contents pop back up and the cup seems full.
* A red spoon (smiley face on the handle), which fits neatly into a spoon-shaped holder. The bowl of the spoon is covered with clear plastic, beneath which five brightly colored balls rattle around when the spoon is moved.
* Another slightly raised lime green plate, this time sitting atop a textured blue placemat (also molded into the table.) On top of the plate sits a small yet chunky slice of pizza – again, smiling up from the yellow crust. There are three raised buttons on top of the pizza – a green square, a purple triangle and an orange circle.
* A red and white checkered plastic napkin, ‘folded’ into a triangle. The long edge of the napkin is fixed along a metal rod anchored into the table top, allowing it to open and close very much like a door. Beneath the napkin is a hollow area with a sticker depicting five (smiling) green olives.
* Salt and pepper shakers. Made of raised plastic, the shakers are molded together and lie horizontally on the table, the green salt shaker marked with an S and the purple pepper shaker with a P. The shakers twist back and forth to either side.
* Two cookies, again molded together and with a large-ish bite taken from one cookie. They bounce up and down ever so slightly when pressed, and the ten brightly colored ‘chips’ on top of the cookies are actually individual balls that may be rolled around. The numbers 1 through 10 are molded in blue on the tabletop surrounding the cookies.
~* Learning Mode *~
Are you ready to play with us? Let’s look first at the plate of fruit. When the apple is spun in a circle, it says “red apple” and makes a crunching noise. Sometimes it says “blue apple” and I’m not quite sure why yet…maybe we’re accidentally hitting the nearby blueberries while spinning? At any rate, that can be a bit misleading. The blueberries say either “blue berries” or “lumpy berries” when slid back and forth, and the banana says “yellow banana” and “squishy banana”. All three make fun springy noises as well.
The sippy cup, when first pressed in learning mode, says “juice” (oh, I guess it is supposed to be orange juice, huh?) It also says “more please”, “empty” and “full”.
Moving around to the pizza…the purple triangle says “triangle”, “purple triangle” and “That’s a spicy pizza!” The orange circle says “circle”, “orange circle” and “mmmm – pizza!” and the green square says “square” and “green square”. Lights around the base of the center bowl flash when these buttons are pressed, and all three play short tunes as well.
When flipped open and closed, the napkin (or, presumably, the olives beneath the napkin) say “peek-a-boo”, “I see you!” and giggle. The salt and pepper shakers sneeze (followed by a polite “excuse me”) and play a springy melody when twisted.
The cookies, when pressed, alternate between saying “Yay! Cookies!” followed by a crunching sound and singing a counting-to-ten song. Might I add that it’s a rather catchy rhythm for a toddler toy? I’ve found myself humming it in the car already. *sigh*
Finally, when the bowl in the center of the table is spun around, it says “whee!”, “yummy in your tummy!” and sings the alphabet song. Another catchy rendition, but it can’t touch the cookie song.
~* Music Mode *~
Let’s slide over to music mode and go around the table again, shall we? After all, I want you to know exactly what you’re in for! Back at the fruit plate, each piece of fruit plays two different tunes, including “The Muffin Man” and “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush”.
The sippy cup plays “Pop Goes the Weasel” and “For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow”. Interesting choices for a sippy cup, but I’m guessing that kids won’t know the difference.
The pizza slice is where things start to get interesting. Instead of having each button play it’s own tune, each one plays a series of notes that will repeat for as long as the button is held down. In this way, the pizza becomes sort of an oddly-shaped miniature piano.
The napkin plays “Teddy Bear Picnic” (appropriate!) and “Baby Bumblebee”, which I get a kick out of every time. It giggles before the music starts whenever opened, and very often my little girl will open and close it again before the music gets a chance to play. Oh well, it’s her toy…
The salt and pepper shakers play really neat salsa and reggae rhythms, and the cookies crunch, followed by “La Cucaracha” and another similar tune that’s vaguely familiar but I can’t quite put a name to.
The bowl, once spun, plays several melodies, including “Someone’s In the Kitchen with Dinah” and a vocal “Stir, Stir, Stir the Soup” song. All in all, the Learning Table plays fifteen songs – maybe you’ll recognize more of them than I have thus far!
~* Laugh? Check. Learn? Eventually… *~
So far, my little girl has enjoyed immensely playing with her Learning Table - unlike most toys, when she gets bored with one thing, there’s plenty more nearby to capture her attention. There’s no part of the table that goes un-played with, except for maybe the spoon – after all, it is the only part of the table that actually detaches from the tabletop, and she’s in that oh-so-lovely throwing everything across the room stage. The spoon never hangs around for long. I was impressed by how quickly she mastered the different sections of the toy – just showing her once how to open and close the napkin and twist the salt and pepper shakers was enough. The rest, she figured out on her own. (Younger babies may need a bit more help at first.)
As for the “learning” part of the table, well, that remains to be seen. After all, I can’t very well quiz her on her numbers and colors yet, although the information is certainly put in front of her in a fun and interesting way with the Learning Table. Since this is a toy that will grow with her, I’m pretty sure it’ll be a useful learning tool in the very near future – for now, it’s just plain fun!
~* Contact Information *~
For more information, visit Fisher-Price online at www.fisher-price.com or call 1-800-432-KIDS (1-800-432-5437).
Other toys in the Laugh & Learn line of products include the Learning Home, Learning Puppy, Learning Birdbath and Learning Phone.
~* Also by Fisher-Price *~
Cradle Swing B0639 * Deluxe Take-Along Swing * Kick 'N Play Piano * Link-a-doos On-the-Go Goldfish * Link-a-doos Teething Ring * Ocean Wonders Aquarium * Ocean Wonders Aquarium Bouncer * Peek-a-Blocks Barnyard Friends Blocks * PowerTouch Baby Learning System * Sesame Street Light-Up Pet Pals: Ernie * Sparkling Symphony Twinkle Dancer * Swim 'n Spin Fish Rattle
Thanks to sblaydes for adding this toy to the database!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 35
Type of Toy: Baby Toy
Age Range of Child: 12 to 36 Months
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Epinions.com ID:
krissingene
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Member: Kristin
Location: Southern VA
Reviews written: 267
Trusted by: 119 members
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The strength of Motherhood is greater than Natural Laws. -Barbara Kingsolver
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