Play Library » fisher-price

Retro Toys~ See and Say Farmer Says

Linette Gerlach — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:00:32 +0000

I loved the Fisher Price See and Says when I was a child, and of course I had to buy one for my son when he was younger. My favorite is the Farmer Says. I guess I’m still a farm girl at heart, I used to love to pull the string and hear the animal sounds.

You don’t pull a string any more (I’m sure that string was a choke hazard), these days you pull the lever. They still have the adorable animal sounds I loved. The Farmer Says just got a new makeover and re release. Check out the latest look on an old favorite.

Simply adorable! This one has a “page” you can flip (under the yellow side), to hear more animal sounds. My son had a hard time figuring out the lever when he was younger. He did eventually figure it out, and I’m sure it was good for his hand-eye coordination.

My favorite is still that original model with the pull string, even though I understand why they had to do away with the string.

Image via Amazon.com

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Fisher Price Go Fish Game – A Fun Twist on a Classic Game

Susan Gunelius — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 02:42:29 +0000

Fisher Price offers a different twist on a classic game with their boxed version of Go Fish. The game is for 2-4 players. Each player takes turns catching fish with the fishing rod that’s included with the game. Using the suction cup on the end of the fishing rod, players try to catch cardboard fish. The fish have numbers and colors on them. Players try to catch matched pairs (by color or number) similar to the classic Go Fish card game.

What I like most about this game are the various ways you can make up rules to match the age and understanding of the players. For example, matching pairs is still a bit challenging for my kids, so when we play, I assign each child a color, and they each fish for their own color (their turns don’t end until they catch something). Play ends when everyone catches all of their fish.

I also made up rules that will help them learn their numbers (which they now know). We flip the fish number-side down. When a player catches a fish, he or she has to yell out the color and number on the under-side. Again, play ends when all the fish are caught. There are so many possibilities for color and number learning for younger kids and mastering matching skills for older kids.

Actually, I wasn’t sure about this game when I first opened the box. Typically, things with suction cups never work as well as they’re shown on the box (or in commercials). I was pleasantly surprised by this game though. The suction cup really works and the fishing rod is sturdy enough that the kids can push down on it hard enough to actually catch a fish with the suction cup.

Although my kids got their Go Fish game as a gift from Grandma and Grandpa, I should mention that another nice thing about this game is that it’s inexpensive. The Fisher Price website lists the retail price as $7.00. You can’t beat the price for the number of activities you can make up with this game. Overall, I give Fisher Price’s Go Fish Game a thumbs up.

Have your kids played Fisher Price’s Go Fish Game? What do you think?

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The Fisher Price Smart Cycle Debate

Susan Gunelius — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 01:50:02 +0000

One of the big toys during the past holiday season was the Fisher Price Smart Cycle. It’s won a variety of toy awards, but I’ve been really torn over this product. If you’re not familiar with the Fisher Price Smart Cycle, it’s a video game system that kids play while riding a stationary bike. Fisher Price also calls it a “learning center”. The YouTube video below includes an ad that will give you all the details.

I can understand the positive benefits of the Fisher Price Smart Cycle. If your kids are going to play a video game, then a video game that requires physical activity seems like a great choice. Also, I’d imagine this would be a good alternative during the winter months when kids can’t go outside and play. Finally, I’m glad many of the games for the Fisher Price Smart Cycle are educational and teach numbers, letters, etc.

However, there’s a part of me that doesn’t like the idea of getting my kids into video games too early. I know it’s highly likely that they’ll become very interested in video games eventually. Should I start them now just because this video game also provides some exercise? I’m torn. While the Fisher Price Smart Cycle seems like a cool toy, I’m just not sold on it yet.

I also wonder if kids will get bored of the Smart Cycle quickly? At about $100 from the Fisher Price website (less if you buy through Amazon or other retailers that offer discounts), it’s a hefty investment for a toy that is meant for children age 3-6.

What do you think of the Fisher Price Smart Cycle? Does your child have one? If your child has used one, what are your opinions of the Fisher Price Smart Cycle after watching him or her use it for awhile?

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Super Sounds Soccer by Fisher Price

Kerri Aldrich — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 19:01:52 +0000

It’s soccer season already! Actually, a good few weeks into it with some of the leagues around here. And my youngest is fired up for it! One of his first 3-word phrases is “soccerballgame”. And he’s been practicing it non-stop for days.

Though these past few days have been chilly and rainy, all the kids will be excited to get back into the sun and play with their Super Sounds Soccer goals. Honestly, though, ours don’t really make any sounds. The goals come with a gong-looking battery-operated device that makes cheering noises and such when the ball hits it. Apparently, those devices don’t like to be left hanging on the goal during a thunderstorm, because they tend to get testy and just stop working. Ah well….they weren’t really essential to the function of the goal.

I do like these goals because they are durable and weather resistant (the non-battery operated parts, anyway), and they last through several years growth of the kids. The size of the goals makes it a challenge for the kids to score, while still making it possible for mom to feel like a decent goalie.

What sports and spring activities are keeping you on the move this season?

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Shake ‘n Go “Cars” from Fisher Price

Kerri Aldrich — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 04:29:56 +0000

My oldest son received a really fun gift for his birthday last year. It’s one of the Shake ‘n Go cars from Fisher Price.

The toy is really as easy to use as it sounds. You start shaking the car up and it starts to make a really cool revving sound. The longer you shake it, the farther it goes. It’s even easy for the one year old to use! No little knobs to wind or wheels to revv up backwards. Literally just shake and go (clever name they came up with there, aye?).

Anyway, my son hasn’t seen this one, yet, with Cars’ Lightning McQueen (who he calls, “Mightnean the Queen!”). Maybe that can be his big prize if he finishes up this potty training journey! We are getting closer, by the way.

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A Little People Thanksgiving

Kerri Aldrich — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 03:27:20 +0000

I think this Fisher Price Little People Thanksgiving set is just too cute. It’s a thirteen piece set, and includes the adorable pumpkin (sorry, I have a thing for pumpkins).

Really, the last thing we need in our house is more Little People, but my kids do love them. My 3 year old’s favorite thing to do is to find every last Little People character in the house (kids, animals, all of them!) and line them all up facing the same way to sit and watch a movie with him. Maybe they need the company of the natives and the early settlers. And the pumpkin, of course.

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T.M.X. Elmo

Kerri Aldrich — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 03:11:16 +0000

The new T.M.X. Elmo, scheduled to arrive on September 19th, is shrouded in mystery. The most I’ve been able to gather is that the “T. M.” refers to his “Tickle Me” fame, and the X (as Roman numeral) stands for the 10th year since the Tickle Me Elmo craze of Christmas 1996. No features of the new toy are being released until the toy actually hits the store shelves. But you can see the countdown of his release (days, hours, minutes, seconds, and milliseconds) at Fisher-Price.

Can you believe 10 years have already passed since that madness? I remember driving along seeing handmade signs posted in people’s cars naming how many Tickle Me Elmos they had, and for how much money they would have been willing to part with them. People probably made a ton preying off the guilt of appeasing parents.

Apparently, thousands of parents are trying to avoid crying, whining kids in their homes this time around and have already placed their orders for T.M.X. Elmo through K.B. Toys at $39.99 per toy. I don’t know, that seems a lot to pay for a toy without any clue as to what it does. Makes me glad my oldest is too old for this toy, and that my boys aren’t aware enough of this stuff to care.

What do you think? Would you pay that much for a toy with unknown attributes? What do you think will be so special about this new Elmo?

Update: Watch the TMX Elmo video!

See these links for more about TMX Elmo!

Play Library has declared it to be an unofficial ELMO DAY!

Have you gotten your TMX Elmo? Share it with us!! Please please. Sharing is the nice thing to do.

TMX Elmo Comes Out!

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Fisher-Price Playroom Makeover

Kerri Aldrich — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 03:30:00 +0000

Fisher-Price is holding a sweepstakes! Head on over for chance at winning a playroom makeover. There are also other great prizes to be won such as: $100 gift check to Fisher-Price, $100 gift card to Home Depot, and playroom decorating idea books.

The sweepstakes is limited to the 50 U.S. states, and the District of Columbia. Deadline for submission is October 2, 2006. They will randomly select 15 winners. Good luck!

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Fisher Price Royal Potty

Kerri Aldrich — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 03:10:10 +0000

Yes, we have gotten that desperate. We’ve gone out and bought the Fisher Price Royal Potty, complete with bells, whistles, books, laser light show, DVD player, cup holder, book shelf, and popcorn popper. Oh wait, you’re right, it doesn’t come with all of that. But pretty close!

We’ve gone and bought it because we are trying to figure out what it is that is going to motivate our almost 3 year old to be potty trained. Not M&Ms, not Scooby Doo undies, not stickers in a book have convinced him that it’s worth his time to sit on the potty.

Well, he was really excited about the Royal Potty in the store. He was really excited about it when his daddy put it together. He was really excited when he used it last night. Today? “I don’t want to sit on the potty!”

Oh well. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe next week. Maybe when he’s twenty…

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Fisher Price Loving Family Doll House

Kerri Aldrich — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 08:34:23 +0000

My daughter received the Fisher Price Loving Family Doll House for Christmas last year and loves it! Her almost 3 year old brother loves to play with it, too, much to her dismay. I must say, I was pretty impressed by the details in some of the pieces.

It’s one of the many cool toys that we have around the house that the kids love, but never knew they actually wanted until they had it. As I started to look around the house, I realized that there are very few toys that we own because the kids saw an ad for the toy and asked for it. I wonder if it’s because most of the TV that they watch is on PBS, and they, therefore, don’t see many ads for toys. They’ve also never attended preschool or daycare, and are only exposed to their friends’ toys. I wonder if that’s kept the “I wants” at bay in our home, not that we don’t hear it at all!

Honestly, almost all of our toys are gifts or excellent condition hand-me-downs from friends. And it’s not that we wouldn’t buy toys for our kids if we thought they needed them. Between the gifts and the second-hand toys, we don’t have any room for anymore!

What about you? How are most of the toys in your home acquired? Take our poll in the right sidebar to let us know! Thanks.

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