Coming soon, reviews of:
- Imaginext, the pirate ship, a dinosaur, the castle and the jungle playset
- Leapster (not the max), plus about 6 games (details people, you won't find 'em anywhere else!)
- Hot Wheels tracks vs. the knockoffs
- DC SuperFriends figures (Green Lantern, Flash, Batman and Superman) from Mattel, for younger kids
Stay tuned!
Showing posts with label learning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label learning. Show all posts
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Monday, March 5, 2007
I Can Play Piano - Quick Review
The Fisher Price "I Can Play Piano" is the modern successor to the old Miracle Piano Learning System (which used to be available for your computer or Nintendo Entertainment System). It comes with an AC adaptor, and plugs into your TV with an attached (and not removable) set of RCA cables. You can play just the keyboard without a TV, but the sound is limited and there are no special features when you play without a TV.
So how does it work? There are just a few modes, and our 5 and 3 year olds can set it up quite easily. There's a game mode for learning the keys, a song mode for playing along, and a freestyle mode for just banging on the keys, haha.
But does it really work-- does it teach the kids to play piano? Sadly, no. I had hoped the keys would light up, as some do. Instead, they are color-coded, and you press the appropriate color when prompted by the game or song. The problem here is that the kids have to move their eyes from keys to screen, quite rapidly, even on the easiest settings. This really only encourages them to slap at all the keys, in hopes that they'll score points.
So you'd have to stay on them pretty closely for this to do any good. It isn't bad, but it won't make them into a concert pianist overnight either.
Bigger review with screenshots coming soon!
So how does it work? There are just a few modes, and our 5 and 3 year olds can set it up quite easily. There's a game mode for learning the keys, a song mode for playing along, and a freestyle mode for just banging on the keys, haha.
But does it really work-- does it teach the kids to play piano? Sadly, no. I had hoped the keys would light up, as some do. Instead, they are color-coded, and you press the appropriate color when prompted by the game or song. The problem here is that the kids have to move their eyes from keys to screen, quite rapidly, even on the easiest settings. This really only encourages them to slap at all the keys, in hopes that they'll score points.
So you'd have to stay on them pretty closely for this to do any good. It isn't bad, but it won't make them into a concert pianist overnight either.
Bigger review with screenshots coming soon!
Quick Toy Tip: use bags to divide by age
These little puzzles are great for teaching numbers. One side presents the "problem" (either a counting tile, like 3 bees, or a math tile, like 1 apple being subtracted from 3 apples), the other side that fits is a number-- the correct answer.
But with one kid at 5 and one at 3... Well, one does math and the other is still learning to count. So we just use some bags to divide up the math tiles and counting tiles. There are enough numbers for either at any time, so we just let those sit in the box. Cheap, but a great way to reduce setup time and reduce frustration for the kid playing.
But with one kid at 5 and one at 3... Well, one does math and the other is still learning to count. So we just use some bags to divide up the math tiles and counting tiles. There are enough numbers for either at any time, so we just let those sit in the box. Cheap, but a great way to reduce setup time and reduce frustration for the kid playing.
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