Buy LeapFrog Poppin' Play Piano

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program

My 1 year old and 3 year old LOVE this toy. It's got 4 different song/music settings, so I'm not stuck listening to the same thing over and over! It also has 2 different volume settings, which is great! The keys are easy to push, but the balls don't jump as much as I thought they would, and that does frustrate my 1 year old a little bit. It's easy to carry and even when dropped (multiple times!) works great! Overall, it's a good toy and my kids really enjoy it!

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program My 19 month old child has not stopped playing with this toy since we received it from Amazon (Vine). He has a few other LeapFrog items, but he has never taken to one like he has this. He really enjoys music, and has been learning his colors, so this seemed like an easy choice.

There are 4 basic modes:

Number: Press a key, number "sung" (1-8, in the tone of a scale)

Color: The color of the key "sung"

Free Play: Each key becomes a different instrument

Song: The piano plays a song; kids can choose to accompany by pressing other keys

What my child loves: watching the balls go up. He likes the songs and has had a lot of fun just playing random keys. The switch to move from counting to colors to free play is easy for him to manipulate.

What I like: the tonality is pretty good for a kids' toy. And because it follows the scale, you can play some actual songs on it. I also like that it doesn't have anything to break off or keep stored with it, as many of the child xylophones do.

However, I find it a little loud. It comes with a volume switch, but even the "low" setting is loud. I also wish that it counted higher than 8 (he can already count to 8).That limits its educational value. It does start to get annoying when they push the same button over and over, especially in counting mode. "Eeeeiiiight! Eeeeiiiight! Eeeeeeight! Eeeeeeight! Eeeeeeight!" etc.

Remember the 90's Sampsonite commercial where they have a gorilla in a room with a suitcase? That's like my kid with toys. If he can break it, he will. He's already dropped it down the stairs once and so far it's holding up well, which has been true of all the LeapFrog toys we've used.

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program When my wife & I talk about toys, we come from the perspective of educators. That said, for early childhood development, nothing beats "old fashioned" toys.

Hands down, in every documented study, plain old wood blocks provide more stimulation, more fine motor skill development, more problem-solving, etc. Also keep in mind, electronic toys like this encourage kids to play alone they tend to work against socialization skills. Every child (as early as 6 months), should have wood blocks, flash cards, mega blocks or legos, lincoln logs, things like that. And, lots of board books around.

However, often times people want to buy "exciting" electronic toys for holidays and birthdays toys that talk, sing, light up, etc. No matter how educational they claim to be, toys like this "do the work" for your child, and are not as challenging. But it's obviously not going to kill your child to have a few of these around!

So if you're looking for electronic toys, we strongly recommend Leapfrog products. We've tested many, many toys and we own 3 different Leapfrog toys (including a Phonics Dinosaur toy that has been dropped, thrown, rolled down the stairs, and still looks and plays like new!).

I find the Leapfrog products are intuitive, durable, more educational than any other electronic toys (like Fisher Price, etc), and well thought out.

This Poppin Piano is exactly what I expected it to be. Many functions to keep your child engaged. Counting & color games. A regular piano mode (*every* child needs a piano of some sort, to learn music & also fine motor skills).

And like all other Leapfrog products, it's not too noisy, it's a smart power saver so it doesn't drain the batteries, and the noises & singing are nice and soft (not loud & shrill like many other electronic toys).

Leapfrog recommends this for 12-36 months. But our 7 month old is actually using it the "poppin" balls are fun to watch, and it's a great opportunity to learn cause & effect.

So if you're a parent, these kinds of toys are great for car rides, for short-attention-span moments, a kitchen activity (while you're busy cooking), etc. We don't recommend it as an "everyday" toy. We keep electronic toys locked up, and pull them out only occasionally. However, for the category of electronic toys, Leapfrog always gets best in class.

(PS If you're interested in more information about these studies, or about early childhood development, the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is free online to read back issues.)

Honest reviews on LeapFrog Poppin' Play Piano

HELP SHEET FOR Poppin'Play Piano (Leap Frog) Ages 1-3 years

This is one of the most versatile "deep" toys I've seen for toddlers! I had a blast figuring out all the possibilities. My early childhood teacher opinion is you'll get a lot of learning mileage out of this and the child will have fun.

I recommend you first let the child explore the toy for a week or two before trying to teach concepts. Then, make teaching sessions short, fun and successful. Quit before the child gets restless or frustrated with the activity.

I wrote this HELP SHEET so you and the child can get the most out of the toy over a three year period. The toy has a few "quirks" and hidden possibilities that took a lot of time to figure out.

FOUR MODES OF PLAY: (See the switch: Yellow oval over green background.)

1. Numbers: Press individual key and hesitate to hear each number word.

2. Colors: Press individual key and hesitate to hear each color word.

3. Choose an Instrument: (See *"NOTES FOR MODE 3" below to find out what each mode does AND how to change to a new instrument.)

4. Choose a Song: Press a key: Song plays and child can sing along, play along or both.

ACTIVITIES: AGE 1 +

1. Cause/effect: Push a key to make the ball pop up/come down. (It works when the unit is in ANY MODE.)

2. Cause/effect: Push a key to hear words, notes instrumental tunes, and songs. (SELECT MODES)

3. Listen: (color and number words, silly sounds, instrumental tunes, songs, and directions) (SELECT MODES)

4. Sing: Sing along to music and words. (MODE 4.)

5. Language Development: (ALL MODES: See "Language Development" below.)

ACTIVITIES: AGES 2 AND 3

1. Numerals: (Words only) No visual unless you count the keys. (MODE 1)

2. Colors: Learn/practice colors (words and visuals). Press each key and hesitate to hear the color word. (MODE 2)

3. Play keys along to a recorded instrumental tune (MODE 3)

4. Play just notes on the keyboard. (Free play music exploration and creativity) (MODE 3)

5. Sing along with a recorded song (MODE 4)

6. Play keys along to a recorded song (MODE 4)

7. Play and sing along to a recorded song (MODE 4)

8. Problem Solving/Exploration: Figure out how the instrument works and what can be done in different modes.

9. Language Development: (ALL MODES See "Language Development" below.)

*NOTES FOR MODE 3: (Playing Instruments) (Most Creative Mode)

1. Timing: Press a key. You'll hear a few notes followed by "Press a key to choose an instrument." Press a key again. A short tune will play in that instrument and announce the name of the instrument. Now any key pressed will sound like that instrument.

2. Change to a different instrument: Turn unit OFF and back ON, OR move oval MODE switch to another icon and then move it back to the "Double Note" Icon.

Key 1 Piano Tunes (Each key pressed plays a different part of the piano tune.)

Key 2 Piano Notes (Play notes manually.)

Key 3 Silly Sounds (Play notes manually.)

Key 4 Organ (Play notes manually.)

Key 5 Organ Tunes (Each key pressed will plays a different part of organ tune.)

Key 6 Harpsicord (Play notes by pressing each key manually.)

Key 7 Popping Sounds (Play notes by pressing each key manually.)

Key 8 Synthesizer (Play notes by pressing each key manually.)

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT:

1. Vocabulary: up/down; loud/soft; high/low; on/off; left/right; press; key; play; switch; music; number; color; sound; song; tune; piano; organ; synthesizer; harpsichord, sing

2. State what the child is doing: "You're making the balls go up and down." "You're making the red ball go up and down." "You're playing high notes to low notes."

3. Give a direction: "Press the 1 key." "Press the red key." "Show me the numeral 3." "Show me the color yellow." "Make the brown ball go up and down." "Press the keys and count with me." Older child: "Press the keys and count backwards."

BONUS INFORMATION:

1. Save the battery: Even in OFF mode, the balls will pop up and down when keys are pressed.

2. Take Along: This toy can be a great take along in the car if you don't mind the sounds!

Enjoy!

--Lynn (St. Louis)

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for LeapFrog Poppin' Play Piano

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program My youngest child as of 2012 is 2. When I received this toy, I thought he would enjoy it at least. He played with it for about 10 to 15 minutes and was done. The toy is very basic. It is a small keyboard with the various colors. The color of the keys are matched with a small ball that goes up when the key is pressed. The toy has four different settings for colors, numbers, and two settings for music. My child does need to learn his colors better which is why I got the toy in the first place.

Overall, this toy perhaps would be better for an even younger child than 2. My little boy didn't play with the toy long and now the toy sits on top of the other toys in his toy room.