Customer Reviews

LeapFrog Discovery Ball

5 star:		(151)
4 star:		(59)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

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.

The Discovery Ball by Leap Frog is a dual-use toy. The youngest children can spin the colorful ball around on its base to hear the music play, and older, more mobile children would enjoy chasing this sturdy ball around the floor.

What impressed me the most was it's use of what we teachers call the "cloze procedure" (I teach first grade). When the child spins the ball, it will sing the abc song. After a first singing all the way through, the ball will stop singing at a strategic point to encourage the child to spin again. What is really happening, is that the song is in the process of being memorized - the young child hears part of it, and when he/she realizes that something's missing, the child physically responds to "fill in the missing gap". That's a pretty powerful response when you see it going on with a 10 month old!

All that aside, my 3 year old daughter likes to play with it, too. Her favorite part is to listen to the 3rd setting, which features 26 different classical tunes.

This toy would be a good investment for your family.

I bought this toy to keep at my house for my twin nephews a few months ago. They are 10 months old now and they love this toy! My sister-in-law even had to go buy one to keep at her house because they played with it so much. Even the older kids and adults like to play with it. I love that it has a high and low volume switch. And you can keep it on the base for younger babies who aren't crawling yet so they can sit or lay and spin it. And for the crawlers and walkers you can take it off the base so they can roll it around and chase after it. It has good sound quality and the music is enjoyable, not annoying. I've only had 2 small problems with it: the first one I bought had 3 letter buttons that did not work so I had to exchange it; and a few times the sound has become distorted, I think from getting too wet with drool, but it goes back to normal quickly when it starts to dry out. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a great and educational toy!

My 1 year son has a severe to profound hearing loss. Our goal with hearing aids or if need be the cochlear implant is for him to speak and understand speech. From the time he was 2 months old we have been feeding him speech and sound ques. This is with the help of an Audiologist, Speech Pathologist and a teacher from a school for the deaf. We recieved the Discovery Ball as a gift when he was 6 months old and it was an instant hit with not only him but his 3 therapists. The sound is very clear and precise. Finding toys that have clear speech is almost impossible. We feel that this toy and other Leap Frog toys we have will be a big asset in his therapy.

My 14mo. old son loves this toy. He received it for Christmas last year and it has been one of his favorites ever since. It was great for tummy time play when he first got it. Now that he's bigger he loves to chase after it and listen to it sing. I know he'll love it as he gets older too. I use it in my preschool classroom, and the children love it. Its been great at helping them recognize their alphabet and helped them learn letter sounds too. This is a great toy, I recommend it to everyone.

The Discovery Ball toy is the perfect example of why reviews can be misleading to shoppers. Parents read the reviews, the particulars, and they think, "WOW, this toy is developmental, it will teach my kid the alphabet, and letter sounds. My kid'll be a genius by 2!" To be honest, had I reviewed this toy soon after my son received it, I would have given it 5-stars and gushed about its developmental qualities. However, time has proven reliable, and I have deduced after 2-years and 2-months that it is, and was insignificant to my son's development. By that, I mean the toy was of no consequence to us.

The concept is first-rate, however the delivery is lacking. I mean, what kid wants to roll a ball when they can throw it? The Discovery Ball is designed for infants and toddlers, but it's probably more appropriate for preschoolers. Firstly, the buttons are too difficult for an infant to press; also, they are too close together. Secondly, it's too sensitive. For example, let's say the toy is in "music" mode and its playing Old MacDonald, if the ball is touched midstream the music will stop, and revert into 1 of the 2 very annoying intervening songs. It's like punishment, rather than play. Can I say without it sounding too harsh, "WHAT'S THE POINT?" LeapFrog should have decided long ago whether they were designing an educational tool for preschoolers, or a plaything for infants.

William received the Discovery Ball for his 1st Christmas. He was 8-months old at the time, so I took the ball off the stand so he could bat it around on the floor. He'd roll it, the lights would flash, the music would play, and he'd giggle. After a few rolls, he lost interest. The toy has a musical prompt, which occasionally got a look, but most often, he was onto something better. Soon after his 1st birthday, he discovered the ON/OFF switch. He'd sit on the floor and repeatedly turn the thing "ON" and then "OFF". It would play the ABC Song for 3-seconds, he'd slide the lever to the "OFF" position, and then back to "ON" again. It was enough to drive me nuts! He didn't care about the phonics, or even the music, all he cared about was that darn ON/OFF switch. The sound quality is good, but the woman's voice grated on my nerves after hearing 3-seconds of the ABC Song 1000-times in an afternoon. Fortunately, there is a volume control, although my son usually wants to HEAR his toys. As if the lower level isn't loud enough. UGH! Oh, and this toy is one of those irritating playthings that goes off in the toy box, if you fail to turn it "OFF".

After his 2nd birthday, William gained enough strength and proficiency to throw the ball. I suppose I should have attached it to its base right there and then, but dummy me thought he'd grow out of that phase. Later, I realized the throwing phase was here to stay, so I put the Discovery Ball back on its base. My attempts were futile, as my crafty little one figured out how to remove it a week later. The toy is sturdy, especially considering how many times it has been dropped, and thrown. We've only replaced the batteries twice, which is an event all its own. Let me just say, its not overly difficult, but more complicated than most.

The Discovery Ball can be tricky to wash. LeapFrog recommends you clean the ball with a damp cloth, but that doesn't always produce the best results. You see, the letters and musical notes that cover the surface of the ball are raised, so grime can become lodged in, and between the grooves. I've resorted to spraying Lysol on a rag and wiping it down. It doesn't completely remove the dirt, but it disinfects it, which makes me feel better.

In conclusion, the toys more annoying than enjoyable, so it collects dust, until my son finds it, and then it's transformed into a heavy, throwing ball that hurts when hit. My advice ~ avoid it.

Mary :)

From LeapFrog, this is the toy my 11 months old son loves the most.
* This toy has 2 volume sets: high and low (THANK YOU!).
* When you roll the ball, you can either hear the ABC song or other few melodies.
* If you press any of the letters, you'll hear either its name, how it sounds, or a melody.
* It also shows bright light on both sides of the alphabet, so music, colors, light and motion will capture baby's attention.
* The ball can be attached to the base for the baby's early months or can be detached from the base when the baby is "mobile".
* Sound is crystal clear.
* The materials are solid but soft, just the right texture and has bright colors.
* It helps the baby to recognize the alphabet (by name and by sound) and will enjoy many short melodies as well.
In a nutshell, a MUST buy for the learning baby.

The overall product and idea are great, but the most educational part of the toy needs work. When baby moves the ball, it starts the alphabet and goes to a certain point. Unless it is moved again in a very short period of time, it will start at the beginning again, hence, baby/toddler and parents get tired of "ABCD" and "ABCD" and "ABCD." My son would never know the latter part of the alphabet if we relied soley on this to teach him. Also, the 26 different songs it claims to play are really just different organizations of the same computer tones, with the exception of a few well knowns like Mary Had a Little Lamb and B-I-N-G-O. Finally, when pressing the letters to hear the sounds they make, you have to move the ball and so 80% of the time you'll get the start of the alphabet again before you get the sound of the letter you have chosen to hear - it's just confusing and needs a little work!

My 1 year old twins LOVE this toy. The biggest problem we have with this toy is that they'll fight over who gets to play with it. The ball will sing the alphabet song, and my babies love to spin the ball when it's attached into its base.

I like that it gives you a choice between letter names and letter sounds. The alphabet song seems to hold my babies' attention, and they'll spin the ball to make it keep singing. They're also learning to press the letters to make the ball sound out letter names/sounds.

We don't part with our money too easily for toys, but this one was a splurge that we don't regret a bit.

OK, maybe I'm bragging a little, but he figured out how to spin the ball to make music right out of the box. And he kept spinning it (with the ball in the stationary stand). However, he seems to have more fun with it when the ball is removed from the stand so he can roll it all around. The music is excellent, however, the ABC song can get a bit annoying after a while. You can switch between ABC's and a medley of songs. All in all, this is a really good toy, that's somewhat educational. It also seems to be very durable, as my son loves to pick the ball up and drop it to the floor repeatedly (so watch it roll away). ALso, the price is right.