Customer Reviews

Tolo Toys Rolling Ball Shape Sorter

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My daughter played wih this at a Gymboree type of play group. When she was 9 months old, she was interested but didn't have the coordination to put all the pieces in the ball. Still, the size of each piece was perfect for her little hands. She absolutely loved holding the pieces and trying to get them inside. I think that's why she continued to practice and play with the toy rather then getting frustrated with it.

By the time she was 13 months or so, she was easily able to fit the pieces in the various holes. What's nice about this toy is each hole is colored to match with the piece that goes in it, so the round hole is blue as is the circle, the square hole is geen as is the square, etc. This obviously also helps with color recognition.

The only thing my daughter found difficult with this toy, in the beginning, is the fact that the sorter itself is round instead of flat. Since it's a ball, it's harder for the baby to find the hole they're looking for. To encourage her, I would simply turn the ball for her so she would see the hole, then leave it up to her to put the shape in. As she gets older, she can then find the hole by herself. It's a wonderful toy that a baby will be able to use for quite awhile as their skill level grows.

We bought this in preference to the Tupperware ball that - while definitely a fond memory of mine and my wife's - has become incredibly expensive! When the ball arrived it looked great (although the lack of a square is a little puzzling as a fundamental shape) and our little guy loved it. The problem arrived when trying to insert the circle/round piece. One way around it fit just fine; the other, no dice. Taking a closer look we found rough edges on the inside that were snagging against the - poorly - fitted shape. The seams were raised on one side just enough to prevent it dropping in. This is not the kind of negative reinforcement we wanted in this toy as at 15 months old our son's not getting the "yes that's the right shape, in the right hole but you need to flip it over, jiggle it and then pound it in" message. Such a slacker ;)

Overall, it would have been a great product if the quality control on the line that produced it was up to standard.

My 22-month-old twins love this sorter. I had it out for them as infants and they would enjoy holding the shapes and hearing them rattle. At around 18 months they started to put the shapes in with help. Now they can (and want to) put the shapes in over and over again. I use the toy for matching skills, learning colors and shapes. Really a great buy.

ROLLING BALL SHAPE SORTER
This is a colorful, well made toy that worked well with my 14 month old grandson. He did not have the sophistication to match the shapes to the holes (just yet!) but he definitely liked the size of the ball and its enclosed objects. This is a better made product than similar toys we had for his mother.

This toy was given to us as a gift when our twin boys were too young to use it (probably around 6 months). This was the first puzzle toy that they quickly grew attached to as well as be able to complete. They just loved playing with the pieces and shaking them to make noise. My boys are now over 2 1/2 years old and we have another baby (5 1/2 months) so we pulled the toy out again, and the boys are loving it all over again! Once our little one is a little older, I just know the boys will love teaching her how to use the pieces and fit them in the proper slots. Definitely worth purchasing if you're looking for a great baby toy! I even purchased one of these for a friend because her daughter was only interested in this puzzle toy when she came over for play dates.

My 18 month old son's eyes lit up the second he saw it and demanded to play with it as soon as he unwrapped it during Christmas. He somehow knew that the object was to stuff the different shapes into the ball but he still needed guidance with matching the correct shapes and colors. I have no doubt he will soon be accomplishing this on his own as this ball is both entertaining and educational. Strong plastic means it will be durable as my son has already proven to me by trying to bounce it on our wood floors! The little shapes are solid all the way around (not just one sided cookie-cutter style)and have little rattles inside.

Great toy. My 3 year old loved it first for the shapes that fit nicely into palms and are little shakers, then for the ball that can roll around, lastly for the shapes and learning colors. So much fun I bought it again for her brother since we'd lost a couple of the shakers (and they got a bit scratched since my daughter liked to crawl around with them in her hands and scrape them back and forth on our concrete floors). I buy this as a gift for people having babies. Love this toy. Other Tolo products were good, but this was the best.

Friends gave this to my daughter as a birthday present. She has another shape sorter that she hadn't been especially interested in, so I was afraid this would be a flop, but she started playing with it right away and hasn't lost interest in it yet. Something about the way the Tolo sorter combines bright colors and a ball with shapes that rattle really intrigues her. She loves to put the shapes into the holes and when they're all in, asks to do it again. The shapes have rounded edges, which I appreciate when she grabs them and runs around the room shaking them. The shapes also rattle with slightly different rattling sounds which seems to make shaking them extra fun.

Right now we help her play with the sorter by holding the ball steady so she can put in the shapes and so we can open the ball up again to get the shapes out when she wants to do it again. This is a lot of fun, but, at least right now, this isn't a toy I give to her if I need a few minutes to get ready in the morning or to get something done in the kitchen.

We've only had the toy for a few months, so I'm not sure how durable it will be long-term, but it seems very well made and so far has held up to being thrown on the (wood and tile) floors multiple times.

I would heartily recommend the Tolo sorter to anyone looking for a good gift for a young toddler.

This is a well made product. My child loves this and plays with it constantly. It's one of her favorite toys.

I am considering buying a second since my one and two 1/2 year old fight over it, they LOVE this toy. Not only do they love putting the shapes in but also shaking the shapes since they rattle, great toy!!