Play and learn with playgro

I tell you being a toy tester is a hard life.... its just so... demanding. Nah, just kidding, being a toy tester is pretty freakin awesome! I mean that's what bub tells me. I think I actually play with the toys almost as much as she does sometimes, you know for research purposes. So you guys can be sure I'm providing an expert opinion in my reviews (yea lets go with that excuse). So, without further ado, let me introduce you to the next toy we've been testing out as part of our very important toy testing duties.

The Play and Learn Ball

The Play and Learn Ball is like a stack of different toys all put together (aka its awesome). In the middle there's an hourglass shaped rattle with black and white balls inside. On the orange end of that there's a little mirror. The outside edges of the ball are nice and flexible and have a variety of different beads on them including cute monkeys. The beads are all different textures to both aid tactile development and help soothe teething gums.

{look at my toy mum}

Its pretty easy to tell from the photo above that someone was pretty excited about testing out this toy! Note how she's holding it with the mirror facing up, that's not an accident. Shes definitely inherited her fathers vanity. In fact shortly after she played with it the first time the mirror was covered in slobber because she was trying to kiss herself.

I can also attest that the beads do indeed soothe sore teething gums. When she's not looking at herself in the mirror or shaking the bejesus out of it, shes usually got it in her mouth. She doesn't seem to have a favourite bead, any shape will do, even the poor monkeys head.

{chewing on some beads as she watches cartoons}

When they're not in her mouth, the beads help develop her fine motor skills as she spins them all around and moves them up and down. Playing with the beads and trying to figure out which way to move them also helps stimulate her cognitive skills. You can see in the photo below how hard shes concentrating as she plays with them.

{deep in concentration}

As I mentioned above she loves to shake it to death as well. If I say shake, shake, shake she'll start rattling it as fast as her little arms can go. She loves the noise it makes but she also loves watching the black and white balls move around as she shakes it. I love that the rattle part is clear so she can see the balls moving. She loves knowing where noises are coming from and this toy keeps her entertained a lot longer than her other rattles because she can see whats going on inside. Shes a thinker this one, always needs to know how things work.

{watching where the noise comes from as the ball zooms up and down}

The ball is guided for six months plus and I think its a toy that babies will get a lot of use out of for quite a few months as their cognitive and fine motor skills develop. At eleven months old bub is still highly entertained by it and I don't see that changing anytime soon. If you want to check it out for yourselves you can find it at Coles (RRP $15).

Toni xx

*Disclosure - as official Playgro toy testers bub and I are sent age appropriate toys for the purpose of review. All opinions expressed in this review are based on our personal experience with the products.

Previous playgro reviews
The twirly trio
Bathtime Squirtees

Linking with Grace