Dimitri is totally crazed about musical instruments. He has a veritable orchestra’s worth already, including a drum, an adult harmonica, whistles, maracas and more that I am forgetting. So I was very excited about receiving musical instruments intended for little ones from Little First Act Discovery. The Build-a-Drum is comprised of wooden blocks that you match up with colors and balance on end, with the top on, it becomes a pretty good Drum.
Dimitri has a good time with the blocks, and he and his father have been practicing colors and stacking. I enjoy toys like the Build-a-Drum because they are: a) not electronic and b) they are great toys for several age levels.
The My First Harmonica that we received was very brightly colored and appalling. Dimitri immediately wanted to play with it. Unfortunately he was not able to blow hard enough to make a noise. His adult harmonica is easy for him to use, so that was disappointing. Since Dimitri is only fifteen months and the Harmonica is recommended for eighteen months and up I thought to be fair I should let some other ages try it. Up through age two, kids seemed to have a hard time grasping the concept. The Harmonica has plastic ergonomic handles that young children want to suck on, but alas that produces no noise. Ages 3 and up, however, loved “My first Harmonica”. They spent a long time passing it around and dancing, as a matter of fact, they loved it so much that there were tears when I had to take it home. Dimitri still thinks it is a pretty great toy, he brings it to use to play for him frequently. Unfortunately, this story does have a sad ending. The harmonica has lost 3 of its 4 notes to a severe dunking in the fish tank. Apparently no one anticipated underwater use.
Jessamy
