My daughter and I have always been big fans of music. We sing together, we play piano, we play toy instruments, and we love to dance. I have sung to her every night before bed from the very beginning, and I have encouraged her to experience a wide variety of musical genres. Through the influence of her favorite TV show, as well as the influence of her grandfather, she developed an early love of classical music, and she loves identifying and playing lots of musical instruments. So I was thrilled when we were given the opportunity to check out the new Think & Learn Rocktopus from Fisher Price!

Standard Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Fisher-Price and Soapbox Influence. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a commission from purchases you make through the links in this post. #RocktopusWalmart

What is the Think & Learn Rocktopus?

The Think & Learn Rocktopus is a fun new toy designed to engage kids in music, movement and learning fun. The octopus character has 6 arms (plus 2 blank holders in the back to make 8). Each arm has space at the end that can be filled with a musical instrument pod. There are 15 musical instruments to choose from, ranging from the violin to a cowbell. Kids have the opportunity to mix and match the instruments, along with 5 different musical styles, to create their own masterpieces.

The Think & Learn Rocktopus has 3 different play modes: Math, Music, and Games. In the Math mode, the Rocktopus talks kids through various math activities, including counting, addition, and subtraction. While kids are reviewing their math skills, they are also learning musical vocabulary, such as trio or quartet. The Games mode offers a fast moving game that encourages kids to quickly bop the instruments to keep them from changing colors. As each instrument is tapped, kids can hear the sound that it makes.

The Music mode allows kids to dive into composing their own music. As each instrument is added to the arms, kids can hear the sounds that they make. As they add more instruments, Rocktopus creates a song with them. Kids can press on specific instruments to give them solos, or switch between them. They can also control the tempo of the song by pressing the two speed buttons. Rocktopus also offers interesting facts about the instruments, and will add cheerful phrases when the large blue button is pushed.

Why We Love It

My daughter has always been a fan of music (and so has her mother!). So she really loves the idea that she can make her own music. The brightly colored musical instrument “pods” include a variety of instruments that she recognizes, and she loves mixing and matching them.

She also likes that Rocktopus interacts with her, asking her to add or remove instruments in the math mode, or cheering her on in the music mode. The colorful flashing lights and peppy music keep her entertained, and she loves that she can control the music. Plus, playing with Rocktopus has definitely increased her curiosity for learning about musical instruments.

I love this toy because of all the things she is learning with it. She already had background knowledge on a lot of the instruments, but being able to hear them through Rocktopus has been a lot of fun. She is learning musical vocabulary that she didn’t know before, as well as interesting facts about the instruments she loves. I like how Rocktopus seamlessly weaves the new vocabulary into the games, so she is picking up new words without even realizing it.

The math mode is full of learning opportunities and the activities are fun and engaging, so she is learning a lot while playing it. My only wish for this amazing toy is that it came with a container of some sort to hold all of the musical instrument pods. However, we were able to find a small purse in my daughter’s collection that fit them perfectly.

Perfect for Holiday Shopping Lists!

The Think & Learn Rocktopus gives kids the chance to explore various musical styles while learning about different instruments. The fun and engaging activities encourage learning through play, which is always a win. As kids experiment with different rhythmic patterns, styles of music, and instrument sounds, they are gaining a ton of background knowledge, as well as important skills. Not only does it encourage creative expression through music, but it also helps kids work on their attention and listening skills. (And can’t we all use a little of that?).

Think & Learn Rocktopus is a perfect gift for your holiday shopping lists this year! Not only will kids love it, but parents will love the educational benefits they get from it. (Plus there are two volume modes, so parents can turn it down to the quieter setting, and don’t we all appreciate that?). Rocktopus is available at Walmart, and Walmart Layaway is back, making it even easier to purchase it for the kids on your list!

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