In the 1990s, when our children were young, they had a few very memorable toys and a few of them were by Fisher-Price. I remember a few in particular and one of the first ones was this Fisher-Price Discovery Cottage.
This cottage was recommended for children aged 12 to 36 months and featured a house with a number of manually activated elements, two chunky Jumbo Little People figures, a person and a dog, and a tricycle. The figures were perfectly sized, bigger than other Little People, which allowed the youngest child to easily grasp them without the risk of choking.
The house featured these interactive elements:
- A blue front door that opened with a clicking sound and has a hole to put a figure into.
- A rubber doorbell that rang when you pushed the red button. This button was the one part of the house that did not necessarily stand the test of time on a much loved house. Ours was broken from being depressed so many times.
- The opposite side had a garage door that flipped down to allow access for the tricycle to the parking area.
- Beside the garage door, was a butterfly that pushed up and down and made a clicking sound.
- One side of the roof lifted to reveal a bed and another hole, either of which that could hold a figure.
- The other, fixed side of the roof featured a chimney slide for your figure to slide through.
- The final side of the house had a roller that spun and displayed different images.
- Finally, the house had a handle so that your child could carry it around.
Our little ones played with this toy extensively, initially in a very basic way. I can picture my son putting the figure down the chimney over and over and over again. Eventually they played with it in a more imaginative way using the house as a home for the people.
Apparently, there were a few different versions of this house as is evidenced by a commercial that I viewed recently that shared how this toy had evolved in response to the play style of children. That video featured Fisher-Price's slogan that somehow seems very familiar to me, "Fisher-Price. Children taught us all we know."
Beyond the imaginative play, the Discovery Cottage helped my children learn about shapes and develop hand-eye coordination. If the toy company still made it, I would buy one for baby gifts. Meanwhile, if you want one you will likely have to settle for a used one, which can be found
here on eBay. Make sure to buy extra figures because this house could definitely hold more Jumbo Little People!
See you
at the toy store!
Brenda
Treasures By Brenda
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