We gave my son this table for Christmas. It was a gift to myself as much as him, as it keeps him occupied for good periods of time. The table is segmented into 4 pieces, so for a while we kept a half circle in one room and the other in another. Now we have a round chalk board-topped table in the center of it, and together it is a great little entertainment center. My son fiddles and flips and turns and tries to unscrew (unsuccessfully, as of yet) the pieces. The educational value seems endless, with opportunities to count, name colors, produce patterns, explore cause and effect, and on and on. We are happy with this purchase.
Things to be aware of:
1. The table we received was not as pictured. It does not link together, the joining edges are flat, and there is no border color. The toys are 99% the same. The spinning wheel/magnetic maze is a pretty red.
2. It does not actually "join", in other words there is no mechanism or included hardware to actually keep the circle from coming apart into 4 pieces at the whim of the child. I had to rig up my own semi flexible hinges which was a bit annoying, but the table functions very well with them. It does come with hardware to attach the legs to the floor, which is off-putting for home use.
3. I have an 18 month old and a 4 year old. They both get equal amounts of enjoyment from it, and it is an attractive table. It replaced quite a few annoying small parts toys and we are happy to have it as a permanent fixture in the playroom.
4. It is very short. Short as in my 18 month old has no trouble climbing on top and standing/falling/leaping/tripping. The table top itself is only 14 inches high. It requires my 4 year old to kneel on the hardwoods to play with it. It would certainly benefit from being a half foot taller for both children.
5. One of the toys has failed to engage the interest of either child. The range of motion on it is limited, and the pieces are bulky and close together.
6. It is VERY durable. I can see this lasting until my youngest grows out of it, with lots of playmates, including their smart 6 year old cousin enjoying it so far.
7. Ours came with absolutely no instruction. Do not be freaked out by the mass of small bits, most of them are for anchoring it to the floor. Be prepared for the possibility of having to wing it, which is okay since it's really just attaching bent wood legs.
8. Overall I'm not quite sure what makes this worth 350$ (299$, tops), but we are happy with it and it is a successful item.We have used this table as a toy in our pediatric clinic for 8+ years. It is very good for the kids, but it gets hard use, and I am preparing to order our second one.
Some of the pieces have broken no surprise and we had to make sure the legs stayed on.Ended up gluing them in addition to the screws it came with, so be prepared for a little extra work.
Overall, a good table.I put this product together just as shown on the instructions. Within hours the legs broke out of the screw holes and now it is trash you can't do anything with itCircle of Fun by Anatex
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