Activities and Learning Reviews

"Slightly" disappointed.

Our 2-year-old found them instantly intriguing, but quickly became frustrated by the difficulty of stacking them without knocking them over. We are not worried about that, as we expect this to be a skill-building process in dexterity, balance, large-motor coordination, and so on. But it is worth mentioning that some children, depending on age or taste, may not instantly love these blocks; and we can't say for sure that our child will either, until more time passes.

I think it also important to note that the stackability of these blocks will depend somewhat on the precision with which you fold each one during assembly. There always seem to be a couple of blocks that don't fit together quite as well as others, leaving a bit more tilt than one would like to blocks piled atop it.

However, one does get a very sturdy block when all the folding is done. The design creates "walls" of cardboard within the body of each block, making it strong enough that a small toddler can lean or even sit on one without flattening it.

We will have to wait a while to find out if our child "grows into" the specific skills required to really enjoy these blocks, or if they remain piled in a corner somewhere. The immediate reaction has not been as glorious as we were led to expect from other reviews,

And we really felt that the "assembly required" issue should have been mentioned quite clearly. Although we assumed that these came in "knock-down" form, a clerk at the local [store] (where we would have bought the blocks if they had been in stock that day) said she thought these came pre-assembled. I think that example alone proves that the information should be included in the product listing.

Like all puzzles, once children have mastered them, they're ready to move to other toys. However, I recommend this for 2 year olds. The parent can play along and use it to build vocabulary (where is the dog? what sound does the dog make? let's put the dog puzzle piece in . . .).

Personally, I look for toys that are fairly quiet, easy and fun. If they are educational that is good too. I prefer toys that will grow with a child, foster independence and creativity. Puzzles are great!

These puzzles with knobs are excellent for clumsy little fingers to play with. The little knobs make it easier for the child to get the pieces in the spot.

I particularly like the bright pictures with the matching picture in the hole. After the child outgrows these, you can buy the puzzles that are not individual pictures (but rather each piece is part of a whole!) You can graduate to more pieces in a puzzle and few visual clues. So, this puzzle is a great introduction to other puzzles as well.

Another way to make this more challenging is you can mix up several puzzles and let your child work on three or four at once.

Wonderful. This is one toy I'm glad we have in our house!