Category Archives: Age 3-5

Four toddler & elementary age building block sets I love

Age 1-3, Age 3-5, Toys, Wooden Toys

Bamboo Collection Contina blocks

Ages 4+

Continablocks
This is one of my favorite block sets. The eco-friendly bamboo blocks measure 1inch wide, 3 3/4 inches long, and 1/4 thick making them perfect for little fingers. The bright colors give me the perfect opportunity to teach Madelyn but there have been a couple of times when she put one in her mouth and ended up with green dye/ink on her lips. I quickly washed her mouth out, but I am pretty sure that the dye/ink is 100% safe.

Sebastian builds tall towers while Madelyn lays the blocks down in patterns, builds little houses with one color, or lines the blocks up flat one behind the other and plays choo choo.

Price: About $20

Gorilla Blocks
For ages 9 -36 months


Gorilla blocksGorilla Blocks were featured in our special Educational Toys segment.
These quickly became a favorite of our younger product testers. Gorilla Blocks are huge blocks that work like LEGO's. The different block sizes and themes make for endless building possibilities, all the while being an educational tool. How are Gorilla Blocks educational you ask? I can tell you first hand. Madelyn, 18 months, enjoys sorting the blocks by size and color. I was so excited the first time I saw her sorting them, I tried to catch it on video but of course she quit as soon as the camera was rolling.

The blocks can also be used to teach basic math. Take a block that has two dots on it, add a block with three dots.. what do you get? Yes, your kids can learn from Gorilla Blocks! And, the nifty weatherproof factor means that kids can even play in the bathtub. Just don't let the dogs get hold of these!

Price: About $30

Gorilla Blocks 24-pc. Standard Set
are available at Amazon.


Mega Bloks Wonder Builder block set
Ages 12 months – 3 years

Megabloks

Mega Bloks are a classic. Big blocks that snap together. What's better than that to a toddler? The Wonder Builder block set has developmental elements such as knobs to turn, buttons to press, and beads to rattle. The friendly animals include a tiger, a turtle, a squirrelly squirrel, a rattling snake, and a hiding baby kangaroo. Using the star-shaped key, kids can unlock a secret behind a block with corresponding shape and color. I haven't reviewed these myself yet, but based on what I see this looks like a fun set of building blocks for toddlers.

Price: About $30

The Mega Bloks Wonder Builders Bag is available at Amazon.com.


My First LEGO DUPLO Set

Ages 18 months – 5 years

  • Duplo
    Like MEGA Bloks, LEGO's are a classic building toy for toddlers. This DUPLO set has special elements including a window, cat and flower to help jump start imaginations. I love that some of their DUPLO sets come in a sturdy container so I can just throw the blocks in and store them away when the kids aren't playing with them.

Price: About $30

The My First LEGO DUPLO Set is available at Amazon

K’NEX Sesame Street building sets for ages 2-5

Age 3-5, Educational Toys, Toys

KnexsesameoscarSesame Street, on television since November 10, 1969 is the longest running children’s program on American television and is a childhood staple.  K’NEX Sesame Street building sets give our children a fun way to interact with their favorite Sesame Street characters.  These new character building sets come complete with K’NEX rods, connectors and blocks that can be snapped together.  Beyond the standard K’NEX building pieces, each Sesame Street K’NEX character has its own unique pieces like Oscar’s pet worm and funny eyes.  Each Sesame Streen K’NEX building set includes additional building ideas.

When I saw that the Sesame Street K’NEX building sets are for ages 2-5, I was thrilled because there aren’t many building toys that Madelyn, my two year old daughter, can actually build.  With most building sets the pieces are too small or too difficult for a two year old to snap together but these K’NEX pieces are large enough for Madelyn to hold onto while she snaps the pieces together.

As a mom, one of the things I appreciate most about the K’NEX Sesame Street building sets is that they are self contained.  The Oscar the Grouch pieces, for example, are stored in a garbage can container.

Other characters include Ernie, Cookie Monster, Grover, and Abby Cadabby.  Pieces from different sets can be combined to make some very silly characters!

Price: $10.00 & up

Available at: Amazon.com

Morgan’s Mine Adventure Playset

Age 3-5, Toys

Thomasmine
Most of the child population likes Thomas the Tank Engine.  Now kids can relive the adventures of the brand-new Thomas
and "The Great Discovery" DVD story with Morgan’s Mine Adventure Playset which is great for toddlers 3+.

The 35-piece Take Along playset is packed with fun sounds, lights, and obstacles and keeps Madelyn’s attention.  She loves setting Thomas at the top of the track, pushing the button and watching Thomas go down the track really fast and I love the cardboard walls that keep the vehicles from  falling off the track.  I  get really frustrated with trains that go right off the track as soon as they go a little fast but these don’t.  She does this over and over again.  There is a little button at the top of the track that she pushes to release the train onto the track and after that it is all action!

The tracks are easy to put together and take apart and the set is portable making it great for taking to Grandmother’s house and for cleaning up quickly.  There is even a storage area where the vehicles can be stored.  The vehicles feature durable die-cast construction and magnet connectors.

Watch this video as Madelyn, two years old, plays with Morgan’s Mine Adventure Playset. It may sound like I am yelling at the beginning so you might want to be sure your computer’s volume is not too loud.  I was trying to talk over the playset’s sounds and Madelyn’s excitement.


Price: $39.99

Available at: Learning Curve

Mo Smells Red – a scentsational journey

Age 3-5, Age 5-7, Bedtime, Books

Mosmellsred
Did you ever think you could smell color with your nose?  I didn’t but I’ve been given a new appreciation for smells since reading Mo Smells Red.  Mo Smells Red is a cute story about a dog, Mo, who goes on a scentsational journey and takes readers with him.  Throughout the book Mo enjoys the smell of red roses, juicy red strawberries, chocolate, and fire.  Readers can actually smell what Mo
smells through the Press-2-Smell technology.  Embedded within the pages of the book are
scent-dispensing packets good for thousands of “sniffs” containing
safe, non-toxic scents that truly mimic real life smells.

Both you and your child will enjoy the story about Mo, an adorable little dog, and the real life smells are sure to leave you craving a juicy red strawberry, a walk through a rose garden, a piece of chocolate.. or maybe all three.  The book is short and sweet making it perfect for kids two years and older.  My daughter is two years old and wants to read Mo Smells Red every time she sees it.  The concept is fascinating.   I thought surely after reading the book a few times, the smell of the roses would combine with the smell of the strawberries and so on, but that’s not the case.  Each smell stays true to what it is and will for thousands of sniffs.

The embedded scent pouches contain natural essential oils and the pages
are printed on 10% post-consumer paper stock and printed with soy-based
inks.  A portion of the proceeds will go to Best Friends Animal Society
(www.BestFriends.org) and support their initiatives to work with humane
groups across the country — to bring about a time when there are no
more homeless pets.

You will also find baby tee’s, tote bags, stickers, notebooks and more in the Mo’s Nose store.  Mo Smells Red will make a gift for a child ages 2+.  Even tweens enjoy Mo Smells Red because cute story and fun scents.  Mo Smells Red is the first installment in the Mo’s Nose series of books created by long time friends Margaret Hyde and Amanda Giacomini.  I can’t wait to see what the next installment is!

Price: $17.95

Available at: Mo’s Nose

Giveaway alert! We have two Mo Smells Red books and tee’s to give away.  Join our newsletter to learn how and when you can enter to win.

Personalized painted baby onesie’s and tee’s – Hip Kids Shop

Age 0-1 year, Age 1-3, Age 3-5, Age 5-7, Age 7-10, Baby & Kids Clothing, Personalized

Hipkidsshop1If you are a regular reader, you know that I love personalized clothes and gifts. 
Madelyn has personalized pacifier clips, clothes, and piggy banks. 

A great online store for personalized kids clothes, is Hip Kids Shop.  Celena Apple, the artist behind the clothes, creates one-of-a-kind hand painted clothes for infants, toddlers and older kids all the way up to size 12.  The clothes are American made and are 100% cotton.

You will also find personalized gifts including toy caddy’s in several different styles, personalized growth charts and piggy banks at Hip Kids Shop.  Your toddler will be the cutest on the playground when she’s wearing a tee with her name and cute little butterfly painted on it.  Each shirt is made to order and no two are exactly alike.

Price: $29.95

Coupon code: Use code ‘insider’ to get 15% off of your purchase.

Available at: Hip Kids Shop