This construction toy is brilliant in its simplicity. My son received this toy as a gift for his third birthday from a very dear friend of mine and I haven’t met one child (or adult!) yet who hasn’t loved it.
The Look
The standard pack has 32 plastic, magnetic pieces consisting of squares and triangles. The pieces are lightweight and easy to handle.How to Play
This is an open-ended play toy which is my favorite kind. There are no rules and the possible creations are endless. A fantastic aspect (and not so common in a building toy) is that it requires little motor coordination or physical strength. The child need not press down hard to connect the pieces as with legos and if their creation falls apart, it is very easy to just try again.
Modifications and Skills
Language: For requesting, I withhold some desired pieces in a very casual, nonchalant manner and prompt the child to ask for them (vocally or through sign/pictures). If the child is building something and I know which piece he/she will need I may "accidentally" lose that piece to prompt the child to ask “Where is...?” or “I need the...” For labeling, you can verbally model what the child is making, “It’s a big house” or “My blue castle” etc. I like to build along side the student and when we are both finished use the two structures for some early conversation. And of course at the end of the building time, it’s always important for the child to show off his/her creation to you with an enthusiastic “Look what I did!” or “My tower is the best”
Imitation 2D to 3D: The tiles come with a sheet displaying and explaining how to make various designs. The degree of difficulty varies so at first you may want to isolate just the necessary pieces for the particular design the child wants.
Imitation 3D to 3D: Another variation of this imitation skill is for the adult to build something and have the child copy it. The only thing to be aware of is that because there are not that many duplicates of the same colored shape tiles, it may be difficult to match exactly (same colors) the design unless you have more than one set.
Critical thinking: A highlight of this toy is that it naturally enhances problem solving skills. There are two types of triangles included in the pack-equilateral and right angled. I often see children try to use the triangles for the same purpose but then discover that they don’t fit the same way. They must use a different piece or re-think their design. If they don’t have any square tiles left they learn to put the two right angled triangles together for a substitute. I find it fascinating to watch the wheels turn in the child’s head as he/she experiments throughout this creative process.
Imagination: One thing that my son loves to do with this toy is to incorporate his other toys into it. For example, he loves to build different types of space ships with the tiles and will then put one of his action figures in the space ship. Or he will build a garage for his cars or a school...you get the point. This pretend play also makes it easier to prompt more language skills as you can role play what the other toys may be saying.
Easy: This very well be my all time favorite toy. The pieces can crash to the floor an infinite amount of times and even played with in the bath (water can get inside but it dries out and doesn’t affect the magnetic property).
Downside?: Perhaps the only drawback to this toy is that it does not naturally incorporate more than one person. It’s great during those times you need your child occupied by themselves but if your goal is group play, you’ll just have to work a little harder at getting the kids to look up from their creations and paying attention to what the others are creating.
I know that there are other magnetic block type toys out there but I find these the most attractive and I love that I don’t have to worry about small pieces that could be a choking hazard. Any other teaching ideas with this toy that I've missed?
Rating
Critic Rating: 9
Fun value: 10
Educational value: 8
Durability: 10
Cost: 6
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