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November 29, 2011

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What about the Melissa and Doug blocks? Are they the same size as this set?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00008W72D/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Those are the blocks Santa was planning on bringing to our house.

We love Haba blocks over here.. but those Beka bloks... now I have to convince hubby that they would be soooo awesome! :)

Thank you so much for the wonderful gift ideas for my sons (ages 3 and 1). The Magna Tiles look amazing! One question for you...what light table do you recommend?

R and I could create the best towers with the unit blocks! Nanny recommended:)

UGH - I forgot one! R literally pulled these out this morning and I realized my omission! These bristle-like blocks he loves. The set isn't huge, but he often combines them with other types of play. They're $16 at Target: http://www.target.com/p/B-Bristle-Block-Stackadoos/-/A-13527760

Lisa - The Melissa and Doug unit blocks are also great. The reason we didn't go with them is because they are missing some of the larger pieces that the Beka set has. This picture shows every block in the set - you can see that there is only 2 large boards. http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/B00008W72D/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_2?ie=UTF8&index=2

The Beka set has both the large boards, plus large sticks (which equal half of the large board) plus large planks (half of the large board sliced lengthwise). Wow this is hard to explain. Hmmm....look at the very top pic in this post. The large boards are acting as the first floor of the tower. The large sticks are holding up the very top floor, and the large planks are the top floor. You can see that both the sticks and the planks are just the large boards sliced in half in two different ways. Does this make sense? LOL

Meredith - I got our light table at Constructive Playthings. Normally they are $190, but I got mine for about $80 on super-sale. Wait! They are currently on sale for $114, not bad: http://www.constructiveplaythings.com/cgi-bin/s.sh/2.0/product.htm?pf_id=XX-1899

Em - you two reign supreme. :) You would DIE over the stuff he's building now. It just started, like, last week. Suddenly he went from towers to these complex buildings. So freakin fun.

You have the best blog...such a highlight to wake up to every morning. Seriously. Thank you, thank you for posting about your attempt to buy American made blocks. This has been one of the toughest mom-battles for me. Everything baby, especially the things meant to go in their mouths like sippy cups, bottles, pacifiers, etc. (not that everything doesn't end up there) are all made in China and it's terrifying me. Please continue posting anything you find about good, quality baby items you find that are made in America (or elsewhere is fine, just not scary lead-filled junk from China)!

I saw these alphabet blocks on another blog today and they are SO awesome! Love the colors and odd/unique pictures.
http://www.perpetualkid.com/xyz-alphabet-blocks.aspx

And my brother-in-law has had his eye on these Mad Scientist Blocks for my son since I got pregnant:
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geek-kids/1-3-years/b78f/?srp=5

Shannon - You had me at "A is for Afro". And I love anything from ThinkGeek. :) Thanks for sharing!!

Megan - What a nice compliment! Thank you! We will continue to focus on healthy toys for our little ones.

I love the magna tiles with the light table!

Yes! To everything you said! My girls love the HABA Little Amsterdam blocks - they love making elaborate cities in the center of our train table (which our 22 month old BOY then runs over with a train ha!)

I loved this post and realy hope to see more like it in the future! We are also trying to stay away from all the plastic toys that light up and make noise. My son is almost 11 months old and loves drums, maracas, a tamborine...pretty much anything he can create sound with. We have a set of small wooden blocks but he isn't really into them yet. It's kind of funny -- when I was a kid, my parents had a very strict "No toys that make noise allowed!!" policy. Now, it seems like every time we see my parents, my son comes home with something plastic and battery operated. Ha!

These are such great ideas! My boys are 5 and 7 and still love their blocks for building all sorts of creations (and so does my hubby - must be the architect in him).

We have also found Kapla blocks now that the crazy cakes are older. They are amazing - and keep all three of my guys entertained.

Kapla: http://www.kapla.com/accueil_en.html

We have the Melissa & Doug unit blocks, which are pretty good, BUT - they are unfinished, and some of the edges can be a little rough. Also, they are not the same size as the smaller Melissa & Doug set, which was SOOO annoying when Grandpa got the small set for our daughter at 1 year and then the large set at 2 years... we ended up giving away the smaller set because it made it more frustrating to try to build with both sets.

Thinking about MagnaTiles, but we'll probably wait until kid #2 stops putting EVERYTHING in his mouth.

Also, can't wait until both kids are old enough to appreciate Legos - I still have all of mine from when I was a kid!

Shana, yet again I am reminded of why I LOVE your blog! When you do posts like this I always find myself saying "YES!" - to the avoidance of licensed characters, the staying away from plastic battery operated stuff - especially in a small space. It is so encouraging to know that someone out there shares my values. Thank you also for reminding me of the educational value of blocks, how they can evolve with a child & the link to the Early Childhood News article. My oldest will be 2 this month & I'm ashamed to say we have hidden some of our block sets from him in exasperation (i.e. he dumps all 200 pieces out EVERY DAY but doesn't necessarily play with them). I see the light - you are an inspiration. Bravo, sister friend!

S, I'm so glad you found Nurture ... it's such a great little shop. Have you been to Character Development in Narberth yet? It's a wonderful toy and book store. You would love it. That have a really nice magnetic wooden block set by Tegu. It's on my wish list for my 2 yr old daughter.

How old would you say before the kid can enjoy the Magna Tiles? My son just turned 1 and his dad wants to get him the beka blocks, but at this age I'm afraid they will fall on him and cause more crying than fun.

Love the blog! Long time reader, first time poster. And are you in or near Havertown? I swear some of the photos you take look like they are right around the corner from a good friend.

Lindsey - Well...Pax (who just turned one) sorta plays with the Magna tiles. He sticks them in his mouth, holds them up to the light and goes gaga over them on the light table. But then starts to pound and throw, so it's a bit short-lived. Actual building with magna tiles takes some time.

However, the Beka blocks he loves. He stacks the smaller pieces, and we help him roll balls down ramps made from the larger ones. He's too little to really make a tower that can fall and do damage...although he's clonked himself on the head a few times. But they learn quickly. :) R started using his Bekas at age one as well.

And yeah - we're in Ardmore...which is right next to Havertown? I think? LOL

Anitra - Old-school legos are the BEST! I hate the direction Lego is going in now. Ugh.

Amanda - I always love reading your comments. :) Thank you for this.

Cathy - No! I haven't! But oh, MAN I love good toy/book stores. Thanks for the recommendation - can't wait to check it out!!

Hey S,
I've reading your blog regularly for the last few months because I think you have the best style advice ever for moms. Seriously, my wardrobe has undergone a sea change since I got hooked onto your blog.
But I have to say that this post about blocks is awesome. I actually have a website that recommends toys for babies. As of now, we have focused on the 0-12 month set but we're definitely expanding to older ages soon. And I'm definitely going to recommend your article!
Thanks!

This is a great list - we also love magna tiles. but i haven't put them on the light table, even though we actually have a light table.

hmm, winter break project methinks!

Hi,
I'm looking to add to my son's collection of blocks and I remembered this post from months ago. He really needs some much larger blocks now that he's turned three. Is the set shown in the very first picture here (R building a giant tower!!) the beka blocks you talk about in this post? If not, could you let me know? Thanks!


Julie - they are the Beka blocks!!  They're fantastically big.  You'll love 'em!

Sent from my iPhone

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