Green Options » blocks

Eco-Friendly, Natural Tree Branch Blocks and Felting Kit by Natural Pod

Jennifer Lance — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:56:29 +0000

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Natural Pod is one of my favorite natural toy vendors! Natural Pod gets it, they really get it. Only the highest quality, sustainable products are featured, and you can shop freely without having to scrutinize each product for greenwashing. Recently, my children and I had the pleasure of playing with two Natural Pod products: Tree Branch Blocks and Felting Kit.

Every Child Deserves a Set of Blocks

Jennifer Lance — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 14:02:00 +0000

Every child deserves a good set of Standard Unit Blocks! Blocks are perhaps the quintessential toy for child development. Creative play and imagination abound when playing with natural toy blocks. If you buy your child a toy car, the toy car is always a car. If you give your child blocks, a block can be a car, a train, a telephone, a bed, etc. The only limits are your child’s imagination. At one point in my life, I had the romantic notion that I would make my children a set of blocks. A wise friend, who had tried it, advised me against it. A good set of blocks has been sanded to softness and the corners have been routed to roundness. I personally prefer the unpainted blocks. Melissa and Doug make an affordable option. The age recommendation is three years old, like most toys because of liability issues, but I would not wait until my child was three to introduce them to the wonderful world of blocks. School sets of unit blocks can be very pricey. The Melissa and Doug architectural blocks are more affordable and made of quality hardwoods. If you child becomes quite the block fanatic, you may need two sets, as there are only four columns in each set. Just like most Melissa and Doug toys, the blocks come in a nice wooden box with handles that can be used for quick clean up and storage. Remember, children’s work is play!

Live Action Marble Run

Jennifer Lance — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 16:17:00 +0000

One morning, I recently filmed my children playing with A Maze and Marbles available through Young Explorers. The description of this awesome natural toy from Young Explorers is:
“When children make a marble maze with A Maze and Marbles, it’s a different creation every time. As they design chutes, bridges, and drops, they’ll be developing organization, visualization, coordination, and spatial skills. What’s more, it’s an activity all ages can enjoy together. 100-piece set is made of quality, safe, non-toxic hardwoods. Includes standard-size marbles. Ages 5+.”
As you can see from the video, my two-year-old son loves this toy, even though it is rated for five -year-olds. We have been impressed with the stability of the towers my daughter builds with the Maze and Marbles. But you don’t need to buy any expensive toys to explore gravity with marbles. At my preschool, my coteacher came up with the idea of using pipes with our existing block collection to create our own maze of marbles. If you would like more information, please visit my earlier post on this ecological toy. This is one of the few wooden toys I have seen that actually certifies it comes from ecologically harvested hardwoods.

Magic Cabin also offers two marble runs, one made of 30 pieces and the other made of 60 pieces. These marble runs are less expensive than the Young Explorer’s version; however, they do consist of fewer pieces. They are made in the USA and rated for four-year-olds. The Magic Cabin description reads, “These amazing marble maze toys are classic favorites! Working with special trough-shaped wooden pieces, kids can erect endless combinations of paths for marbles to meander down, through and around.” For an entertaining review of Magic Cabin, please read Retrocrush’s MAGIC CABIN: A review of the most interesting children’s toy catalog in the world.

Melissa and Doug Farm Nesting Blocks

Jennifer Lance — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 23:34:00 +0000

This is an all time favorite toy in our home! Both of my children love to play with these blocks. My daughter builds high towers using the largest block as the foundation all the way up to the tiniest block. My son loves to place the blocks within each other in the correct order, which is a tidy way of storing them nested together. The farm animals on the sides are great for teaching animal names and sounds. We have had these blocks for over a year and have needed to glue one of the sides on one block back together, otherwise they are very durable. The nice thing about wooden toys is they are easily repaired with wood glue, whereas once a plastic toy breaks it can be difficult to repair. Another great toy from Melissa and Doug!

A Maze and Marbles

Jennifer Lance — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 04:33:00 +0000

A Maze and Marbles is an amazing toy made of ecologically harvested hardwood grown on plantations. This toy fascinates young and old alike. Available for about $60.00, A Maze and Marbles comes with 100 pieces to build fantastic creations. If you decided to purchase this toy, you will need a basket to keep all the parts in. The cardboard box it comes in will not be sturdy enough for storage. I suggest toys be stored in baskets, rather than plastic bins, to minimize the amount of plastics in the home. At first, I thought the pieces were too complicated for my adult brain to assemble. By looking at the picture on the box, I was able to start a tower that my daughter finished. After one demonstration, my five-year-old daughter is able to build towers higher than her two-year-old brother, who loves to drop the marbles on the top and watch gravity at work. The possiblities are endless with this toy! For example, build a Thomas Train track through the maze and expand the play.