Alesya uses Magformers as a geometric mosaic. Our heating batteries are covered with large metal screens, on which you can lay out any magnetic compositions. In winter, of course, it is not very convenient – the screens are hot, but Alesya likes it anyway. Different heroes live in the houses (in this case, 3 dogs), and she tells some stories about them with the involvement of additional figurines on magnets.
This is onether scenery picture from the same kit. Along with vehicles, trees and animals, you can also assemble humans, piece-by-piece.
The largest set of the Japanese blocks Gakken contains not only cockpits for a car and an airplane, but also spare parts for a dinosaur. There are large paws (we used them in the tank – below), a head, and a tail. The set also has 4 animals – polar bear, lion, giraffe and pink elephant. There are also little people available – 2 blue boys and 2 red girls. They are very small and very Japanese.
Unlike Plus Plus waffle blocks, Gakken blocks have pieces of many different shapes. They have round and curved pieces, long beams and H-like pieces. The empty spaces inside the blocks also can have different sizes and shapes, so you can stack inside different pieces in different positions. All this allows even more building possibilities than the waffle blocks sets with similar pieces. However, some pieces have less connection opgtions, because they don’t have pegs on the sides, or have only one hole.
Gakken brand appeared in Tokyo back in 1946 when it became an important component of Japan’s post-war efforts to rebuild the nation. Back then, it became incredible important to properly raise a new generation that will be able to create a better future.
The founder and educator, Hideto Furuoka, created first Japanese blocks Gakken. He later told that his inspiration was traditional Japanese wooden houses. There he saw an idea of flat blocks people can took apart and rebuild again when they need to. So he decided to create a toy which repeats this principle. Children can connect these Japanese waffle building blocks, stack them, lay them, plug, or tuck blocks in different orientations, for example, horizontally, vertically, and diagonally.
The whole family had a great time and had fun at the fair. And now the children are going home with their parents on brand new sleds and skis they bought. After all, the most important holiday of the year will be there soon – the Christmas party with Santa Claus! They need to prepare…
This set has pieces of many different shapes and colors, including shiny pieces.
Toy log houses built for the gnomes.
Geomag My Castle – cardboard pictures from the set.
And this is a post office. Yes, yes, this is where letters and parcels from Santa Claus come to their recipients. All the mail comes in a small truck. There is a cozy gazebo next to the post office, whre musicians play, and the children enjoy the anticipation of the holiday.
At first, I had bad opinion about the Edtoy set with gears, but the boys really liked them. The eldest – Afonya (3.5 years old) preferred large, red and yellow ones. And the youngest – Arkhip (2 years old) took all the small blue ones for himself and constantly decorates his simple crafts with them.
A variationof the classic ball-and-rod magnetic building kit by Goobi brand. The main difference between this set and other similiar construction toys is an ability to connect the rods without magnets, using special plastic tripod pieces. The shape of the rods is also slightly different from the “classic” even cylindric design. The rods made by Goobi have dungbell-like shape, with thicker ends and slimmer center.
Aside from this details, it is a classic magnetic building kit, which allows children to create all kinds of shapes and toys, and then play with their creations. However, the pieces of this set may be too small for younger children.
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