©LEGO

Have you thought about buying LEGO’s for your child or as a gift? I can’t believe how many kids love to construct with LEGO’s. I said it before when I reviewed the LEGO Duplo Creative Sorter, my son sits with my LEGO media kit binder, flipping through it like it’s the Bible, consuming every picture, asking questions and commenting on the characters.

Today I brought the LEGO Duplo My First Build Kit into school. LEGO Duplo’s are larger blocks, geared for younger builders ages 1 1/2 to 5. I decided I’d give it a whirl and use it with a few kids, all boys, 2 seven-year-olds and a 6-year-old. I took a chance giving it to 3 kids out of the suggested age range, but they all really enjoyed their time with the kit. I was shocked in all honesty, that I didn’t hear anything about this being for little kids or “babies.” I was more concerned with some of the comments they made about their ability to build with LEGOS.

This particular set is neat because it includes 59 multi-colored pieces, but there are 4 double-sided cards. One side has a picture of something that can be built out of the included DUPLO’s. The other side includes a step-by-step tutorial on how to make a different item. Kids can either follow the directions, or similar to the Creative Sorter, they can place the pieces on the card like a template. I’m a concrete learner, step-by-step directions and pictures are my best friends, and for some kids, this is also true. Others are imaginative and have the ability to create from scratch and wow you with their final product. So this feature alone allows 2 different types of learners or children with different skill levels to customize their experience and build at their level.

While we were building I started asking the kids questions about LEGO’s. 1 child reported he had one of the LEGO video games and that he had a Star Wars kit at home that he plays with, but that his father built for him. Another child,  stated, “I don’t have any. I’m not a good builder.”  Now my opinion might be swayed in that I was using this kit with children who are having some visual spatial skills at school. However, this got me thinking, in general, as a parent even though your child may have a specific interest prompting you to head to the store looking for pirate ships, Avengers characters, Star Wars sets, you name it, something big with loads of pieces that all their friends are asking for. But what if they don’t have the skills to build it? Meaning, what if they can’t follow the instructions, or they don’t have enough hand strength to push the pieces together? Even the kids I worked with today had poor awareness of their force, they’d push to hard, part of it would fall, bumping into another structure they had already built with a piece that would then fall off like a domino effect. Then comes the frustration and anger, turning something fun into a disaster.

Here were some ideas I had on how you can gauge your child’s ability level with LEGO’s and help them be happy, successful constructors.

- For kids in that borderline age range like 5 or 6, they are bridging between a Duplo and the regular sized LEGO bricks. If you are purchasing the smaller LEGO’s, opt for a smaller set that has fewer pieces to save on cost and really get a sense of how much help they may or may not need with larger sets, that is unless you are a closet LEGO loving adult who is happy to build all of the structures yourself!

- A few years ago I attempted to put together LEGO Ramses’s Pyramid with another child and we way underestimated how much time it would take to build the structure nevermind learn how to play the game included, so set a reasonable time limit, and complete the project in stages

- Many would say, searching the  floor or pile for the correct brick is part of the fun of the process, but for some kids, this can be completely visually overwhelming. Pre-sort the pieces and give them only the pieces they will need to follow each instruction, guiding them with verbal clues along the way for placement

-Switch off, they place a piece, you place a piece to share in the process and build stamina, what ever the case, allow them to place the first pieces and the last pieces so they can have a sense of initiation while finishing a project to completion

Do you have any strategies that are helpful when building with LEGO’s in your family?

LEGO provided this toy free to facilitate this review. The opinions provided are my own.

©LEGO

After my most recent visit to Toy Fair previewing the latest and greatest toys, I came home with a large spiral bound book of all the new LEGO toys for the year.  I’d love it if LEGO would do a research study to find out of the love and enthusiasm with these iconic construction bricks is somehow just built into people’s DNA, because my 2-year-old sits with the  press guide and looks at the pictures like he’s studying for a test.

Just due to my experience as an OT, I’m always drawn towards toys that encourage fine motor control and coordination, so when I saw the new LEGO Duplo Set, which is also a shape sorter toy, I was thrilled. However, what’s really unique about this toy for kids ages 1 1/2 to 5, is that what are also the shape sorter plates, are removable templates that teach kids how to sort by color, sort by shape and begin to build simple animals from  a step-by-step picture. I’m certainly creative, but when it comes to LEGO’s, I live and die by the directions. I’ve never been a drawer by any means, and I just am not skilled at free drawing and free building. Neither are some children, and that’s okay, we certainly all have strengths and weaknesses that make us unique individuals.

This set is great to grow with children as they develop in their thinking and problem solving skills. Small children can have the experience of stacking the blocks on top of one another, while toddlers and preschoolers who are ready for more of a challenge, but are looking for a recognizable end product or the structure of an activity that has a beginning, middle and an end, this is a great toy for that.

In terms of storage, all of the 23 pieces are stored inside the green bucket and all 3 templates stack on top of themselves and fit on the top of the box.  If you are using the templates, they are definitely best used on a hard, flat surface like a floor or a tabletop. Different than a traditional puzzle, the pieces will fit into the template on their sides which took my son a little getting used to. With a SRP of $19.99, it’s a great price point for birthday party and holiday gifts.

Do any of you have budding LEGO lovers at a young age at home to? For those of you with older children, when did their love for LEGO’s begin?

LEGO provided this toy free to facilitate this review. The opinions are my own.

©Neat-Oh

My 2-year-old, like many other boys I know, is a car nut. Maybe it’s because when we take a trip to Target, small cars make the best impulse buys for this age group because you can purchase them for $1.00. I never worry about losing them and because they are small enough to fit in Gavin’s coat pocket, they provide entertainment anywhere.  On several occasions I’ve  even found Gavin placing 4 or 5 of them in my purse before we leave the house. When we go for day trips to his grandparent’s house or on long weekends to other relatives these cars must come with us and he ends up filling his own bag to take along.

At Toy Fair, I met up with an amazing company, Neat-Oh, that designs some of the most innovative toy storage solutions for kids I have ever seen. Not only do these back packs, toy boxes, lunch boxes and travel totes functionally make it easy  to store and transport toys, many of them, like the Zip Bin Full Throttle Backpack unzip to make on-the-go play mats. Genius. This backpack was easily adjustable to fit my toddler with the two straps. It’s also not as bulky as most traditional backpacks, and the material is durable and sturdy so it doesn’t sag or become awkward to carry as some of the other custom cloth bags do. It’s also easy to wipe clean with a disinfectant wipe. There’s a great carrying handle strap at the top of the bag. There are two zippers located on the backpack, that make it easy to zip and unzip quickly. We have been able to fit several small cars (at least 10), a few diapers, a travel wipes container and a sippy cup in this backpack, it’s a fantastic diaper bag alternative and Gavin can carry it all on his own, making it a great toddler back pack.

©Neat-Oh

Neat-Oh also partners with several companies with regard to licensing, so if you child has a personal attachment to all things Barbie, LEGO, Hot Wheels, Dinosaurs, Cars, Farm Animals or Princesses please check out their very cool line of products at Neat-Oh.com.

Neat-Oh provided this backpack free to facilitate this review. The opinions are my own.

Hasbro ToyFair 2010 Event

These snowy days in Boston have been filled with researching and planning our Toy Fair 2011 plan in New York City, starting February 12th through the 16th, 2011. Last year attending Toy Fair for the first time was such an exciting and overwhelming experience, as we were honored amongst the first to preview some of the newest and most exciting toys and games that had yet to hit production or the stores! You can read about my favorite celebrities of Toy Fair 2010 last year here.

As the days draw near, we are contacted daily by both large and small companies gearing up for one of the largest toy shows in the Western Hemisphere! Please let us know if there are specific products or companies you would like to know more about!

February 14, 2010 - New York, NY - Keri WIlmot from www.toyqueen.com at the Disney preview of Toy Story 3 in New York City gets shown some of the new toys for 2010 by one of the Disney executives

Like last year, we hope to bring you interviews with company executives and imagery of these new products to help you as a parent or caregiver make more informed decisions about the products that you purchase for the learning enhancement of the children you love.

Here is a link to some of the other Toy Fair coverage from ToyQueen.com in 2010!

Keriann Wilmot from ToyQueen.com, pediatric occupational therapist, shares photos and videos of some of her favorite products showcased at Time to Play Magazine’s Holiday Showcase in NYC on Tuesday Septemer 28th, 2010. Products included from companies such as Leap Frog, Mega Brands, Lego, Disney Consumer Products, Blip Toys, Mattel, Hasbro, Jazwares, Jakks Pacific, Spinmaster, PlaSmart, VTech, Pinkalicious, Learning Curve.

Video Transcription:

Hi this is Keri Wilmot from www.ToyQueen.com. Last week, my husband Derek, from www.DadsLanding.com, and I were invited to the Time to Play Holiday Showcase in New York City, where we were able to preview a lot of the hottest holiday toys of the season.

So, hopefully, over the next couple of weeks, we’ll do some more in-depth reviews of some of these great products so that you can be well-informed before the holiday season.

LEGO incorporated a Passport program, where after children completed activities at different sponsored stations, they were able to turn their passport cards in for a free prize.

Some of the areas included monochromatic building stations, where children built their own designs collectively out of the same colored LEGO’s. My favorite station was the Creation Nation where children were given a green LEGO base and could create their own design. When it was complete it was added to a basketball-court sized map of the United States!

Though I think the coolest feature was the LEGO Club. For children who signed up online prior to the event and paid for a special event ticket, they received a gift bag that included a t-shirt, some LEGO goodies, and access to a special LEGO session taught by a professional instructor. The session occurring when we stopped by was on how to build special Star Wars designs. So if you plan on attending in another city and you have a LEGO enthusiast, this special session may be of interest to you.

Here are some of my personal opinions and observations:

1. FYI there was a LEGO store set up inside the event. The program guide identified that hard to find, exclusive LEGO sets could be purchased in the store. However, the line was enormously long.

2. There were special interactive racing games that kid’s had a lot of fun at, but they required a minimal fee of usually about 2 dollars per game. If you check the program guide these areas are listed with a green $ sign, so you can plan accordingly.

3. Strollers were not allowed at our venue, and thankfully we decided to bring Gavin in the backpack, so those of you families with small infants bring your infant carriers!

4. This is definitely an event that is geared for the children to have fun and did not have as much adult appeal. Though these days I’m beginning to learn that watching my son’s enjoyment in any particular activity is absolutely worth every penny for a price of admission!

5. Considering flu season is among us, there were some hand sanitizing stations but you may want to pack some with you just in case.

6. Many kid’s entered their LEGO’s into the Cool Creations contest, so make sure you stop by and vote for your favorite!

From now through May 2011, LEGO Kidsfest is traveling to other cities such as Chicago, New York City, Hartford, Atlanta, Philadelphia & Los Angeles.  The LEGO Kidsfest website has all the dates and locations.

LEGO has graciously agreed to provide a LEGO Creator Ferocious Creatures set for giveaway to a lucky reader on this site. LEGO is also in part sponsoring the Ultimate Block Party which is this coming Sunday October 3rd in NYC. Please click here and comment under my Ultimate Block Party post to enter. Contest ends Wednesday October 6^th.

We received three complimentary tickets to LEGO Kidsfest Boston for the purpose of this review. The opinions expressed in this post are purely the bloggers own.

Photos by: Derek Wilmot

My little “Lego Lover” friend was very eager to help construct the pyramid.  With only a bit of cueing for placement of the pieces, after 20 minutes, we had maybe put together 1/4th of the game, so thinking we’d have time to play the game faster, I began assembling the pyramid in super-speed, giving him a few suggestions of bricks to find along the way. It took us a solid 45 minutes to get the pyramid together, with me hustling for about half of it.  Due to time constraints we had to postpone playing the game, but my friend was happy to play with the pyramid.

A week later we got together to play the game. I started to read the directions and initially got seriously confused. The goal of the game is to move your LEGO adventurer first around the base of the pyramid and then ultimately up and down the pyramid, trying to get to the top to defeat the mummy King Ramses. Along the way the adventurer collects colored crystals and looks under the secret temples to guess what color crystal is hiding underneath. Players will need to use their memory so that later on they can remember what colored crystals are hiding underneath each secret temple.  With each turn guessing the correct color of a crystal will allow them to move  move up, down and laterally to different levels on the pyramid.  Simultaneously, with a roll of the dice, mummy’s are released from the top of the pyramid, preventing your adventurer from accessing different levels on the pyramid, as well as allowing for rotation of the levels of the pyramid to change the path to the top. Once the first adventurer reaches the top of the pyramid and rolls the dice to a mummy, they defeat King Ramses and get access to the treasure room hidden in the base of the pyramid.

In the manual I found a link to games.LEGO.com, where there were animated tutorials providing the directions using a visual demonstration.  They made so much more sense, I would recommend this over trying to read the directions.  If your child has difficulty with multi-step directions they will most likely need some assistance in remembering the sequence.

So as is typical of LEGO’s in general, fine motor skills and hand strength are required in the process of building the pyramid. This particular game includes visual memory, as each person has to remember the color of the crystals located in the secret temple to gain as many crystals as possible to make moving up and down the pyramid easier. Visual spatial skills are involved to determine exactly how many spaces are between the edges and temples when building the pyramid. Though I was not successfuly in learning this game right out of the box, after 30 minutes of play, we became much more confident. I think this game would appeal very highly to the 8-12 year old boy. Not only does it include the ability to recreate a very detailed and cool Egyptian pyramid, but this game does promote customization with changing the rules and team building through cooperative group play.  At the very least, this makes a rather cool pyramid where children can create their own imaginative play.

Though LEGO provided a free copy of Ramses Pyramid for review, the opinions are purely the bloggers own.

February 14, 2010 - New York, NY - Toy Story toy soliders decsend from the ceiling at the Toy Story 3 event at Toy Fair 2010

February 14, 2010 - New York, NY - Toy Story 3 event at Toy Fair 2010 John Lasseter holds a lego replica of himself

February 14, 2010 - New York, NY - Toy Story 3 event at Toy Fair 2010 John Lasseter poses next to lego replica of himself

February 14, 2010 - New York, NY - John Ratzenberger poses with Keri WIlmot from www.toyqueen.com at the Disney preview of Toy Story 3 in New York City

February 14, 2010 - New York, NY - John Lasseter poses with Keri WIlmot from www.toyqueen.com at the Disney preview of Toy Story 3 in New York City

February 14, 2010 - New York, NY - Keri WIlmot from www.toyqueen.com at the Disney preview of Toy Story 3 in New York City gets shown some of the new toys for 2010 by one of the Disney executives