From a very young age my eldest son who is nearly five now has been a very keen drawer. He not only loves colouring pictures he loves to create his own and his attention to detail is incredible for his age, something his school teachers have mentioned on numerous occasions. He gets a lot of enjoyment out of a piece of paper and some decent pens to draw with. We have a box full of wax crayons and pencil crayons but it was when he got one of those cheap artist sets we realised he liked and was good with felt tips. Unfortunately the felt tips in those sets are rubbish they only last a very short while. So after having a quick look online I came across these Early Learning Stamper marker pens. They took me back to my child hood as I remember having a similar product a felt pen at one end and a stamp at the other. So I purchased the set for my son and we have both been very pleased with them since.


*****The Pens*****

The marker pens came in a pack of ten. Like with most decent pens they came in a thin cardboard covering which I will admit we gave up with pretty much from the start and kept them in my son's favourite pencil case instead. As I have mentioned the pens are double ended and with both lids on the pens measure roughly 17.5cms in length. One end of the pen is a board tip and the other is a mini stamper. So each colour pen has a stamp at the other end in the same colour as the pen.

The ten pens are as follows:
Brown = a animal paw
Dark Blue = Shark
Purple = Ladybird
Light Blue = Butterfly
Orange = Sunshine
Yellow = Star
Red = Heart
Pink = Lips
Dark Pink = Smiley face
Green = Palm tree

All the pens as you would expect are the same style. They are white coloured with the particular stamp picture on the pen. Both ends have lids which represent the colour of the pen. The lid for the stamp is 3.5cms long and the lid for the board tip is slightly longer at 5.5cms long. The thickness of the pens is nice for a young child to hold onto they are a little on the thick side but not too chunky they will be uncomfortable for a pre-schooler to hold. I even find them comfortable to hold.


*****Our Opinions*****

My son instantly loved the pens he found the fact they were double ended was magically. Now not only could he use the pens to draw his fabulous creations he could add some stamp art work in there too. On initially getting these pens I must admit my son was more bothered about the stamps and we did have quite a few pieces of paper just covered in stamp prints! We have had these pens for nearly over a year now and that novelty wore off quite quick. He is back to using the tip end to draw his pictures and adds the odd stamp in now and again. He recently had to make a wand for his school homework and decorated it with a combination of his own patterns and some stamping! He really does enjoy using these pens and he never moans that the pen is faded like cheap ones.

It is nearly a year since I purchased these for my son and they are still going strong I am very impressed. The colours are not wearing thin they are still as vibrant as they were a year ago even though my son uses them a lot. Even the stamps are still working well all except one! That was my fault and one my eldest son doesn't let me forget! My youngest son who is three and a half was using the stamps and somehow he managed to hide one of the pens and the lid wasn't on the stamp end so it dried up, opps. From the first moment my son used these pens I was very pleased with them the colours were so vibrant even the paler colours like yellow stood out on coloured pieces of paper. The board tips make a nice mark on the paper and the occasionally time I have joined my son and used them I felt they drew nicely. The stamps are good too if a little tricky at times. My younger son sometimes struggles to get the whole print when he stamps but it is a technique my older son picked up quite quickly.


*****Summary*****

Drawing to me is an important skill I encourage both my boys to do. It is great for their creativity and imagination. Unfortunately I have only one son who is interesting in drawing my younger son finds it a chore! But he is a little more willing to have a go if I get these pens out for him. So I would highly recommend not only for the keen drawer but for a reluctant one too. For some reason the stamps draw them in! I purchased these pens from Amazon for a bargain price of £1.75 and they have been worth every penny. It seems most places are out of stock of these currently but after having a search I have found them in Mothercare for the same price reduced from £3.50, I highly recommend.