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Melissa & Doug Magnetic Pattern Blocks Set
by broxi3781
When I first started thinking about home education, I felt the usual parental panic as to whether I could really give my children a top notch education. I was lucky that I had a strong background in child development, but I still started reading every book and theory going on early education. Literacy was an easy topic for me to grasp ... and understand, art allows for a lot of freedom and several possible means of instruction, science seemed to come naturally for us, and history to me is just learning from our past mistakes, and enjoying the rich and varied stories of our own and other cultures. Buts maths and geometry were difficult for me to grasp. Still I knew I wanted more than rote learning. A child learns differently through experience and one of the prevalent theories I encountered in teaching geometry was the Van Heile Model.
Van Hiele thought than when a a child learned by rote, rather than experience they would be unable to apply these concepts in a new situation. He listed clear stages of development of awareness of geometry, with competence at each stage being required to develop full competence at the next. I'm afraid much of this went over my head, but I did grasp the need for manipulatives, for the child to physically connect with mathematical facts and base learning on their own experiences. Among the manipulatives usually suggested for development of spatial and geometric reasoning are tangram puzzles and pattern blocks. These items are apparently used more in the curriculums of Eastern countries, particularly Russia and China, but they are also very popular in Montessori and Steiner - Waldorf education, and they are beginning to become more popular in many other schools as well.
I won't pretend to understand all of the benefits to using toys like this, but I do believe these toys help children understand how shapes can fit together to form other shapes, how to form patterns and designs, and to recognise the shapes by feel as well as sight. But on top of that - they are just plain fun. These shapes allow for so much artistic expression. A jigsaw puzzle can only go together in one way, but a pattern block can make endless different pictures. The sets can also be used to teach the names of shapes, and to teach fractions.
WHAT'S IN THE BAG ?
This set comes in a clear plastic case. there is framed magnetic whiteboard measuring roughly 13 3/4 " x 11 1/2". A wee space at the top of the frame allows you to slide a pre printed sheet into the frame and create one of 12 included geometric designs. These designs are printed on fairly thick paper, but it is still paper, and I expect over time will wear out. However, you can find countless designs online to print up if you wish, and if concerned, you could always scan and print an extra copy of these to put away. There are also a few books available on Amazon which focus on teaching maths through pattern blocks. I believe these paper designs are only meant to get you started. And of course you can create an unlimited number of designs on your own.
You also get 120 geometric magnets. These are made of a press board type material. There is a thin magnetic sheet on the back, and a coloured sheet over the front. I do not believe these magnets would survive much exposure to moisture, they certainly would not survive teething on. The magnets on the back are very weak, but more than sufficient to hold the pieces to the white board. These really would not suit for games of magnetic attraction, but they work perfectly for their intended purpose. I suspect these have deliberatley been made with weaker magnets as a safety factor.
One problem some reviewers have mentioned is that the shapes do not fit perfectly together. This is true and the result of the manufacturer sightly rounding the corners on each piece. I do have a home made tangram puzzle, and the wooden corners are rather sharp. It does make for a tighter fit, but I can certainly understanding the manufacturer opting for a safer alternative, especially with current health and safety laws and the likelihood of legal action should a child be hurt. The more precise blocks with sharper edges are fine if a parent is sitting down with a child and supervising at all times, but for a mass produced toy, which could be used in many settings, I feel this is a better option. The gap between parts is incredibly small, and really only at the corners. This might be more of an issue with non magnetic blocks, which could slide apart and be hard to line up, but with this set, I really do not feel that this is a fault.
OUR EXPERIENCE:
Both of my boys enjoyed playing with these, although I intended this more for my youngest ( age 4). After watching my oldest interact with these though, I have just ordered a book for older children using these to teach maths, and I only wish I had bought these sooner. We used the pre printed designs which even the youngest could complete on their own, and then made up many more designs of our own. I had considered many types of pattern block sets, but ended up choosing this one because of the magnetic backing. I find this makes it much easier for a young child to use as the pieces are not sliding all over the place, and you can even hang the picture up for display when you are finished.
I feel that this is a set which encourages creativity and offers quite a lot of play value as it is so versatile in its use. It isn't something the children make a few times and grow bored with as their are always new designs to create. These are expensive, with Amazon listing these twice, one option showing only Marketplace sellers with prices from £17.08 and another with Amazon selling this directly for £16.88 and Marketplace sellers running slightly less. I paid £14.98 including postage through Amazon Marketplace and this price is still available. I did consider rating down due to price, but considering the amount of fun we have had with this toy, and the educational value as well, I really do feel it has been value for money. This is a set I expect to use for years to come.
As much as I enjoy this set, I do feel this is best suited for home use. I think these are sturdy enough for normal play, but I don't think they would take a lot of abuse. I think a plastic set would probably suit a nursery group better. We take the pieces of this out only when they will be used and carefully put them away when finished. Still I am perfectly happy with these and may even buy a second set at some point to have extra pieces.
SAFETY NOTE:
This is intended for children over age 3 only. There are small parts that could easily be swallowed. I do not believe the magnets in this set are powerful enough to become joined through a bit of intestine, and I have checked to make sure that you can not attach more than two magnets together, so a large number of magnets could not hook up causing intestinal blockage, but this is only my opinion and better to err on the side of caution. This package does very clearly state - in very tiny print - "WARNING! This product contains magnets or magnetic components. Magnets sticking together or to a metallic part inside the body can cause serious or fatal injury". This is in accordance with EU guidelines for all magnetic toys. I would not go so much by age as by the behaviour of the child. If your child still mouths small toys - this set is not appropriate.
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Chad Valley Alphabet Letters & Numbers Fridge Magnets
by broxi3781
I am not a devout follower of any educational philosophy, but I do think Maria Montessori was a brilliant woman, well ahead of her time, and reading her books has encouraged me to look at early childhood education in a different way. One of the things she taught was the importance of touch in learning the alphabet - hence the famous sand ... paper letters. These cost a fortune though, and you really can't do much with them after the child learns their ABC's. Purists will of course cringe. Montessori never used plastic. But she didn't have plastic - nor did she have a budget for educational material - but she did have unlimited budget for building so she made do with what she had. In the same spirit, many modern followers of her educational philosophy make do with what we can get. Plastic letter shapes are recommended by many Montessori teachers now, simply because they allow the child to feel the shape of the letter.
WHAT'S IN THE BOX:
You are meant to get 110 letters. I did not. I had 98 I believe counting the board, bag and pen. I wrote the Amazon marketplace seller - who never replied and Chad Valley - who said it is the seller's problem - not theirs. I could have sent it back, but in all honesty, we were having a lot of fun with the set as it was and I really couldn't be bothered with a trip to the post office as I haven't been too well lately. But we did get at least two of every letter, upper case and lower case, plenty of numbers - in fact too many numbers I believe and a few extras like +, -, x, = and division signs. The letters are well made, the magnets are very secure and the plastic feels solid and well made. The letters are just basic letters - which is exactly what I wanted. I do have an older set from ELC with all sorts of squiggly additions to make the letters a bit more fancy. I find this confusing for a young child. These are basic, clear, easy to read letters and numbers in a number of bright and cheerful colours.
You also get a small clear plastic rucksack to store everything in, with plenty of room for another set of letters if you wish, a very small ( 8 1/4" x 6 1/3 ") white magnetic board. This isn't really the best it is just cardboard with a magnetic wipe clean paper over it. Mine was slightly warped when it arrived. I suppose this would be useful if you wanted to be able to use this for travel, as it all does zip int to back pack. Personally, I would not use this as a travel toy as it would be too easy to lose letters. I wasn't too worried about the magnet board as I have a few very good ones. There is a small wipe clean pen as well, which has been appropriated for wipe clean books. I have no problems with this, but I wouldn't expect it to last very long - they rarely do. It does not say if the marker is washable as far as clothing is concerned so I would assume that it is not. I am not terribly impressed by these extras, but I am not dissapointed either. It was obvious from the picture on Amazon that the magnetic board would be very small, the pen is just a wee extra which isn't needed with the set, and the bag a simple and inexpensive storage container.
This set in use:
My sons did have fun with this set when it first arrived. At age 8 my oldest is really a bit too old for it, but he still enjoyed spelling out a few words and putting the alphabet on our gas fire ( which is never used). At age 4, my youngest can't spell much of anything without help, but he does love magnets of any kind. I quite like using this with my youngest, encouraging him to feel each shape, and he enjoys making simple words like his name with some assistance. I do feel this toy is very beneficial for learning the alphabet as he can learn through touch as well as through sight and sound. I have quite a few extra letters from older sets, so we do have enough to spell out messages and even my husband has joined in with this - spelling out "CLOSE THe DooR" on our refrigerator door. They can be fun for brief messages, and spelling in addition to just the learning the alphabet. Constant exposure to words and letters, through quick messages and notes or just single relevant words posted throughout the house is also recommended by some experts for developing literacy ( although this is usually just the whole language theorists).
Simple maths equations can be worked out with the numbers. I did this with a different set but the principle is the same. First you can draw some large alligator mouths, each clearly displaying the < or > sign, and another picture with an alligator which has two heads each snapping a different direction and the = sign in between, then tape a magnet to the back of each. Next you set up magnetic numbers on the magnet boards and let the children place the crocodiles in the right places. It is a brilliant way to teach children equal, less than and more than. I told my son. Mr Alligator is greedy and he always wants to eat the biggest the number so his big mouth faces the largest number. But if the numbers are the same he gets confused and just snaps back and forth not sure which one to eat first. It's been years now since I taught my son < and > and he still remembers the < and > signs by the alligator mouths. In fact, my own teacher taught me this the same way - which is the way I knew to use this method with my children.
Our Opinion:
The only reason I bought this set is that in contains both upper case and lower case letters. If I were strictly following Montessori's teachings, I would only be using lower case letters, and this is recommended by many modern educational theorists as well. A few recommend teaching only upper case. I was taught using both, and I find this method the easiest, especially as most alphabet books either use both sets of letters or upper case only. If you are looking for only one type of letter, I would not recommend this set at all. You will far better value for money with an ELC set. In fact these do work out better value for money overall, even buying two sets, as you get a lot more pieces. I believe the quality of the letters in similar. Had I known how few actual letters you get, I would have chosen the ELC sets, as I really don't have as much need for the numbers. If you only want to buy one set, and have numbers, and both types of letters combined though, this set is the only one I have found.
My children do play with these for awhile, and I feel that any time spent playing with words and letters has value, but they would not really play with these very often on their own. I feel that these are an educational prop more than a toy, and most useful only with adult involvement as well. If you want to help your child learn the alphabet, or use the numbers for simple maths than I can recommend these quite easily. If you want to use these to spell out messages, or even just practice spelling words - I do not feel that you will have enough letters with a single set, and if you are going to buy a few sets - there are others that offer better value for money.
I am giving these four stars, because I just don't feel that enough letters are included, but the I found the overall quality of the letters very high.
*** Safety warning - This product is intended for children 3 years of age and over. I don't go so much by age, as by the individual child's behaviour and the amount of supervision. If your child still puts small toys in their mouth, I would never leave them with these unattended. I am not certain the exact size of an object a child can swallow, but I am quite certain a child could choke on something like the letter "i" in this set, and quite possibly on most of the other parts as well. Parents should also be aware that magnets can pose a unique health and safety risk, so much so that many activists have called for their removal from all children's toys. The worry is that if a child swallows two magnets, or a single magnet + a bit of metal that the two may attach in the digestive tract trapping a bit of intestine in between. These are small low powered magnets. To the best of my knowledge, the children who have died from magnetic attraction inside the digestive tract have swallowed the more powerful neodymium magnets, but with the safety of young children I would always err on the side of caution. You will have to remove the spaces to use any links.
I've added links on magnets and safety if this is a concern for you:
http:// europa.eu/ rapid/press-release_ IP-08-345_en.htm
http:// www.cdc.gov/ mmwr/preview/ mmwrhtml/ mm5548a3.htm
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