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By Mom Unplugged, June 13, 2007 10:24 am

I bought this for my construction-toy loving son for his 5th birthday, and so far it has been a big hit. His 6 year-old sister enjoys it too.

They make “creatures” (this set comes with several different kinds of eyes, wings, and feet), houses, roads, and other complex objects that only a 5 year-old could understand.

The pieces are plastic, but seem very durable. The colors are bright and fun. Everything fits together very easily so no help from Mom is required (a definite plus!).

Kid K’nex is designed for younger children. The pieces are larger than the ordinary K’nex sets (labeled age 5 and up). Amazon lists the recommended age for this set as 36 months - 7 years, and I would say that it is probably pretty accurate.

There are other sets available too. We might be adding to our collection on a future birthday!

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By Mom Unplugged, June 5, 2007 9:07 pm

We have several Selecta games, and they are all good quality, simple, nice games.

This one, “Grief Zu” in German, “Grab It” in English is fun for younger players. Adults joining in will have to slow down a little.

There are 24 wooden tiles (images are printed and lacquered on to last - not like glued on paper which peels off quickly) and four dice, each side of which depicts a very simplified, silhouette image of one of the tiles.

Players take turns throwing the dice, then all players try to be the first to find and grab the matching tiles. The player with the most tiles wins.

Adults will find this boring, but little ones really seem to enjoy it. Plus it is built to survive a lot of play.

Another great thing is that the picture tiles can be used for sorting or story-telling activities too!

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By Mom Unplugged, May 25, 2007 8:45 pm

We have an old version of the Maxim Ramp Racer that I found on Ebay about five years ago. It has only four levels and the ramps are straight with no bumps. There is just one “lane,” so only one car can be launched at a time.

My kids (girl, boy, and baby girl) have LOVED this ever since I first got it. The cars go speeding down the track and drop down onto the level below with a satisfying “click, clack.” It is really quite fascinating to watch, and listen to. My only criticism was that it would have been more fun with parallel tracks so kids could really race the little wooden cars to see who wins.

I decided to feature this toy on my blog and searched for it on Amazon only to find - the Deluxe Ramp Racer! This one has five levels, wavy tracks, and two lanes (hooray!) for real racing! I am so excited that I may have to upgrade to this version for our next family birthday.

This toy is all wood, including the cars. Ours has seen some very rough times but has never broken so I can certainly attest to its durability.

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By Mom Unplugged, May 16, 2007 1:24 pm

This little mouse is so cute! Little ones push him along by his long handle and he rocks back and forth with tinkling bell and twitching whiskers. He is also very sturdy. Ours is still going strong after about four years of use (not always for the intended purpose) and abuse. I just love the whiskers!!

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By Mom Unplugged, May 2, 2007 3:43 pm

The object of this classic game is to get four in a row vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. This tiny version comes in a little 4″ x 5.5″ tin that is ideal for travel or a stocking stuffer.

I generally prefer travel toys with very few small pieces, so all these little balls could be a car or airplane disaster. I only recommend this as a travel toy for children old enough to manage the balls without spills (also not good around babies). But for older kids, or even adults, this is a great game!