favorite building toys?

What kind of building toys do your almost 3 y/os like? We have regular wooden blocks and some legos...but they always try to build with anything they can find (leaves, twigs, rocks, cards, etc.) so I think they would like something more like the tinker toys I had as a kid. I've seen a few different types. What do your kids like?

 

We just have the mega blocks (like big legos) and they like them just fine. They do sometimes try to build stuff out of other things, so I will be watching this topic!

 

Mine LOVE pipe cleaners...you can build, shape, and do all sorts of fun things with them.


For building we also tape up boxes (like shipping) that we get from the mail and they love to play with BIG boxes. Just recycle when you are done. Empty paper towel and toilet paper rolls work well too! They make great turrets and bridges!

Other things we like to build with are playdough and toothpicks, bristle blocks, and plain wood blocks.

 

We have Bristle Blocks. They are pretty cool!

 

When my boys really get going....they enjoy the Trio blocks by Fisher Price. The downfall...it comes with 100 pieces, but I feel like they need more. But that's me, not them. LOL! They do really love them. I bought them at Christmas a container of 101 smaller wooden blocks, they enjoy those too.

We don't have the Bristle Blocks, but I'm sure they'd enjoy them! Oh, and legos. DH brought out his 20 year old legos the other day. He was like a little kid again(even had things STILL together from back then!). The boys LOVE playing with them. One...is better than the other. Anthony will build on his own, no complaints or anything. Nicholas will whine for all eternity saying he can't do it, needs help, etc etc.

 

Saw this in the new posts list. I can't recommended Wedgits more. The link goes to the Jr set with a bigger white piece and is recommended for 3-6 (there is also a soft baby set). I've used it with 3-10 year olds and they all love them. (my next teacher store trip I'll be buying the design cards)

 

I have my eye on these. stack and stick
here are other websites that had them cheaper. the video shows the pros of them. looks neat. kinda like lincoln logs.

 

Anything they can use! We have those large cardboard Melissa and Doug blocks (they got them for their first bday and STILL use them). We also tape up large packing boxes and they use those too. They have mega blocks and smaller wooden blocks. They also use books and other toys to make bridges and car/train tracks. I thought about getting them lincoln logs or some other building toys, but right now I think they are all good with what they have.

 

Love all the ideas! Mine are really into lego (the medium sized ones) and bristle blocks. They like the wooden blocks but those just don't keep them busy for very long.

 

We've had many different building toys (blocks, Wedgits, gears, Legos, train tracks, etc.) but the biggest hit has been Magna Tiles. They're really expensive compared to a lot of the other choices, but the kids LOVE them. We got them for Christmas last year (thank you MIL!) and they've been played with nearly every single day.

Because of the magnets, they're rated 3+, but I think younger kids could safely play with them as long as they're not actually chewing on the pieces. We've never had a piece break or a magnet fall out.

Until we got the Magna Tiles, the favorite was Wedgits. Sarah in particular really loved them -- however, while they have a sort of addictive quality (in a good way), they are more suited to building abstract shapes and just messing around. You can't really build anything realistic with them (or maybe my kids are just not imaginative enough).

My parents have Tinker Toys at their house and the kids enjoy them, but even at age 4 (the last time we were there), they had a hard time figuring out how to build something "real" (a house, a swingset, etc.). Of course it's not required to build something "real," but my kids seem to be a little uptight on that front.

Lincoln Logs are good too, but it takes longer to build anything large.

 

Fat Brain Toys' Twig blocks! They're not cheap, but you get a big set with lots of pieces. They are beautiful, well-made, and incredibly versatile - there are so many different ways you can put them together! And the kids totally love them. Can't recommend them highly enough.

 

Those look really cool!!!

 

These are on sale this week on Amazon - $36 instead of $49! And free shipping if you're a prime member Thanks for all of the suggestions. We may try these first, but the others all looked great, too!

Holly, is one set enough for your kids?

 

My personal favorite block growing up was the good old unit wood blocks. My father did carpentry work for a guy on the side and as part of the payment he took a huge collection of wooden unit blocks. Loved them. My kids are the 5th and 6th to play with them (my brother, me my two nephews and now my boys). They are over 35 years old. So definitely worth the investment. And we didn't have a small collection though and they are expensive. We could build entire towns for our match cars covering our playroom floor.

One idea not mentioned here is PVC pipe from the hardware store. Cheap. My husband cut it to different lengths (12 inch and 6 inch) and sanded the ends. We have different joints to go with it. The boys have been playing with it since they were 15 months. Great for outdoors as well.

 

Oh, definitely. They can both play with the blocks at the same time with no problems, even though they are in an epic fight-over-everything phase right now. :good: