Legos and Imaginext...

My boys will b 4.5 at Christmas. I want to start them on Legos -- they don't have any, but loved building with their Mega Bloks we just got rid of. Any recommendations for starter Lego sets?

Also, Imaginext by Fisher Price question. They say they are for ages 3-8. Anyone have these and, if so, what age are your kids and do they play with them? This is what I'm talking about http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=10&e=imaginextlanding .

Thanks much!
Mendy

 

My oldest is a Lego freak, so we have some of everything! We started off with the THESE and then moved on to the character/theme sets later since some of the instructions were a little complicated for 4-5 year olds. You can also buy packages of Lego people, which I think is pretty cool for that age group. There's SO much stuff to choose from now and you can find all kinds of stuff on eBay as well.

 

Any of the City sets that say 5+ would work for the age of your kids. Pick a theme of what they like. Also, the basic block sets mentioned above are great too. We have both things. My son is very good at following directions and has been building the %+ sets on his own since he was 4.5 years old. We started getting him the 5+ sets when he was around 4, but he has very good fine motor skills. We have a lot of the fire sets, police sets, construcyion and have started with the train.

He and his sister (8) still love the duplos too, as they build houses very quickly for the webkinz to live in, so those sets are not bad either.

Have fun

 

What about the Fisher Price Trio sets, like in the below link? - I was going to get those for my niece who loves to build.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3595621

 

I agree with Gini, I would go with one of the general boxes to start off with. Luke and Naomi have this one and love it (that was the first one they got, they now each have a smaller box of general bricks and Luke has lots of little car sets). It comes with a booklet that has some step by step instructions and then some pictures without instructions to just give ideas. It also comes with a small base board which is useful. If they like to build big things or keep something they have made for a while I'd suggest getting a larger base board too because it makes everything more stable and makes it easy to move the creations from place to place.

 

My 4 yr. old DS LOVES the Imaginext stuff. He has a lot of the dinosaurs and his current favorite toy is the Imaginext Batcave. He just got that last month for his Birthday and is crazy about it. He's also got the pirate ship which is very fun too.

 

Our 3 year old DS and DD both play with our DS' Imaginext Pirate Shipand Imaginext Bat Cave. He received the pirate ship last Christmas (he was 2 1/2 years old) and the bat cave at his 3rd birthday. We've found these toys to be very well made and they have so much fun playing with them. They also have numerous Lego sets. Honestly, I would say they play with Legos and Imaginext about equally. They each have their pros and cons. The Legos are nice because they spark the imagination. The possibilities are endless. However, it is very easy for the pieces to accumulate quickly. Plus they really hurt if you step on one! The Imaginext toys are nice because they are well made and "neat." Plus you can buy other accessory toys. Unfortunately, it doesn't require a lot of creativity on the child's part. KWIM?

I think you'll find that either toy will be a great choice. We have no regrets at all. Have fun!

 

We have the F/P Trio (3-5) recently for my son 3rd birthday last week. It seem to be a bit complicated because not all kids will be able to follow a picture from their little 'book'. They would come to me and ask me to do it for them. Right now, he's just being creative with putting it together on his own. So, I would probably go with the Lego Duplio for starter.

We didn't any Imaginext Batcave, Pirate Ship, or Dragon yet. I brought a used Imaginext "older version" dinosaur. It was crappy because it kept falling off (not holding together) but thank goodness I only brought it for $10. It was a test to see if they would actually play with it.

I review the newer version of Imaginext they are all pretty much stay intact (like a dollhouse). So, I haven't decide which one to get him for this Christmas.

Have fun Christmas shopping!
RJ

 

Can't help with the Lego recs...we have a hodge podge of sets thanks to hand me downs. The kids don't care...they have fun with it all.

As for the Imaginext toys, we have quite a bit of those! They are by far Ben's favorite toys that get the most play time. The pirate ship is his fave. He has had it for almost two years and he still plays with it almost every day. He also has a bunch of the dinosaurs. His newest toys from the series are the space ones, and he loves those. At four, he still hasn't outgrown them and I hope to get him a couple more pieces for Christmas.

 

Great info!! Thanks EVERYONE!!! :good:

 

I totally agree with Gini on this. We just got a few of those same sets for the kids. They love them. We're not really into the theme ones at this point, because I just don't want to deal with them and I would rather the kids use their imaginations to create things. I also got a big batch off of EBay, but that had lots of Star Wars and Indiana Jones pieces which I wasn't thrilled with.