The block corner is one of my 4-year-old’s favorite part of her preschool classroom. There’s a variety of different styles from which to choose, from traditional, wooden cubes to colorful, cardboard blocks meant to resemble bricks. At home, she’s fortunate to have inherited her father’s childhood assortment of maple wood blocks, which she uses to build bridges, cities and other urban landscapes. Plus, there’s the foam blocks we have for the tub…let’s just there’s no shortage of construction opportunities in the course of her day. After playing with the translucent blocks at the library, we thought we’d seen it all…until The Land of Nod rolled out its brand-new block collection for the holidays. The aptly named It Makes a Village features an assortment of watercolor-hued blocks in shapes and sizes that defy standard block building (wavy orbs…how they think of that?). Not only do we love them for their soft edges (each piece is hand-finished and sanded, so no need to worry about sharp corners for inquisitive little builders), but the pieces fit together to ensemble a puzzle. So, even if you’re not up for erecting the next great city, your child can experiment on her own and create her own three-dimensional masterpiece. No blueprints required.
In a Nutshell: Worth the investment, this innovative block set will afford hours of open-ended play. Plus, the sturdy design will ensure its longevity for your kids and maybe even their kids.
