Last week Mr Postman brought us two new toys to test out from Miniland Educational. First up, we tried the Miniland Activity ABC. It’s a letter lacing game for kids 3+. The box contains all the letters of the alphabet in bright coloured plastic, 10 laces and 10 letter cards. After a few minutes of playing, I can verify that this toys is sturdy, educational and most of all…
When we were offered a chance to review this, I was really excited because I have been wanting to get a lacing game for the kids. They are great for hand-eye corrdination and both my boys like to slow things down and concentrate on little things every once and awhile. The next day a different package arrived from grandma with an animal lacing game (which the boys love and is pretty cool), but it is made of cardboard so it’s already showing wear from Alex’s destructive hands. What I like about the Miniland Alphabet ABC is that they are sturdy, flexible plastic. This means they can stand up to any toddler and that the laces glide through the holes easily. The cards are paper though and may not last that long, but Alex is really interested in tearing things so you might have better luck.
Nate got stuck in right away with the letters. There are guides to show you the direction you should write the lines in, but we’re not quite there yet. He still likes to play with the laces but it’s a bit free form. He calls them kites and swings his little letter creations all around the house. Both boys are great with their numbers (Alex can already count to 10!) but we are slower with letters. I am hoping that tactile play will help with their recognition. Already, they seem to be taking more interest in letters.
Aside from lacing we used the letters to compare the confusing letters like B & P and E & F. We stacked the letters on top of each other to see how they were the same and different. It was pretty fun and something that just wasn’t getting through with written letters on flash cards.
Nate and Alex both agree that this is a really fun activity and would make a great gift for a young child. You can find them on Amazon for around €12 or check out DKL Toys for more info.
Thanks to DKL Toys for providing the toy for us to review. Next week we’ll tell you all about another super fun toy from Miniland!