Sarah's Honest Opinion: Creating future engineers; One toddler at a time!

The world around us is advancing at miraculous speeds. In order to keep up with technology, parents need to start educating children at an early age. This can be pretty tricky, as most little ones cant read or write. Plus, their attention spans rival that of a walnut. So, how do we introduce educational principals to our tots? In my opinion, the best way to educate a toddler is through play!

It's really easy to get children interested when you involve hands- on activities! Learning can be as simple as rolling a ball, and discovering speed, distance, and direction. It can also be instituted in more creative manners. For instance; involve blocks or stacking toys, to learn about building, structure, and engineering. These things follow basic STEM ( Science Technology Engineering & Math) learning principals, and help children to learn as they explore the world around them!

Guide Craft offers an amazing toy system, Grippies Builders, that allows children to explore through play. Grippies Builders introduce children to engineering and math, by combining play and exploration with the use of magnets. The system includes 30 pieces of ABS plastic rods, and balls. The pieces have magnets inside, that allow them to stick together in various shapes. Children can combine the rods and balls, to create and build anything they can imagine! Plus, the pieces are designed with soft matte textures, in sizes that are easy for little hands to manipulate. Grippies Builders are perfect for young children 18 mos. and up.

Grippies Builders features, from the Guide Craft website:

Open-ended magnetic STEM building toy for toddlers, ages 18 mos. +
Combines tactile exploration with magnetic play.
Provides introduction to engineering30 piece set in exciting bright colors.
Over-sized ABS Plastic rod encapsulates magnets.
Accompanying metal balls are over-molded with soft plastic.
Seamless texture for secure construction.
Exterior features 4 soft matte textures.

I recently hosted a Grippies Builders play date, and invited my friends and their children to come build with us. We let the children play and explore with the pieces, and they built so many cool things! It was amazing to see our 2, 3, and 4 year olds creating so many elaborate structures. Even my 12 year old got in on the action!

Because Grippies Builders are magnetic, they don't rely on any interlocking mechanisms to keep them together. The pieces stick together easily, and can be arranged in any direction. They're lightweight, and super easy to use. You can literally build anything with them! This is definitely a toy that any child with an ounce of imagination would thoroughly enjoy!

Grippies Builders would be the perfect addition to any play room, class room, or child care center. They would make amazing birthday or Christmas gifts as well.