Toy Review: Lakeshore Sort-A-Shape Activity Board

E received the Lakeshore Sort-A-Shape Activity Board for his first birthday (he's now 2.5) and I have to say, it has been a great toy.

E's friend (15 months)

Chunky enough for small hands to manipulate, but complex enough to pose some challenge.  A great introduction to numbers, shapes and colours, the Lakeshore Sort-A-Shape board helps children develop their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

Whilst it is described as being suitable from 2-4, I've found that kids are able to use it purposefully from about 13 months or so and the 4 year-olds in my life are able to master it (and therefore bored with it) in about 3 minutes.  My 7 month-old, O, enjoys mouthing it, but he isn't very particular.

I used this often when E was learning basic shapes.  He enjoyed finding the shape I asked him for and figuring out which set of pegs it fit on before he was using spoken language.  I could also see he was developing a sense of humour as he deliberately put the pieces on the wrong pegs and waited for my reaction - laughing at his own joke (he takes after his father).

With his developing interest in numbers and counting I've put it back into rotation and he enjoys sitting near me and talking me through what he's doing - 'Look, I put the green one here.  One peg.  Oh.  Oh!  This one has two holes.'

The board and pieces are constructed of wood and are great quality.  After 1.5 years of play (and quite a lot of being chucked on the floor) it still looks new with no chips in the paint or dents in the wood.
If I used a star system, I'd rate the quality as 5 stars.

In terms of environmental responsibility, Lakeshore doesn't seem to have a policy or any information on their website.  They do have a Responsible Manufacturing information page which outlines how they ensure that their manufacturers comply with labour laws and do not engage in slavery or human trafficking (I may be naive, but I would assume this would be a given and not a selling point!).  I have contacted them and asked for any information about environmental protection measures.  I shall update* this post if I receive a response.  Until then, I assume that the wood is not sustainably forested and they aren't doing anything to mediate the environmental impact their products or manufacturing processes are making.

UPDATE: Lakeshore have got back to me and confirmed that the Sort-A-Shape is not made with sustainable materials.  They've written that they are always looking at ways of improving and the do sell some bamboo blocks.  Some of their nursery furniture is also Greenguard certified - complying with low-emissions standards to improve quality of indoor air.

Overall verdict:  Useful educational toy that deserves space on the shelf.  Fantastic quality, but I would look for an eco-friendly version from a different company or get one second hand.

Accidental Montessori: Sorting Buttons

I was using plastic buttons today for a project - my son, E, came into the kitchen and his eyes lit up.  He's always loved buttons and I keep a jar on my dresser which he plays with every morning whilst I get ready for the day.  These were NEW and SHINY buttons and he needed them immediately.  After dumping them out and telling me all about the colours he started picking out the biggest of them stating they were 'BIG, GIANT buttons'.  I got some bowls for him and he started to sort them out by size, all the while describing the colours and whether they were tiny, small, medium or giant.

All in, this accidental button sorting took about 20 minutes before he moved on.

DIY Wooden Montessori Sandpaper Numbers

My son, E, is 2.5.  He has recently started asking me about letters and numbers, as in 'What is this?  This is a number 1.'  I'm not ready for this yet. I'm more in the camp of let the children play, there's lots of time for formal learning later on.  However, I'm also a firm believer in following the child's lead and this seems to be what my kid wants to know right now.  So in the spirit of that I've got several projects on the go which will introduce numbers, the first of which is wooden sandpaper numbers.  I think these are great for him as they are larger than traditional sandpaper letters and are fully manipulative.  Still Montessori in that they are self-correcting: they only stand up on the base of the number and the correct side is easily identifiable as it's covered in sand.  The sand also contributes to the sensory appeal of the numbers.

I ordered the unfinished numbers on Ebay.  These are MDF but you can also get them made of pine (which are the ones I meant to order - oops!).

I divided them into even and odd numbers* and then painted each set with different coloured paints I already had.  I only painted the sides and the back, leaving the front of the number bare.  These took about an hour to cover in two coats of paint.  I then left them overnight to dry.

I painted the front of each number with wood glue and then dipped in a shallow pan of play sand to coat evenly.

The thin coat of sand left a very fine finish (too delicate for my toddler) so I left them to dry and then applied another coat of glue and sand.

The finished numbers!

On Monday I'll put numbers 0-4 out in a basket for exploration.  Depending on his level of interest and how he interacts with them, I will introduce the other numbers over time.

And there you have it!  DIY Wooden Montessori Sandpaper Numbers

UPDATE: E is enjoying the numbers.  He likes to stand them up, face them the correct way and tell me which number it is (though this is very hit and miss).  When he is able to reliably recognize each number we'll move on to lining them up in order.  This is assuming that he is still showing a keen interest in numbers.  If he isn't I'll simply rotate them out until he is interested again.

*I'm not introducing him to odd and even numbers at 2.5 - I'm just planning ahead!  

The first post

So this is my new shiny blog. Yep. I'm a blogger now. Like lots of mums I want a place to keep record of what we're doing and exchange creative and play ideas with others. I will also do regular toy reviews. I have a serious wooden toy habit and a lack of space, so only the best get space on our shelves. Maybe you have limited space too and I can save you wasting money on useless toys and point you in the direction of great toys you may not have considered! I'd also love to hear about your favourite toys – I'm always on the look out for something wonderful for our little playhouse!