Educational Toys > Early Learning Centre Educational Toys > 18 months +

Advantages: Bright and colourful; a fun way to learn to count
Disadvantages: Poor design; Falls over easily; Pegs fall out

...Christmas Day morning was an Early Learning Centre Counting Peg Board which I had bought him as a little stocking filler. When I first spotted this in my local Early Learning Centre, it appealed to me straight away. The picture on the front of the box showed a sturdy wooden counting toy which looked well designed, was bright and colourful and would stand the test of time. Alas, it was not to be. The Aim of the Game The Counting ...
...attractive looking toy which is designed to help your toddler learn to count. Constructed of a very light pine wood, the Peg Board comprises a 10" base with the numbers 1 -5 printed along the front. Each number is printed in a different colour as follows:- 1 = Blue 2 = Green 3 = Yellow 4 = Orange 5 = Red Above each number is a round hole into which a peg is placed. The pegs are made up of different colours which correspond to the coloured numbers. ... Read review

Advantages: Teaches writing, drawing & sums
Disadvantages: Costs a lot on batteries

I got the Leapster for my daughter when she was just over 2 years old. She is now almost 4 and still enjoys it. There are a variety of games which get more advanced as the child gets older. My daughter especially enjoys the drawing games which show her how to trace over pictures. As a result, she has become great at drawing all sorts of things. The batteries lasted well but we also bought a plug in adapter which helped. We got it because it plugs ... Read review

Advantages: Cheap to start a little collection; hours of entertainment; will bring out the child in you!
Disadvantages: Ever so slightly addictive!

Geomag is a toy made primarily of rods with magnets at either end and little metallic balls (you can also get panels that fit in the gaps of square shapes and so on). They come in a range of bright and fun colours and you can also get glow in the dark pieces! Each rod is approximately 2 cms long but you can make massive structures out of them! Geomag came on the scene back in 1998 and has become a modern day lego (not that lego does not exist any ...
...to almost 8000 pieces! Geomag is an excellent toy that is great fun for all ages. It has a more adult feel than lego and is very tactile. It also looks like an more 'grown-up', executive toy - so big boys and girls can leave it out around the house without embarrassment! Indeed, it is fun to make up a structure and leave it on a mantelpiece (and of course much tidier than leaving all the bits around the living room!). Like lego, Geomag as the advantage ... Read review

Advantages: good bricks
Disadvantages: painful if you sand on them

...you stand on pieces of Lego children have scattered all over the room and not put away. Let's pick them all up please. This bucket contains a good assortment of pieces ,Somehow I can not just pick up the [pieces and put them all away I get involved in building, I can build a house with the standard 2,4 and eight stud bricks. I can builds with white bricks yellow bricks red bricks or blue. I build a red roof with sloping shaped bricks. There are ...
...set. I can build a Lego tree with black and green bricks too … Now we need a vehicle I can make one there are some wheels and a window screen. Now I must stop playing and put all the bricks back in the tub. Ohh there are lots and lots of assorted pieces in this bucket enough for a group of children. This bucket of Lego bricks would be ideal as a birthday or Christmas present it will form a good base for a Lego collection will keep a child absorbed ... Read review

Advantages: Bright colours
Disadvantages: None

We bought these blocks for my son when he was 5 months old. He is a typical boy in that he likes banging things together to make alot of noise. The blocks come in a sturdy rectangluar red box, with a strong blue carry handle and a yellow lid. The lid are 5 shape holes square, circle, triangle, rectangle and a star holes which really make this toy a shape sorter. The blocks themselves come in various bright colours. There are 10 shapes that come with ...
...thick durable plastic. So very hard to snap. They are very easy to clean which is a must with little ones! My son tends to put them in his mouth alot, so the fact they are too big for him to swallow and no sharp edges is great and also a must. My son also likes to take these into the bath with him, they make great bath toys as they float well and make alot of noise when bashed against the sides. To help you child learn you can count the blocks or ... Read review