I and my little girl have been given a wonderful opportunity by K'Nex to do a review of 3 of their products for children ages 2 - 5 years.
Aimee at K'Nex sent us the following products to review:
Kick It! Elmo:
Your child can build Sesame Street's coolest red monster, Elmo, gearing up to kick his soccer ball! This 13 piece set includes parts to build Elmo in his uniform and ready to hit the field with his soccer ball. "Play & Learn" activity sheet filled with collaborative and educational fun for parent and child is also included along with additional building ideas. When playtime is over store the parts in the handy canister for a quick and easy clean-up
Swim Time Ernie:
Your child can build Sesame Street's friendliest resident, Ernie, dressed in his bathing suit and ready to take a swim! This 14 piece set includes parts to build Ernie, complete with snorkel and flippers, on his way to the pool, lake or beach! "Play & Learn" activity sheet filled with collaborative and educational fun for parent and child is also included along with additional building ideas. When playtime is over store the parts in the handy canister for a quick and easy clean-up
Cookie Monster’s Basketball:
Your child can build one of Sesame Street's most lovable - and hungriest - characters, Cookie Monster, getting some exercise by hitting the basketball court! This 15 piece set includes parts to build Cookie Monster dressed in his uniform, including his yellow visor, with basketball in hand. "Play & Learn" activity sheet filled with collaborative and educational fun for parent and child is also included along with additional building ideas. When playtime is over store the parts in the handy canister for a quick and easy clean-up.
I had these put up (actually hid because if Em saw Elmo I wouldn't have heard the end of it) for a bit until we could seriously sit down and review. Well, review for me, but it was playtime for Em.
All three of these kids learning toys can be found here:
K'Nex sets for age 2+
I have included numerous photos to show the different stages of building each of these learning toys.
If I was to use a grading system for grading these learning toys, I would definitely give K'Nex an "A+."
What did we love about the product
- Storage cases. The learning toys stored inside of themselves for easy clean-up and it makes it easier to not lose any pieces.
- Pieces involved. Cookie Monster had the most pieces at 15, Ernie had 14 and Elmo had 13. Less with these learning toys is definitely more.
- The pieces were big and Em was easily able to pick them up.
- Of course with the bigger pieces, Em was able to push the body blocks together.
- They really are learning toys. When we took them out of the cases, we counted the pieces and went over each of the colors.
- The directions are included, and easy to understand (picture is included on how to build it). They even give you hints/tips on what else you can do with the toys.
- The toys are fun. So kids think that they are playing, when in reality with each block they stack they are learning.
- The toys are interchangeable. This in itself is a wonderful idea. Em has been taking them apart and putting Elmo's head on Cookie Monster and vice versa.
- Even after Em has finished building, she has been carrying them around with her. These are good solidly built toys. They are putting up with a lot of the wear and tear a 2-year old can do to them, and nothing is breaking.
- The price is very affordable, which is a definite plus. ALSO, "When you purchase Sesame Street products, you are supporting the education at home and around the world."
Dislikes
We didn't really have any dislikes of these products. I think if Em was a little older, maybe towards the upper end of the age recommendations, then she wouldn't of had any problems. The things that I did notice were:
- At a little over age 2, she had a hard time to get the arms to snap into place.
- This is the same with Ernie's flippers, she wasn't able to get them on.
- Lastly, through normal play(Em carrying them around) the arms did keep popping off, but they are very easy for any older child or an adult to snap back into place.
I really would recommend getting these learning toys for your child. They have toys that cover many different ages, not just the younger ones. Just click on the above links and you can check out all of their products.
I want to take this opportunity to thank K'Nex and Aimee again for giving me my first product review chance. They have been a pleasure to work with. Very personable with quick replies to emails and questions.
FTC Disclosure: This product review is my own personal opinion. I did not receive any monetary compensation for my opinion of these products. I did receive the three products I reviewed free of charge.
