HK Mama Bear: the best toy ever

In our home, one toy gets played with more than anything else - and this has been true since I first bought it, on a whim, on my way home from work.

Behold, the mighty Gakken blocks!

Gakken Blocks

These blocks are amazing.

Gakken blocks, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

1. They are incredibly versatile. You can make almost anything with them - our children have used them to create buses (Bobo's favorite when he was about two and a half), cups (Wawa's current favorite), beds for their stuffed toys, helicopters, fire engines, birds, towers, and more. When Wawa was really little, Bobo would make a bunch of cubes for her to stack and knock over.

When Bobo was two, he was making roads:

Bobo's road at age 2

and when he was three, he was making Tidmouth Sheds!

Tidmouth Sheds

2. They grow with your children . The bag says 1-6, but as I recall, Wawa started playing with these before she turned 1, so as far as we're concerned, they're a 0-6 toy. Before Bobo really knew how to build with them, he loved being in charge of adding the wheels to the little rectangular boxes i made for him (Voila! A bus!). When Wawa was about one, she used to make little two-piece 'T' shapes with them, but now she makes rockets/drums that are really quite complex! Bobo has lots of other favorite toys now, but when Wawa takes these out (and she does this several times a day) he always joins in for a bit, and he's already four.

Wawa (age 1) making T-shapes

Wawa (age 2) making cups and rockets/drums

3. They are very light. This is a big one for us because little ones sometimes throw their toys...and wooden blocks can really hurt! Also, this means we sometimes bring a few (or more than a few) with us when we go to church or when we eat out.

4. They are easy to clean up. They hold up well when the kids are building tall structures with them, but are quick and easy to take apart and put away, too.

5. They are quiet. Compared to wooden blocks, Duplo, or Mega Blocks, these lightweight blocks are very quiet and can be played with comfortably even if someone is napping in the same room (which was often the case when Wawa was a newborn).

6. They can be combined with other sets for more fun! We started out with a basic 'starter' bag of Gakken blocks, then added a second larger bag to the mix. A few months ago, my mom bought us a 'playground' bag, which included special curved pieces for making playground equipment like a swing set and a slide. It also came with four little people!

The playground set

One small tip: don't ever soak them or play with them in water! They are very light blocks because they are hollow...and it's nearly impossible to get water out of them once you get some in them.

If you don't have any of these blocks yet, you've got to get some!