I’ve always loved shopping, and after N was born (okay maybe even before that), I confess that I bought a lot of books and toys. Plenty of books is fine, but toys? Erm… It was as though I was buying all the toys that I wanted to play with when I was a child, but never got the opportunity to. Each time, I convinced myself that he NEEDED a particular toy because hey, it’s “educational”, but I soon realised that some of those toys didn’t last for long, and N wasn’t all that keen on them after a while.
As N grew older, I realised that certain toys captured his attention better, and that wooden toys in particular were hardier, i.e. they didn’t fall apart if he dropped them too many times. I became more selective about the types of toys I chose for him, and went for those which encouraged free play and/or pretend play. If you’ve been following this blog for some time, you’ll know that N loves building with wooden blocks (see some of his creations HERE and HERE). I wish I knew about Janod’s Kubix blocks earlier, not only because the colours seem more unique and pretty (yes, I’m frivolous like that), but also because Janod is well-known for good quality wooden toys.
I was really pleased when I won this set of Janod I Wood Stackable Turtles for the twins, and even more so when I was approached to do a review of My Miracle Baby. They have quite a good range of products, but I zoomed in on the Janod items, because I knew that they would be of high quality, and more importantly, they’re ideal for learning through play. I had a tough time choosing the Janod toys for N, because all of them seemed so interesting and fun! In the end, I decided to get the Janod Rocket Magnetic Kit for pretend play, the Janod Magnetic Calendar to teach N about the days of the week, months, and basically about calendars in general, and the Janod Magnetibook Moduloform to let him learn about shapes, colours, and pattern.
N loves all things space-related, and had been asking for a rocket for the longest time. As the Janod Rocket Magnetic Kit was also a puzzle, I thought it would make a nice gift for N, from his newborn siblings. (Read about it HERE.) As I expected, he put it together quickly, thanks to the strong magnets inside, then spent quite a bit of time pretending to be the astronaut in the rocket, and “flew” around the hospital room.
Can you tell that he loves his Janod rocket?
I gave N the Janod Magnetic Calendar before his birthday in July, so that he could count down to the actual day. I liked that there were so many different categories on the calendar: Day, Date, Month, Year, Weather, and Mood. It helped that N’s school also teaches them about days and the weather, so he was quite familiar with those two segments. He would forget to change the date daily, then got all confused when I reminded him, so that is definitely still a work in progress.
The Janod Magnetic Calendar
I got him to organise the items in sequence on a separate metal tray (it’s a baking tray from IKEA), before transferring them onto the calendar
All done!
It’s so colourful and cheerful-looking, isn’t it?
N was initially reluctant to try the Janod Magnetibook Moduloform, because he isn’t very good with patterns, but after I showed him some of the simpler designs, he decided to try them out. He started with a really simple one: the rocket, and once he realised that it wasn’t as difficult as he thought it would be, he went through the rest of the cards to pick out designs that he wanted to try. I thought this set is pretty good for independent play, as I was able to leave him alone with it for a while after he got hooked onto creating the patterns. You can also challenge your child to come up with his own designs!
The Janod Magnetibook Moduloform
Working on the rocket with Tiger
I did it!
More designs
Being cheeky as usual
The cover of the box is actually magnetic, as you can see from the first picture of the butterfly, but I think if you’re using this at home, it might be easier for younger children to use a larger metal tray, so that they can see all the pieces clearly. If you’re bringing it out on a car/train/plane ride, then the box should be good enough. To be honest, it’s not very small and portable, but if you’ve got room in your hand carry bag, this would be an engaging activity for your kids.
There are many great Janod toys available on My Miracle Baby, and some of my favourite items include the other Magnetibook sets, puzzles, musical instruments, and pull-along toys.
If you’re a fan of Janod products like me, you’d be pleased to know that you can get a 20% discount off ALL Janod wooden toys from My Miracle Baby. This great deal is available from now till 31st December 2016, so if you haven’t already started shopping for Christmas presents, you know which website to check out! 😉
*Disclaimer: We were gifted the three Janod items shown above for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are, as always, our own.
Comments