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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 105 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
77 of 78 found the following review helpful:
 great toy, but forget the picture boards Nov 28, 2004
By L. Lee
I bought this toy because my children loved to play with pattern blocks at science and art museums. This was the only toy I found with real wood blocks that were the size and feel of the toys they had played with earlier. Using the blocks alone, my children loved to create an endless number of beautiful geometric patterns. The toy encourages creativity and promotes mathematical thinking.
My daughter, who was five or six at the time, tried using the picture boards. At her age, she was able to do it although it was frustrating when the pieces moved out of place. For awhile, she thought that she had to use the picture boards in order to play with the toy properly. Once she got over that, we had a wonderful toy again.
If you throw away the picture boards from the beginning and let your child's creativity take over, you have a 5 star toy that even older children and adults enjoy tinkering with.
47 of 48 found the following review helpful:
My 3-year old loves it! Oct 07, 2004
By Mom of 3-year old
"Karen"
My daughter received these pattern blocks as a present. At 3 1/2, she now loves to play with them. She enjoys the challenge of putting the blocks on the pattern boards and making pictures. Yes, as another reviewer noted, the wood blocks can slide around on the wood pattern boards. My daughter was initially frustrated that the blocks didn't "stick". But, this is not intended to be a puzzle. After sitting with her a few times and showing her she could just move the blocks back into place, the frustration was gone. This is one of her favorites. She especially likes to pick out 2 of the boards and have someone else make one picture while she's making another.
15 of 15 found the following review helpful:
Nice puzzles Dec 30, 2006
By City Witch
This is basically a set of boards with patterns on them that your child is supposed to replicate with all these tiny puzzle pieces.
The good: It's fun. It's a great way to work on basic math, shapes, and matching. Its also good for small motor development and coordination. Its challenging.
The bad: The pieces are small and nothing holds them in place. They move when another piece is put down and they fall off if your child tries to pick up the board to show you his latest accomplishment. Also, the colors of the pieces are not distinct enough. The purple ones look an awful lot like the blue ones. Finally, the box is awkward to get the puzzle boards out of. I use the top puzzle as a lever to get the others out, but my almost 4 year old can't manage that. How hard would it have been to cut out a finger's width of the inner box?
I DO like this puzzle set, but its not as user-friendly as the other Melissa and Doug products I have seen. In spite of the labels, I do NOT recommend getting this for a 3 year old unless the child has excellent manual dexterity.
70 of 89 found the following review helpful:
 Not as good as it looks. Aug 27, 2004
By Jane Austen
This is a great concept but it does not work! The wooden pieces do not stay in place as you put the picture together. It's not awful but it frustrates my child, he wants each piece to stay exactly where he put it! I would try 'Playful Patterns' by Discovery Toys. It has foam pieces on a plastic board so they hold. Also, they have more shapes that can be used to make other shapes - semi circles to make circles, right angled triangles to make squares etc.
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
Durable Educational Toy! Jul 20, 2007
By History_of_Art_Geek
My son received this toy over three years ago. I must admit the Pattern Blocks & Boards wasn't a favorite, as it caused frustration. I'd help him pull the boards out of the box, and I'd place some of the tiles close by, so he wouldn't have to reach into the box. William would match the colors, yet he had difficulty with the tiles sliding on the boards. He became so aggravated I put the toy away.
The next time the toy came out, I put the boards up, and we started sorting the tiles. We'd discuss the colors, the shapes, and counted the tiles. We also started combining the tiles to make our own designs. In time, he adjusted to the boards, and became quite good at reproducing the patterns. Now that he's 6, he likes the Pattern Blocks & Boards.
Since we have many Melissa & Doug sets, I like that the lid is clear, so kids can identify the toy. I wish the box had a groove on the board side so it would be easy to grasp, and remove the boards from the box. It's a tight fit, and I have noticed William turning the entire contents out on the table, or floor because he struggles with removing the boards. As it's completely made from wood, this set is very durable. Overall, the Pattern Blocks & Boards is a well-made, educational toy.
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