Blocks blocks advice

[diamond]

I interested in the Costco blocks. If they are identical to M&D blocks why would you spend 50$ on those a d not just buy Costco ones? Can the Costco blocks be bought online without membership?

We have a. 3 yr Old . I'm confused abou all the differen blocks available. M&D blocks, costco ones, tegu locks, magnatiles. what oneach of these teach the kids? What's the purpose of them! We have Lego duplos at home and she plays with them ok ocassio ally but nothing I see tells m she Loves them or building. Ty

[Snow mom]

Both the costco blocks and M&D blocks are unit blocks. These are supposed to teach basic math skill/ fractions (and are just fun for building with.) The different sized pieces make up larger sized blocks (this is what makes them unit blocks--they are all in the same unit). I don't have the costco ones but have seen them in person and they look fairly identical to the M&D blocks we do have. You would need a costco membership (or a friend with a membership) to get the costco blocks and they are seasonal so you'd need to get them soon.

Magnatiles are plastic flats which have magnets in them so that they can stick together to form basically unlimited things. They are a ton of fun (even for adults.) They also seem really easy to pick up because they stick together nicely.

Tegu blocks are a bit of a hybrid between magnatiles and unit blocks or citi blocks. They are wood but with magnets to stick them together. We haven't taken the plunge on these because we own about 1000 different types of blocks.

[mnosky1]

Re: Unit blocks: I bought several sets at garage sales and have a huge basket full that has been in our main living area for 8.5 years. They have been played with at least a couple times/week for that entire time. No matter what I paid, they'd be my best investment - considering in total they were under $5, a super investment! My 9.5 year old regularly pulls them out to play by herlsef and even with friends over, they will play.
My DD's preschool has huge block areas and they gave us a sheet about benefits of block play and I never really thought about it -
Here's something similar:
http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=397

Interestingly, my kids show no interest in magnatiles at the children's museum so I never got. I am getting Tegu blocks for Christmas though but kind of hesitanttly.

My girls also like legos.

[citymama]

I feel your pain - lost in the wide world of blocks! My advice to you: take your kid's lead.

DD1 had almost NO interest in blocks. She had wonderful blocks at her daycare and preschool and lots of opportunity to observe kids playing with them, but never showed interest. I bought her a basic box of colored wooden blocks (kind of like the Haba blocks, about 2 inches in size and different shapes) when she was 2, and she used them as additional play food rather than building with them.

DD2 went gaga about Duplos from the minute she saw them. We started there and she has two good sized Duplo sets that get a lot of love. She is 2.5 and sometimes plays with the colored wooden blocks I mentioned above but they topple over too easily so she gets frustrated. My DH's mom saved his collection of large (6 inch) wooden unit blocks and DD2 likes those but again, finds it frustrating that they fall over when built. She discovered bristle blocks at her daycare and loved them, so my aunt bought her a set and it's a hit. If anyone offers to buy her blocks I might suggest something like Tegu or Magnatiles, but I'm not adding to the collection yet.

These things are pricey and I think the best strategy is to expose them to different kinds at school or friends' houses, and see which ones they naturally gravitate to, before investing in them.