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When the older children were very young I had seen various construction type toys and one really caught my eye; Magformers. D got bought a small set for his birthday one year and we have added to it over the years.
Of all the construction toys we have bought over the last few years, Magformers are the ones that have been played with, consistently, every day. They’re absolutely fantastic and we were very lucky to have been sent some new sets to review a few weeks back.
What are Magformers?
Put simply, Magformers are a range of plastic shapes that have super strong magnets inside along the shapes’ edges. They’re used to construct all manner of things from simple cubes to more complex cards and buildings. We have probably got nine different sets of Magformers now (mostly bought by us of as gifts from family) and the boys are always playing with them.
Each set comes with a build guide which gives you instructions on how to build the various things. Other sets come with activity packs where children lay the different shapes over pictures to make 2d shapes (for example a crab).
They are really good for teaching a wide range of ideas and we use them a lot when modelling nets to make cubes or pyramids.
Why we love Magformers
Quite simply the possibilities are endless! The children have used magformers to make all manner of things from cars and space ships to bridges and towers. For Christmas H got a walking robot set and it’s fantastic; he is able to make different robots using the sets we have. We also bought him a large building set that he and Daniel use to build all manner of structures from.
Magformers are super sturdy and all the sets are interchangeable so it’s really easy to expand the sets you have. The building sets have roof tiles, windows and doors that can be added to add an additional level of play as well as trees and people.
What Age are Magformers Suitable for?
They’re suitable from ages 3+. H has been enjoying them since before he turned three. They way they fix together means even at three years old you can build something quite quickly and easily. He is also (at 3) able to follow the instructions on the smaller builds to make up the things he wants to make. For the bigger more complex builds Daniel does these (7) and he enjoys building the more complex structures.
I really like that through playing with these toys when we began to look at 3d shapes and nets this was all stuff that D and E knew already. They were able to quickly work out how many faces a pyramid or cube has based on how they’d build one with the Magformers. Learning through play makes it all so much more memorable for them. We have had hours of fun with the Magformers sets we have, and its the number one toy I recommend to everyone looking for construction toys for children.
It’s well worth keeping an eye on the Magformers online shop as they often have some fantastic sales on. We picked up two sets in November times for Christmas at a really good price.
