I was recently sent* Magicubes from Geomag for Lucas to explore. These wonderful, colourful magnetic cubes are from their early years and pre-school range of toys. We received 4 sets of the new additions and Lucas eagerly opened the first set which consisted of 4 cubes with multi coloured sides one with an eye. Lucas straight away realised he could make a bird out of the blocks and set about creating.
He was really engaged when he realised that they weren’t normal building blocks but were pulled together by magnets. They fit together so easily and snugly and can be moved freely. The cubes really came to life when we opened up the second package – a mix and match 6 cube character themed set. Lucas loved making complete characters such as a fireman, policeman, doctor, monkey, tiger, giraffe and then mixing them up, so the fireman had a giraffe’s head!
The blocks have well thought out features, like the gently contoured and curved corners. They also feature smooth to touch, yet textured surfaces, meaning they’re both easy to grip and pleasant to handle. We then combined an 8 piece cube set with a 27 piece cube set, then the building really started.
Lucas enjoyed matching up corresponding coloured sides and forming rows and making them into towers, occasionally knocking them over and amazed that some pieces stayed together. The fact that the cubes flew across the room allowed me to notice that the cubes themselves were strong and durable. We made a house, tower, chair, table, plane and bird.
I love the fact you can leave gaps in them, enabling us to have windows in our house to store other toys inside.
The developmental opportunities with these items start from their ability to not only offer visual learning and problem-solving, but also STEM opportunities. The science of the magnets is explored and felt via fine and gross motor play, while the magnetic forces cause great source of amusement as blocks are put together and pulled by the magnet. Other aspects like counting, shape, space and colour can also be explored via these simple yet effective block-based toys.
I was really pleased with the Magicubes, they are fun, engaging, educational and safe. I have enjoyed playing just as much as Lucas. They are a welcome addition to any toy box.
If you would like to win a set of freebuilding 27 piece of Magicubes, enter below x
Magicubes
