One of my favorite sites for researching and buying toys online is ebeanstalk. It is a great site. The products they sell are all specially chosen and researched. Each toy listing has information on why it is appropriate for each developmental age level. I love searching by age... and they even have the infant toys separated into newborn+, 3+, 6+, and 9+ months. It makes picking out toys really easy. Most importantly... Zoe and Ana think their research is right on target. The things I've gotten after researching on ebeanstalk are their favorites.
Choosing age appropriate toys is not always easy. Ebeanstalk is dedicated to selecting good, safe educational toys and baby gifts that promote growth and learning. One way they decide on which toys they will sell is to ask the opinions of moms and kids. When they asked me to be one of the moms to test out their toys I jumped at the chance!
The toy they sent us to try out is called Activity Bus from Plan Toys. Plan Toys makes eco-friendly wooden toys that are just beautiful.
(photo from Plan Toys)
The box gives a description stating "This school bus open up into a classroom allowing children the opportunity to use their imagination in different ways. The complete set includes figurines, blackboard/map, school chairs, and books. From 3 years."
It's a beautiful toy. Zoe was so thrilled to see this bus when it arrived in the mail. She couldn't wait for it to be opened so she could get her hands on it.
The pieces are all the perfect size for 4 year old hands. After I opened the bus the first time Zoe was easily able to open and close it to use as the vehicle and then the classroom. She really enjoyed the concept of this toy since she's really excited to be getting back to school soon. Playing with the toy brought up conversations about what she would be doing once she was back with her preschool friends again. It was fun... both to play with and to talk about.
Some positives about the Activity Bus:
- It's pretty to look at. Not at all gaudy/neon/plasticky
- 2 toys in one (bus/classroom)
- Age appropriate topic (most 3/4/5 year olds are THRILLED about school).
- Cute little people.
- Really encouraged themed play.
Some negatives about the Activity Bus:
- Zoe was immediately upset that there were 4 seats (3 school chairs/1 bus driver chair) and only 2 people. I wish they had included an adult and 3 children.
- It took some maneuvering to get those little people sitting in those little desks.
- Not all of the parts are well connected (one of the desks wasn't attached when I opened our box/the bus driver chair just seems to set in a post/hole).
- The books (2 SMALL blocks shaped like stacks of books) were quite small. Zoe (4 years) was tempted to put them in her mouth... and I'm sure if Ana (13 months) got her hands on them she would choke on them. DEFINITELY a piece for 3 years and older.
Overall, Zoe enjoyed playing with the Activity Bus. It was a little frustrating for her at times... but she made a few adjustments (added a few classmates) and then she played with it for quite a while. I think it's a toy we'll enjoy having, especially if I order a couple extra people (and maybe glue a couple of the pieces together to make them a little tougher).
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