There is something wonderful about a pile of building materials being transformed into a building, tower, track, or bridge that a child has imagined in their mind and then created. When JDaniel was really little I started scouring yard sales and consignment sales for building toys. I wanted him to have wide toys to create, build, and display creations he pictured in his mind. My sister handed down several building toys to us that JDaniel loves. Those that I still wanted for him and didn’t buy used or inherit I bought new. Having a variety of materials that could be used on their own or combined was something I wanted him to have.
When I was little, a had a wide selection of building toys. Many of them I have pictured below. I didn’t build quite the same things JDaniel does now, but I had a great time playing with them. There was something magical about the building. There were a lot of homes, towers, and palaces created at my house. JDaniel loves to build water parks, fortresses, and walls. I love to work beside him and add to his structures or create some of my own. I still love to build towers.
If you have a little builder or would like to encourage a child in your life to build, you will want to look at the various building toys below.
Mega Bloks First Builders Big Building Bag with Big Building Blocks, Building Toys for Toddlers (80 Pieces) – Blue Bag are big and easy to handle cousins to Legos. We were given a set of them by a lady from church. While they are great for stacking. The fact that they can swivel a little has been great for building bridges.
Melissa & Doug 100-Piece Wood Blocks Set is another favorite from my childhood. We had a big set of wooden blocks. JDaniel has a smaller set than I had. Standard blocks require a little more planning than the Mega Bloks and Bristle Blocks. They don’t have the ability to stick or clamp onto other blocks. Building the standard wooden blocks means thinking about balance and position. This is one of those toys for kids that will also work on science skills.
Marble Genius Marble Run Super Set – 150 Complete Pieces + Free Instruction App & Full Color Instruction Manual was on JDaniel’s Christmas list last year. He loved playing with a marble run that children of some friends of ours had. Aunt Kate asked him what he wanted for Christmas and this is what he asked for. I love the planning that needs to be done as the run is being built. If you want the marbles to make it down each path on the run, you have to make sure each path feeds into another that leads to the bottom.
PlanToys Plan Preschool Creative Blocks, 35 has wonderful bolts, and screws that hold the building, vehicle, or totally new creation in place. Children have to use fine motor skills to put their ideas together.
Magna-Tiles 32-Piece Clear Colors Set, The Original, Award-Winning Magnetic Building Tiles for Kids, Creativity and Educational Building Toys for Children, STEM Approved allows children to build with magnets. Magnets fascinate my son. He loves the power they have to hold things in place. These wonderful tiles not only create wonderful structures they also allow children’s creations to glimmer in the sun due to their transparent surfaces.
LINCOLN LOGS-Collector’s Edition Village-327 Pieces-Real Wood Logs-Ages 3+ – Best Retro Building Gift Set for Boys/Girls-Creative Construction Engineering–Top Blocks Game Kit – Preschool Education Toy are one the toys my mom bought for her grandchildren to play with at her house. JDaniel loves to try to replicate the houses on the outside of the can. Honestly, I find them a little challenging, but he sticks with them until they are done.
TINKERTOY 30 Model 200 Piece Super Building Set – Preschool Learning Educational Toy for Girls and Boys 3+ (Amazon Exclusive) is another toy I had when I was little that I wanted to JDaniel to have. I love the fine motor work that is down while you place the sticks in two wooden disks. They create wonderfully transparent buildings and towers.
LEGO Classic Medium Creative Brick Box 10696 Building Toys for Creative Play; Kids Creative Kit (484 Pieces) blocks are my nephews’ favorite toy. They have many large kits and zillions of blocks. We have a small collection. It is just big enough to build small creations with.
Meccano Erector Super Construction 25-in-1 Building Set, 638 Parts, for Ages 10+, STEAM Education Toy has been around for years. I think my dad may have even had a set. JDaniel noticed these lately and would love to try them out. They are for older children, but he loves the types of things he has seen that you can build with them.
Innovation First Hexbug Hive Playset is on JDaniel’s wish list for his birthday or Christmas. He has a Hexbug Habitat already and a number of Hexbugs. He loves to create and recreate the areas the Hexbugs roam in.
There are many different building toys for kids on the market. You simply Google building toys and dozens come up. I have tried to narrow down the list of construction toys to ones that we have had first-hand experiences with. We have loved or are playing to love playing with each and every one of them.
Do you have a favorite building toy or do your children?
Some great ideas, here! I think my son would love all of them! Definitely putting the marble run on his wish list!
Ben has most of those building items… He loves them all.. He incorporates the bristles with lincoln logs.
He has the magnetic rods to build towers.. They are all so much fun to watch come from the box and then into something creative.. Creative minds are so much fun to watch..
Have a TIggeriffic Day~! ta ta for now from Iowa:)
I love all the the selection, there are some new to me toys here as well…. Adding all if this on to Aarya’s wishlist 🙂
Love your ideas. We used Magna Tiles for years and my kids also liked Lincoln Logs and any kind of wooden block building set. Mia of PragmaticMom
Lincoln Logs have always been my favorite. And we love the Magna Tiles too!
We had lincoln logs and tinker toys when we were kids. My parents bought our kids a set and Brad (who is 10) will still get them out and build with them. You can never go wrong with Lego’s…Brad likes hard sets now…just told me this yesterday! 🙂 Erector sets are also fun but Brad got one last year and it was tough. Great way to make their brains think!
We have that bucket of LEGOs, and it was the start to the beginning of a LEGO frenzy. 😉 My son loves building with them, and he’s really good at it, I have to say!
I am headed over to take a look at the marble run. That looks fun.
Great building sets! We also love the Kid K’nex. My son still plays with them even though they were meant for little ones. He has had his sets since he was three.