Back to Blocks Review & Giveaway

Every kid needs blocks.  Good old fashioned stack'em high, knock 'em down, build to your heart's content wooden blocks.  I firmly believe this.  So much so that I let my daughter play with the wood scraps left over from finishing our basement.  I liked watching her build and create and I knew that she was getting good unstructured imaginative play, but I didn't like picking the splinters out of her little hands from the jagged scrappy pieces.  I always had the intention to buy her some blocks, but I've found that a good set of wooden blocks is hard to find.

Miriam from Back to Blocks brought a BIG blue bucket of fun to my house (yep, they're a home-grown company located in Kaysville, Utah).  My daughter was SO excited to open the Fun With Friends set!  Open a big ol' bucket of blocks and unleash an imagination explosion!  She popped the top off the big blue bucket and went to nuts building towers, roads and tall "stackies".  As soon as she got the lid off she squealed with delight and exclaimed, "This is fantastic!".  It didn't even take five minutes until the blocks were all over the front room.  A room scattered with blocks is a room filled with the cranking wheels of imagination.  I particularly appreciate the blocks' smooth beveled edges.  Lots of play with no more splinters!  Mmmmmm, the blocks smelled good.  (They're made from the hardwood, poplar.)  They smelled like my childhood (maybe this is the foundation of why I think wooden blocks are so important).  I have fond memories of never ending roads that grew over the kitchen counter top, complete with bridges to get over the soapy dish water.

Even Daddy joined in on the fun!

(Didn't we already see a picture like this?  It must be hereditary...)

*Not recommended for kids under the age of 3.

Back to Blocks started 20 years ago as handmade Christmas gift to the Back to Blocks owner's children.  Twenty years, one bucket, 160 blocks and many, many towers, farms, castles, zoos and roads later Back to Blocks is ready to continue the tradition of imagination, construction and most important of all - PLAY.  Back to Blocks is a member of the Handmade Toy Alliance.  They are committed to preserving the tradition of quality handcrafted products.  Their blocks are all natural wood products with NO PAINTS or DYES.  They are made to last.  Did you realize that if you bought a $75 bucket of blocks from Back to Blocks and kept them for 20 years that would be an investment of $3.75 a year.  Back to Blocks also guarantees their blocks, so if they ever crack or splinter through normal use just send it back for a replacement.  (You can use the handy-dandy wood engraved block included in every set to find their information if you ever need it).

WHY is it so important for kids to play with blocks?  Give a child a car and they will say "vroom".  They'll drive it around the room for a while.  The next time they play with it they'll do the same expected thing.  It's a car, so vroom and drive.  Give a child some blocks and they will build.  Cities, towns, farms, roads.  Castles where princes rescue princesses.  Bridges that trolls live under.  Caves for bears and mountain lions.  Basic blocks are builders for the foundation of a creative imagination.  Building with blocks develops hand-eye coordination and motor skills.  Every house, every school classroom should have a set of basic wooden building blocks.  I think it is truly time to get BACK to BLOCKS!

*Update - after 2 straight hours of playing with the blocks my 3-year-old just came up to me and said, "I sure do love my blocks, Mommy!"

Check out building contests on Back to Block's site! Or, submit a picture of your project.

Back to Blocks 'Fun With Friends' set

Back to Blocks is GIVING AWAY a Fun With Friends set!  Just enter the form below:



LINKS:

• Back to Blocks website

DISCLOSURE:
*All opinions are 100% mine.  I received compensation in exchange for this review/giveaway.