Thank you to SmartMax for providing us with a SmartMax Basic Set for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions shared are my own.
In our house, we love building. Bricks, blocks, stacking craft sticks- you name it, we've probably tried to build something out of it. B is at the age where he loves to be active all day long, and doesn't settle for 'chill time'. It seems as though boys especially, need to be doing constructive with their time, so that they stay out of trouble. When we need to have some quiet time, we go for toys that we can build with. They help B work on his concentration, and he's able to take his ideas and run with them, trying out different positions with his blocks.
We've built with a lot of different toys over these early years, some which click or snap together, sometimes leaving little fingers hurting from unexpected pinches. Building with traditional blocks can be a lot of fun, but disappointment usually comes when the blocks are knocked off balance and topple to the ground. SmartMax offers maximum fun with magnets! With many different building and play sets available, SmartMax offers children the opportunity to learn and discover with magnetic building pieces, which attract and repel. The pieces are large, and welded together, so there's no risk of the individual magnetic pieces falling apart.
SmartMax® stimulates:
• hand-eye coordination
• logical thinking
• colour recognition
• form recognition in 2D & 3D
• playing together
• counting
• fantasy
• creativity
We received the SmartMax Basic 36-Piece Set, which included an instruction/idea booklet, large magnetic balls, and different sized magnetic building pieces of different magnetic strengths.
B was so excited to receive this fun building set. We haven't worked a whole lot with magnets, except for the ones that we play with on the refrigerator, which we can't build with. Within minutes of opening the SmartMax Basic Set, B was building away. He took a few minutes to familiarize himself with the pieces. Since the magnetic pieces are polarized, and are of different strengths, he wanted to see which colors would attract to one another, and which ones would repel.
Magnets have a magnetic north and south pole. The cold colors, green, blue, purple and white have their north poles directed outwards. The warm colors, red, orange, yellow and pink have their south poles directed outwards.
Attract - Repel
Unlike poles attract, like poles repel. All bars with a cold color can be connected to all bars with a warm color. All other combinations repel.
One B got the hang of which colors he could use together, he didn't waste any time sitting down to start building. He thought the balls were pretty cool! I love that the pieces are larger, and I don't have to worry about B wanting to put any of these in his mouth. He can easily push the pieces together, and pull them apart, unlike click together building toys, which often wind up in his mouth, as he tries to pull them apart with his teeth. This is so dangerous- it's a serious choking hazard, and no matter how many times we ask him not to do that, and explain the dangers of doing so, they still wind up in the mouth.
B started building and creating with his SmartMax Magnetic Building Set, and we were excited to see where his imagination would take the designs!
He had a lot of fun experimenting with the colors and the balls.
Building and creating, first thing in the morning!
Here's one of B's awesome creations!
Balls
SmartMax balls are attracted by all bars, regardless of their color. More than 20 bars can be connected to one ball.
The neat thing about the balls, is that they are attracted by all other SmartMax pieces, so they'll connect to all colors. This allows children to connect the different pieces with ease. Some of the pieces are straight, and some are curved. B quickly discovered that he could build a race track for his toy cars with these magnetic pieces. It's been his favorite thing to build thus far.
We love exploring the different ways we can connect the pieces together, and seeing what types of wacky things we can come up with.
When it's time for us to clean up, it's fun and easy to pick up the pieces, and put them away. One of our favorite games to play with these pieces, is to see how many pieces we can pick up with the balls, and then carefully place those pieces into the storage bin, trying not to let any of them drop off.
This set is easy to store, and since the pieces are so large, and colorful, they are easy to find when we're ready to play with them.
SmartMax offers different building and discovery sets for all ages, as young as 1 year+.
Check out some of these fantastic options...
Ages 1+
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Build & Store Set
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Build & Connect (3+)
Click & Roll Set (3+)
Power Vehicles Set
There are so many fun building sets available from SmartMax. It's so nice that they make safe, XL sets available for little ones- it's never too early to introduce them to toys that will help them develop their motor skills. As for preschoolers and older children, these sets would make amazing gifts for birthdays, summer fun, or Christmas. If you're looking for a unique gift that will boost and encourage your child's creativity, look no further than SmartMax Magnetic Discovery Toys!
Want them? Get them!
Head on over to SmartMax to browse their entire collection of magnetic toys and play sets. You can also connect with SmartMax on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram!
Want them? Win them!
One lucky reader will win their own SmartMax 36 Piece Basic Set! This giveaway is open to US residents, 18 and older. Just use the handy RC entry form below to enter for your chance to win! Mommy's Block Party is not responsible for prize shipment or fulfillment.
Special thanks to our friends at SmartMax for allowing us to discover and share about their fun magnetic building sets, and for offering this awesome giveaway for our readers!
Good luck!
It's interesting that the magnets in the different pieces are different strengths
ReplyDeleteBeth
Roy
ReplyDeleteAll the parts are bigger than 3 cm so they are a safe size for toddlers
I learnt that SmartMax parts are glued together and ultrasonicly welded for final assembly. This makes it impossible for toddlers to tear them apart.
ReplyDeleteLove the Playground XL set!
ReplyDeleteI learned that all of their parts are bigger than 3cm so kids can't swallow them!
ReplyDeletemcfallsk8er[at]aim[dot]com
The magnets of the long bars are stronger than those of the short bars.
ReplyDeleteTwila
ReplyDeleteAll the products are safety tested
They provide a form to ask any questions about the projects. I really like that.
ReplyDeleteEvelyn
I learned that the colors signify which way the magnets are pointing.
ReplyDeleteI learned that all parts are bigger than 3cm and thereby don't fit a child's throat. Also, the magnets of the long bars are stronger than those of the short bars. Long bars can lift more weight or make stronger connections
ReplyDeleteThey have several different ball runs that look great
ReplyDeleteSusan
JENNIFERANNE ON RAFFLECOPTER
ReplyDeleteI learned this toy stimulates form recognition in 2D & 3D
Is this contest good in the USA?
Jenniferanne74 @ aol.com
JENNIFERANNE ON RAFFFLECOPTER
ReplyDeleteMY son would love the Power Vehicles Mix set
Jenniferanne74 @ aol.com
The balls are attracted by all the rods. Very nice
ReplyDeleteTwila
These are great . I like that they are perfect for toddlers. My nephew has some magnet toys but they are the small ones and he has to play with them when his little brother is asleep because the pieces are so small. My younger nephew needs these when his big brother plays with his.
ReplyDeletethe parts are bigger than 3cm so kids can't swallow them
ReplyDeleteI learned that the Magnets have a magnetic north and south pole. The cold colors, green, blue, purple and white have their north poles directed outwards. The warm colors, red, orange, yellow and pink have their south poles directed outwards. :)
ReplyDeleteI learned that the magnets have different strengths. The long bars are stronger than the short bars.
ReplyDeleteDigicats {at} Sbcglobal {dot} Net
Jerry
ReplyDeleteAll precautions have been taken to ensure the toys safety
I really like the Tommy Train set
ReplyDeleteSusan
I would love any of the set. great toys
ReplyDeleteBeth