It seems like at Christmas all the newest and greatest toys are released for our kids. The ones that I love the most are ones that challenge and stimulate my kid’s minds. The endless release of all the newest, hottest video game systems are always on the top of my kid’s list, but I feel like we just don’t get a lot from them. It’s why I look for things that are STEM certified. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Education, and Mathematics and promotes creative development.
This week we had a few friends come over to try out some new toys from Gujo and Linxies. Both Linxies and Gujo toys are building sets that encourage creative play and have characters with interchangeable facial expressions. Both toys rely on the creative minds of kids to supply the dialogue and play. I like the fact that kids have to build the sets prior to playing with them. I feel like they have more connections to it when they invest the time to build it. Like a set on a play, they start paying attention to the details and all those small qualities influence how they interact with it. Main Street, one of the building sets from Gujo, lets kids envision themselves going out for a day of shopping, tasting freshly made bread and buying flowers. Perhaps the characters your kids build want to visit the local library? Main Street has one. Maybe they’re producing a new record. Main Street also has one of those too. There are as many storylines as your heart imagines with it.
Linxies follows the same concept as Gujo but is more based on the fantasy worlds of pirates and unicorns. We set up the Linxies Unicorn Barn, which follows the story of unicorns Flynn, Crystal and Agnes, and their caretakers. The set naturally lets you build fun narratives from a mythical perspective, possessing all the same great things I liked about Gujo.
While the directions on the box indicate that these are toys for kids beginning at age 6, younger builders and storytellers will need some assistance from mom or dad in putting together some of the pieces. They feel durable can be taken apart pretty easily and reassembled pretty easily at a later date for a different version of a new story.
*Macaroni Kid Pleasanton was compensated for this review, all thoughts are that of my own.
