K'NEX toys

We received some free K'NEX toys in the mail in exchange for an honest review on our blog,
so here it goes...

I was super impressed when the package came in the mail. This huge box was free?! Sure was!

When I opened the package, I fell in love with the age appropriate toys they chose to send my girls. (Note: Olivia is only 1 year old, and the toys are for ages 2-5.) Aren't those seriously the most adorable packages you've ever seen?

I'll review the city sets on this post, then the Ernie, Elmo, and Cookie Monster sets later.



The city sets were a Police Station and a Sesame Street housing block.
The girls found the miniature character pieces the most fun.

I had to put together the city sets myself, as it was a little too hard for the girls to figure out. However, they haven't had any experience with these kind of toys, so the whole concept of matching their blocks to the picture was quite foreign to them. They can make up their own designs without much difficulty, however. 

Lilly did create stairs on her own. They were a big hit. (I did have to help her figure out how to make them stand up by adding a support piece. Again, just a new concept for her.)

Lilly liked putting the pieces together in her own way. Look how tall she made her tower!

So proud of her creation!

The girls played with their K'NEX toys all morning one day, which says a lot for these toys. Their morning toys are usually their favorites. The only meltdowns we had were when it was a bit tricky getting the pieces apart. Otherwise, Lilly and Maggie can play independently with them.

Overall, I was mostly impressed with the city sets. The biggest complaint I had was the pieces were pretty hard to get apart. Both Lilly and Maggie had trouble with that most of the time. Also, the suggested design in the instruction booklet was lacking balance for the finished product. The Police Station set tended to fall over rather easily. However, these are absolutely adorable! I enjoyed how the sets included details like trees and fire hydrants. The instruction booklets also had learning activities for the kids (i.e. sorting the pieces by color and talking about more and less), which impressed me, especially as a former math teacher. :) I am glad to have these toys in my home.