Lego's are a must-have toy for toddlers and preschoolers. It enhances hand-eye coordination, dexterity, manipulating small objects, logic and imaginative play. So, of course we started buying my son Legos when he was just seven months. We started with this plastic alligator that you could store additional Lego pieces in and build on him, as well. My son always loved manipulating small things, so he was enthralled by the pieces - turning them over and over. My parents added onto the Lego madness giving him the zoo Duplo set, set number 5481.
LEGO DUPLO ZOO: 5481
This set comes with 128 Duplo pieces. Some are the normal assortment of blocks. But there are some different shapes thrown in, like two flowers, some pieces to make a palm tree, a bush, some grass, some snow, a bowl to hold food for the animals, two Lego people, two humps for the camel and gates. There are enough pieces in the bucket to make one zebra, elephant and camel. You just look at the front of the container the zoo set came in to see how the animals are made. I also discovered that I can make all of those animals, plus I made up a way to make a giraffe to join the others. There are enough pieces to do all four animals! To make a giraffe, I of course used mostly orange pieces and I followed the instructions for the camel, minus the humps. But I added extra length for the neck and legs.
The set comes in a big tub. I actually put a lot of our loose Legos into this green tub, too. The tub is about 13" x 9" x 8".
The Lego pieces are made in Denmark, Hungary, England and the Czech Republic.
EXPERIENCE
When playing with my 27 month old, he loves for me to make the creatures. He usually knows what piece I need next and hands them to me me. Like the yellow humps for the camel, or the black and white blocks for the zebra. He calls the zebra, elephant and camel by name. He will also play the part of Dr. Moreau and take the head off our assembled zebra and put it on the elephant, or the humps of the camel and put it on the giraffe. And the little Lego people ride the animals. He also likes to race me, how fast I can put the animals together, compared to how fast he can disassemble them.
When my first started playing with these Legos, he just played with the pieces individually. Then he started giving it to us to put together certain blocks and take them apart again. Lego is right on with their age recommendation, because it was when he turned two that he really was capable of putting the pieces together and taking them apart on his own. Also, we had to hide the flower pieces from him when he was little, because he kept putting them in posing a choking hazard. But I do not regret giving him this set a year early.
DUPLO LEGOS
Duplo Legos are larger and easier-to-handle than "traditional" Legos which are better suited for older children. Duplo pieces are usually in sets for two to six year olds. But this Zoo set is recommended for ages two to four.
OVERALL
Legos are just a fun gift. It is amazing to see how far my son has progressed, from poking at the blocks, to turning them over, to putting them in his mouth and spitting them out -sigh, to actually building structures and helping me build a zoo of animals. He is just a few steps from doing it on his own. I think Legos are just great, they are fun and assist in the growth of so many skills.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): GIFT Type of Toy: Blocks
Age Range of Child: 12 to 36 Months
Construct your very own zoo animals Set features a new Quatro rolling car chassis Extra-large blocks are easy for little ones to handle 128 varied pie...More at Amazon
Construct your very own zoo animals Set features a new Quatro rolling car chassis Extra-large blocks are easy for little ones to handle 128 varied pie...More at Amazon Marketplace
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