We’re always on the hunt for toys that can trick our daughter into learning a little.
Hey eggheads, Juan Carlos Bagnell here for Newegg Studios.
Following up on our tech for homeschooling videos, we wanted to spend a little time on
some STEM activity kits from best choice products.
They sent over a trio of sets, Lex ran roughshod over all three, so I feel I’ve got some
decent experiences to share.
My daughter is four and a half, so we’re trying to keep focused school work to maybe
30 minutes a day, most often times a little less.
More we want to supplement play and activity time with projects that allow for more creative expression
This was a big part of her pre-school, we’re trying to maintain at home.
That and it’s a fun way for me to take a break from staring at computer monitors all day.
We played with the building block marble run set, the magnet tile race track set, and the
vehicle building toy set.
All three should look pretty familiar if you’re up to date with kids toys, but I was happy
to see a little stem learning twist for each collection.
Colorful building platforms, lots of flexibility.
Each set comes with instructions for specific projects, but I also think there’s a lot
of value in just dumping parts out on the floor and letting a kid go nuts.
These are exactly the kinds of toys that were popular when I was a kid, and for good reason.
It’s very constructive play.
Fitting pieces together, hand-eye coordination, imagining what a finished project might look like.
For Lex, there was a loy of trial and error on how tall she can make something and keep
it properly balanced.
The building blocks add a bit of gravity to the equation.
Track pieces, tubes, and funnels for little painted marbles.
Lex is super familiar with these building block systems, so adding the tracks and marbles was an immediate
light bulb moment.
Making longer runs, doing drops and also seeing where pieces not fitted together properly
might make bumps that would slow the marbles down.
She took to this really quickly.
Ditto the Magnet Tile Race kit.
Another similar toy system to something we already had in house, flat plastic tiles with
magnets on the edges, but these tiles have grooves cut in them to add little light up cars.
Lex loves these systems for vertical construction, but this was a whole new dynamic.
Bridges, ramps, dual layers.
I totally shouldn’t be worried that the first thing she wanted to make was a drag strip.
A couple minutes into showing her how the set worked, she turned it into a competition where her
car always won.
The building toy kit was the more challenging set for her of the three.
She’s not used anything like this yet, so grasping the mechanic of using tools and lining
up pieces, some rigid, some flexible, I think this came across as more work than the magnet
tiles or blocks.
Of course, your child’s mileage will vary.
Of the three sets I think this one was my personal favorite.
It’s all pretty cool stuff.
And if you have similar toy building systems at home, there’s a pretty good chance these
Best Choice kits will be an inexpensive way to augment what you already have.
Working with younger kids at home is a challenge.
We want some structured school work, but with everything going on right now, we also don’t
want to burn them out.
Mixing a little hand eye coordination with some fun construction play is a great recipe
for down time.
Engaged.
Imaginative.
And it won’t feel like learning.
Parents, you’re probably going to dig them too.
The Newegg team has been putting together some fantastic guides for homeschooling and
working at home.
With tips, tricks, and gear recommendations to help maximize your productivity and play.
Make sure you check out the links in the description for the whole series of articles and videos.
And if there are any suggestion you’d like to share, ways that you’ve used toys and
technology to improve your child’s homeschooling, please share those tips in the comments below.
As always thanks so much for watching, for sharing and subscribing.
For Newegg Studios, I’m Juan Carlos Bagnell, and I’ll catch you all on the next video!