 
Melissa and Doug Pattern Blocks and Boards
Rating:  -
If you have a strong-willed child like mine who won't let you have a routine for him, you know by now that you need lots of activities to keep him entertained, so you can keep from going insane!
I was looking for calm, sit-down activities for my son to do before bed. He LOVES this. Sorting out and finding the colors and shapes he needs to make his picture is therapeutic and calming for him. At bedtime he also like the Silly Faces Stick-Ons Game, his Story Reader, and his mama simply reading books to him. I just never know what he'll accept but the point is to get him in bed in a cooperative, well-adjusted manner and quiet activities like these help.
The only thing I would recommend for Melissa & Doug is for them to create better storage for their products. We also have the food cutting set, which all the pieces are sitting in an open "food" crate. It's cute but not practical. I want to be able to stack things and not have everything fall out if it tips over. And also for THIS game, I really have to be careful because the boards and the pieces are all just sitting there open-faced ready to be knocked over. It should at least have some kind of top to put on it, Tupperware-style. I have two other babies and I worry that if I dropped it the small pieces for this game might land in places that only little babies could possibly find!
Rating:  -
My son was three when we got this for him. He loved placing the blocks over the pattern boards. Sometimes he would bump the pieces, but didn't seem to mind putting them back. It was neat to see his little fingers working to carefully and the intent expression on his face. Before he was four he began to create the designs next to the boards as well as on them.
Now he is four and a half. He still loves them. He enjoys making his own designs and pictures as well as copying theirs. He knows all the shapes by name and as we walk through town he points out the shapes that make up buildings and trees. This has been a great toy for our family and I highly recommend it for every child.
Rating: -
My daughter received this from Nana for Easter. She is almost five years old and has really enjoyed it, but I have one complaint. Her little brother received the younger child version of this & it has shapes cut into the board so the pieces don't slide off the board. This particular version is just flat so it can be difficult to keep the pieces on the board. It would have been better if the entire picture was inset with an edge all around so the pieces wouldn't slide off. However, she still enjoys playing with it. I also like that it all stores in the box and the lid slides into place so the pieces don't fall out even if the box is tipped upside down.
Rating: -
A big hit in a day of play for a child. So many designs to chose from that they can identify with. They learn colors and shapes in a fun way. They stay focused for a long period of time and learn to be gentle. In my daycare these blocks are played with over and over. They find it easy to clean up after playing because it's so orderly. A wonderful way to learn!
Rating:  -
I bought this puzzle set for my four year old grandson because the concept is excellent: replicating color and shapes; building designs. If the puzzle worked, it would be a particularly good pre-reading skill. The problem, as mentioned in an earlier review, is that the pieces slide very easily on the shiny design board. Unless the child places pieces in the middle of the design, and then builds out, the pieces move all over the board. For that reason, I recommend that you buy the magnetic version.
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