STEM toys to fire the imagination at EveleenJoy Toystore!
(I was given the building blog set and Rod magnetic set by EveleenJoy Toystore to facilitate this Review. The thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own. You can view my full disclosure here.)
Are you a big fan of STEM Toys for your kids?
Growing up my parents were big on getting us toys that inspired creative play. One of my favorite toys was an extensive constructs set. I remember hours upon hours of designing and building everything from castles to spaceships, to all-terrain vehicles. We often used whatever we created as the props for our plays that we would perform for our parents. (which we totally changed them to attend.)
Nowadays they have a name for such toys. they are referred to as STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) toys. They are toys that engage the left and right side of the brain at the same time which help the brain develop in incredible ways. Just like when I was a child, these are my favorite sort of toys for my children. That's why I am soo excited about the Eveleen Joy Toystore that just opened in SLC, Ut. They are a family run Toystore that has a whole section of STEM toys that quite frankly intrigued me greatly. I wanted to check them out for my kids as well as yours.
Unfortunately, I am currently in Ireland with my family which sort of limits my abilities to do so. Thankfully my sister Jenny who loves this kind of toys as much as I do (and who is a homeschool mom of 3,) was willing to try out two of the popular STEM toys from EveleenJoy to review on The Quiet Grove.
The first toy she tried out with her kids was a 120 pieces Building planks Set.
I thought that this toy would be challenging for my oldest niece who is just barely 8 but I thought it could be fun as well. This toy though simple (as it is just wood planks) is also technical. You have to carefully balance each plank to build your creation. It takes coordination, concentration, and precision. This is a toy that you would have to get used to playing with and would probably get easier to use the more you played with them. To start you off it comes with a booklet with instructions to build specific items. However, the true fun comes in creating your own patterns.
After playing with this set with my niece my sister wrote to me this review:
"A cool Toy 120 price building block set"These are made from real wood, come packaged nicely and even have their own storage bag.My set did have one slightly defective block which was splintering, but I pulled it off and felt like underneath was smooth enough to keep the block. For 120 real wood pieces, to have 1 be a bit defective seemed fairly understandable. The blocks were otherwise very smooth and in great condition.This toy is reminiscent of Jenga blocks but is much lighter weight, longer and slightly thinner.Because these are long, I feel like you can create more intricate structures and explore balancing them more than their janga counterparts, which is pretty cool.Because of their shape, we did find it very challenging to stand them up on end or to try to replicate the patterns in the booklet, but with a hard surface underneath and some patience, we had some fun successes. We've built the fish/ rocket, boat, and car so far.As an educational toy, I feel like it does provide a good challenge for learning and growth.I'd personally recommend this toy for older children (8+) if you're expecting them to be able to make any of the designs depicted.
Though difficult at first to play with, my sister and niece were able to build most of the preset designs. The experience challenged them in ways they normally didn't encounter with their normal toys. If you have older kids who love a challenge this toy set would be a great gift.
The other toy I had her try out was the 45 pcs SmartRod Magnetic Discovery with Rooftop.
This toy all her children even the youngest enjoyed playing with. This set Includes 19pcs sticks, 16pcs balls, 4pcs panels, 4pcs flowers and 2pcs rooftops. The pieces are large enough to avoid being a choking hazard and make it easy for kids to hold and work with. Building structures using magnetics is just plain fun. I am told this was their girl set (hence the flower pieces.) They have a boy set that has ramps and cars and such. No matter what set you use they are tons of fun for kids of all different ages.
After letting her kids play with this toy set my sister wrote to me this review:
"Smart Rod Magnetic Discovery 45 piece set"This toy has been delightful. It's bright and colorful, and the pieces are much larger than I originally anticipated, but I love it for this very reason! Because of its large size, it is novel, easy to play with and great for children or all ages! I love that my 2 year old can safely play with and explore magnets without risk of choking on or ingesting them.My 5 and 8-year-olds went to town with this toy, having fun exploring the many things they could create with it. The roof like pieces became hammocks, bowls, walls and roofs, and the flowers were a big hit.I love this set and would totally like to expand it with the other sets available
I love that fact that these magnetic toys are little kid friendly while still being engaging for older kids to enjoy. Too often magnetic toy sets have such tiny pieces they need adult supervision for young kids and aren't safe for the really young to play with at all. If you are looking for a great STEM toy set that is great for fun and creative play their Smart Rod Magnetic Sets are a great choice.
All in all my sister and I were well please with the toys and look forward to trying more. One thing we both love about EveleenJoy Toystore is that they make sure to keep their prices low and competitive. In fact, the try to always stay cheaper than even Amazon and that is hard to do. I also love and agree with their company motto " We believe that children can LEARN while playing, LAUGH while learning, and LOVE the life and world we live in."
