A friend just sent me a link to a learning toy site where a lot of the toys are wooden. Obviously someone with CNC capabilities but very novel ideas. 
https://kodokids.com/shop

Paul

That is really cool Paul, I'd much rather see kids playing with those toys than the other crud on the market, kudos to the makers for seeing a niche and making it work for them, and kudos for the parents of the children for giving their kids some real learning and fun toys, and supporting an independent maker. It's a win win all around!

the best toys for children are those that require the kid to move something and allow for them to use their creativity.  the worst are those that do something and the kid just watches it move.

 

colored and numbered/lettered blocks:  great toy

 

iPad app that plays some video:  lousy toy.

 

when i was a kid, i had a pile of lego blocks, including some wheels, and i built stuff from those blocks.  no plan, no prepackaged set, i could do whatever i wanted.  the prepackaged sets they sell today have taken all the inventiveness out of that toy.  "here kid, here's some blocks, make something"  "like what?"  "like whatever you want!"

Thanks, Paul! Wish I had know about this site many years ago when the girls next door were little!

Thanks for the link.  My favorite toy was an Erector Set.  I don't remember choking on any of it either.

Well I always wanted an Erector set but what I had was Lincoln Logs and American Bricks. Still have the bricks and there is no count of how many buildings I built and destroyed as a kid.

3 hours ago, DAB said:

the best toys for children are those that require the kid to move something and allow for them to use their creativity.  the worst are those that do something and the kid just watches it move.

 

colored and numbered/lettered blocks:  great toy

 

iPad app that plays some video:  lousy toy.

 

when i was a kid, i had a pile of lego blocks, including some wheels, and i built stuff from those blocks.  no plan, no prepackaged set, i could do whatever i wanted.  the prepackaged sets they sell today have taken all the inventiveness out of that toy.  "here kid, here's some blocks, make something"  "like what?"  "like whatever you want!"

 

years ago, i read an article about a one credit course offered at Dartmouth (I think, it was an Ivy league school), taught by a crusty old coot in the campus wood shop.  students could take the course, and when they showed up for the first day, the instructor would ask each one the exact same question:  what do you want to make?

 

there was no pre-planned series of projects, with increasing levels of skill and difficulty, no skill building exercises, just jump in and begin building whatever you like. now he was there to guide students along, show proper and safe use of tools, help with wood selection, but it was open ended. and the author talked to a few students and one gal had an amazing reply:  it was the first time in her college career that the outcome of a course was unknown.  she didn't know what to do with the freedom offered of making whatever she wanted, it was very liberating to her.

 

here's a recent article on the woodshop, it gets the point across:  https://www.thedartmouth.com/article/2020/02/historic-woodworking-shop-is-an-artistic-escape-for-students

 

 

another older piece:  https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2014/12/01/353286773/among-dartmouths-lathes-and-saws-lessons-in-creativity

 

 

About 10 years ago, there was a local shop where children could go and do science experiments, ride a bike that powered on lights, make parachutes and a whole host of other scientific projects.  The cost was $35 per month.  It was worth every penny.  One day a couple of girls were trying to use that magnetic board to arrange pipes and trenches so that their marble would flow down hill.  My grandson watched for a few seconds, grabbed a few pieces of tubing, arranged them in a correct way and they all stood there and watched the marble flow longer than it took him to analyze it.  I can't remember all the electrical and chemistry sets we did but he always had so much fun.  Today, he is about to get advanced into 9th grade.  And, for the last year, he has done virtual learning.  A child who can't do virtual learning has no desire to learn or work.  His sister is like that.  I am going to make a sign so when she goes to the street corner, it will be legible but I hope heavy enough that she wants to learn.  

 

Thanks, Paul, for this site.  Many of these items we woodworkers can make and encourage our youth to grow.  

Edited April 3, 20215 yr by FlGatorwood

Here's a similar source I have found but not used yet.  This one is a club (subscription) and says it's aimed at kids 7-12.

 

https://www.annieskitclubs.com/products/young-woodworkers/shop

back when we used to play with all kinds of wood blocks to build stuff (and knock down).   Also had the crenellated alphabet blocks (probably all from Europe) in two different sizes.   When my kids were little one of the first things i got them (me) was a set of wood building blocks.   We also played with dominoes...good for building, playing, and learning to count.  (took me a while).

I always enjoy seeing what a kid picks as an interest.  It's not uncommon to give them a present/toy, leave them to it, and find what really interests them:  the box it came in, because it allows their imagination to take flight.

In 1966, my dad and stepmother had a young son.  I saw him first in March of 1967.  He had wonderful toys that I would have loved to have but he didn't play with any and I could not get him interested.  One day, I walked a few blocks to get something from a local drug store and they had several types of balls.  I purchased on for 19 cents.  When I returned to the house, he stood in the corner of the room staring at me.  So, I sat in the floor and rolled it to him.  He kept looking at me and then he picked up the ball and tossed it to me.  We spent hours tossing and chasing the ball.  The parents could not understand why he would not play with all the nice and expensive toys.  Interaction and imagination.  LOL

I got a TRIX construction set when I was probably 6 years old. A European competitor for Meccano. Dad built a nice wooden box to keep all the parts in, and I built things with that set until I was well into my teens. Still have it!

15 hours ago, HARO50 said:

Still have it!

 

Very cool John.  Do you still have the handsome box it came in?  Is the set still all complete?

What I have is actually 5 small sets. I would have gotten one or two for Christmas, one for a birthday.... times were hard and money in short supply! Dad made the box shown in the pictures to hold everything.

The tires toward the back came with one set. The others were salvaged from other toys.

Everything except the tires is metal, and had to be bolted together with tiny bolts and nuts.

Some of these probably got lost over the years!

Some of the objects you could build. Note the table saw (upper left). Not sure what most of these are! #27 is a power hammer, #26 I think is a pile driver, #28 I THINK is a railroad signal of some sort, and #24 is a hoist. Parts like the saw blade had to be cut from card stock (plastic was virtually unknown) and at some point I salvaged a couple of small battery-powered motors and managed to use them with the kit.

Very, very cool John - thanks for sharing this with us!