Wooden Toys
This month, we happily played with three of Chicco’s wooden toy selection; the Cottage Shape Sorter, the Pull Along Pony and the Xylophone. These classic wooden toys
Are beautifully packaged and would make a very special gift for any young child. The xylophone and shape sorter are recommended for an age group slightly older than Olivia but she was still intrigued by them and their bright colours.
The Pull Along Pony
The Chicco pony is recommended for use from 12 months and is a classic pull along toy. Olivia enjoyed grasping the neck cord and pulling it towards her. Once she’s walking she may pull it behind her but currently she enjoys crashing it into things! Being wooden however, it is solid and has certainly weathered many knocks. It also has rubber tyres to help prevent damage to flooring and help it grip when moving. The pony has a cheery face and his head bobs when moved along. The cord is quite short so if Olivia holds this when standing it lifts off the floor.
Would make a very special gift for any child. Clever designs and beautiful colours.
The Cottage Shape Sorter
This shape sorter is designed for use from 18 months. It is a robust wooden toy, with shape sorters both on the top and the sides. The two activities are designed for younger and slightly older children, helping longevity of use. The top shape sorter also features colour panels, encouraging younger children to match colours first, to help them identify which shape will fit the relevant hole. Although Olivia is some way from 18months, she already is starting to get the colours matched to appropriate shape and is starting to now get the idea of posting the shape through the corresponding hole. It is fun to watch her explore the shapes and spaces and work things out. She also enjoys sitting and bashing the chunky wooden shapes together, smiling at the rewarding knocking noise.
The side shape sorters feature chunky wooden animals, which are certainly more complicated than the basic shapes on the top. The symmetry of the simple top shapes mean the pieces fit will fit through the hole many different ways, whereas the animals will only go through if in exactly the correct position, an added challenge for older children.
Xylophone
The Chicco wooden xylophone is a beautiful rainbow-coloured musical toy, designed for use from two years of age. It has a clever design, housing the sticks under the instrument to stop them getting lost.
Olivia is intrigued by their colours and sounds and they will help with her creativity and imaginationThe xylophone is designed to help older children develop their creativity and imagination, experimenting with different noises and making little tunes. Olivia is a little young to appear the budding musical maestro just yet, but she still derives pleasure from bashing away randomly on her xylophone and likes it when I play a little tune for her. I am confident she will grow to understand this toy more as she gets older and, as a musician myself, am looking forwards to seeing her develop her talents a little more!
