Melissa and Doug Jumbo Cardboard Blocks

Building and destroying is huge in our house. There is nothing more fun to my 20 month old than creating a tall tower, hiding her little figures on and around it, then knocking it down. The Melissa & Doug Deluxe Jumbo Cardboard Blocks are wonderful for building and creating all kinds of structures.

 The set comes with 8 large red blocks, 8 medium blue blocks and 24 smaller yellow blocks. As you can see, this is more than enough to create large towers and other structures. The blocks come flat packed, and they do take a fair amount of time to put together. Each block needs to be folded in a particular way. Once constructed, the blocks need to be stored somewhere and they take up quite a lot of space. We have about a quarter of the blocks out for daily use, and store the rest in a box in the basement to be brought out occasionally for more playtime.

What I love most about these blocks is the opportunity they provide for open ended play. Sure, you can just make towers, but you can also create houses, cars, hide yourself or your friends etc. The blocks are also very strong, and can be used as balance beams to be walked on. Kira loves to do this, and it has been great to help her learn to step up and down from different heights. While the blocks are light for little hands to carry, they can cause some pain if they fall from any height. We have to watch out when baby sister is laying in Kira's play area, as falling blocks would not make baby Katy happy!

These blocks have been a great investment, and I know as the girls grow their creations will become more elaborate, and they will help to foster creativity and construction skills.