My daughter, Riley, just loves building toys! She can't seem to get enough of her wooden blocks, Legos, Lincoln Logs and the like. I'm thrilled that she's taken to these kinds of construction toys for although they are a lot of fun, they are also great at stimulating her ever-growing mind.
Blocks can teach children about spatial awareness and coordination, as well as help to develop their imagination and creativity. Smarcks though, are classic building blocks with a twist. These blocks actually incorporate strategic games within the blocks themselves and can even talk! Keep reading to learn more about these highly unique, interactive building blocks.
The Smarcks Talking Blocks may appear to look just like any other children's building set, but these are actually highly sophisticated, interactive building blocks. One look at the Smarcks technology, will show how much thought and creative design went into each of these blocks. Because Smarcks actually talk, your child will be discovering good manners, basic counting skills, spelling, nursery rhymes and more, all while designing a structure using their imagination.
Riley couldn't have been more thrilled to receive the Smarcks blocks to play with, for right away, she liked how some of these blocks seemed to have "eyes" and a "mouth". She began building a super tall structure fast and frantically when she accidentally grabbed one of the nursery rhyme blocks and added it to her creation.
Riley almost fell over with wide eyes when the block began to sing to her! From then on, every time Riley would add a block, she would stop for a second to listen as to whether the block would talk back. Before long, Riley discovered which blocks were the "special" talking ones and began trying to configure how to make them work differently.
The reason the Smarcks are so intricate and are really a very challenging puzzle in themselves is due to the way the talking blocks are activated. Each of the talking blocks have six pins inside which are activated by being pressed by the blocks they are stacked upon. Each block will press a different combination of pins, which results in the talking block saying different messages. Your child will eventually figure out exactly how to get the desired response from each talking block, but in doing so, they are utilizing higher-level problem solving skills while having fun at the same time!
Each of the talking blocks uses two "AAA" batteries, which my daughter seemed to go through rather quickly. It wasn't long until I needed to replace the batteries in several of the Smarcks, but if you have rechargeable batteries at the ready, you'll find this only a mild inconvenience.
Riley has successfully figured out a few of the Smarcks, which is right on pattern for her age of two years old. The great feature of the Smarcks blocks is how they will continue to challenge your child throughout the ages of 1 to 5+ years old. Click here for a glimpse into the puzzle solving possibilities with Smarcks. I've encountered very few toys which will still enrich and entertain my child for that length of time, so for that reason, I think Smarcks are a great value.
If you are looking for a wonderful children's gift which offers the likability of a classic toy, mixed with the advances of new technology and is guaranteed to delight, entertain and educate for years, then I highly recommend the Smarcks Talking Building Blocks. Smarcks are even smart enough to play nicely with others too, for they work perfectly with full-size Mega Bloks and Lego Duplo blocks. Now, you can expand your ever-growing block collection the smart way!
Disclosure: I received the Smarcks Learning Special Set of Talking Building Blocks in order to facilitate my review. No other compensation was received. This product review is based on my own personal experiences with this item and is completely honest and objective.
I'm a former 7th grade Science teacher turned stay-at-home mom that lives in Houston, Texas. I am married to my college sweetheart and have a beautiful daughter named Riley, who definitely keeps me on my toes! I am also involved in starting a small business which would both manufacture and sell an invention that I've patented, called Toothpaste 2 Go. I love interacting with my readers and hope to learn as much about you as you learn about me!