Toys On The Brain

Posts Tagged ‘Soopsori’

Here’s another durable toy from Soopsori made with all natural materials. This is a cute little bear with detachable arms and legs. The internal magnets allow a child to remove and replace the bear’s arms and legs. This makes a fun “table” toy for children, or used to adorn a bookshelf, and is not a bad tool for working on speech skills such as body parts, and vocabulary (left, right).

This little bear is marketed for ages 1+, but the arms and legs could be swallowed by young children. While it’s fun for kids to play around with removing and replacing the body parts, this toy is probably best for children preschool age or over.

Editor’s Note: I really like the idea of wood toys, especially for kids who might be prone to allergies; unlike plush, these can be easily cleaned and won’t gather as much dust. If you have a child with allergies or asthma, consider these types of toys!

• Soopsori Website

The Soopsori Wood Play Fishing Set is a rarity among toys these days. Soopsori makes toys with all natural wood and linseed oil - and without any chemicals or paints. I am impressed with the look of this set as well as its apparent durability. The pole and all eight distinctive fish are very well made, and I suspect they won’t be easily destroyed by the most active of young children.

The fishing set works by attracting the fish to the magnet at the end of the pole. All magnets are internal (built inside of each piece), so there’s no risk of swallowing. And I love that the magnets are strong: no weak connections between “bait” and fish.

At just over 10 1/2 inches, the pole is pretty short. It could be double that size and would be a lot more effective and easier to help the child “catch” the fish. The string used to reel in the fish could also be twice as long, as it only hangs down a few inches from the top of the pole. The knob a child grabs onto to reel in the fish needs to be a little larger in order for little hands to get a decent grasp.

My three year old basically holds the fishing pole magnet piece over the fish and works on catching one and moving it over to another location without being able to reel it in by turning the knob. But he does enjoy pulling out the game and working diligently on transferring the fish from here to there via fishing pole. This fishing set is certainly good for fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, as well as for developing patience and perseverance.

Something every good fisherman needs.

• Soopsori Website