Customer Reviews

Plan Toy Geometric Sorting Board

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Don't adhere too closely to the age guide on this one. A younger toddler can begin a process of discovery by simply trying to place the shapes on the pegs. (Most of the shapes will fit only on the correct pegs) With a little parental guidance toddlers can see and feel that the two holes fit on the two pegs. Once they grasp that concept they really can take off. Even if everything isn't quite "right" by adult standards, it is still fun and if put away for a week or so, skills will invariably improve with each additional play session. The skills learned on this game seem to transfer remarkably well to other activities.

Great for sorting, development of small motor skills, and shape and color recognition. This is a wonderful, open-ended toy. Beautifully made and sturdy. Ours has been with us through three kids and 6 years and still looks as good as ever. I wish more companies put as much thought into their toys. Plan Toys makes some of the best toys you can buy and they are reasonably priced if you consider how long they'll last.

Two stars were deducted because one of the pegs fell out which required a re-gluing. Otherwise, this product, like all other Plan Toys' products, uses replenishable rubber tree wood and vegetable dyes for coloring, and is smooth and well-machined -- good for the little one who sticks everything in her mouth. On the same token, the loose peg was small enough to pose a serious choking hazard and I always make a habit of regularly inspecting this toy -- something I should do with all toys anyway.

I purchased this for my son (who was 18m at the time) thinking that it would be a good first introduction to shapes and colors. It really was! He took to it right away and (for all you tired mothers and fathers out there) he stuck with it for a good half hour! It has pegs for each of the shapes and at first, he was having a little difficulty putting the appropriate shape on the right group of pegs, but he soon figured it out. The holes in the shapes are large enough so it is not difficult at all to put the shapes on the pegs - sometimes the problem with traditional puzzles. It is durable - made of really nice wood - made to last! I love wooden toys - just for the sake of durability and longevity - and this one is really worth it because you really get your money's worth. Just be careful - as with all puzzle pieces...they are easy to lose around the house.

I'll confess, I was fairly undecided on whether this toy would be any actual fun. But since my two year old is really into shapes, colors, and simple numbers and I've just confiscated all the scary Melissa & Doug (see:toxic) puzzles in their collection, I thought this might stand as a fair replacement.

The kids, 23 months & 4 years, both immediately loved it; ie. The youngest immediately took control of the toy whilst being loudly scolded by the bossy 4-year old on how she wasn't assembling it correctly(!!!!), which quickly spun out of control, and ended up in a draw with both of them letting out an ear-splitting screech. In toddler/preschooler world, I suppose this is a "two-thumbs up."

After the dust settled, I took a look-see at this new toy, and received a few reprimands from the 4-year old on my unorthodox experiments with it. Namely the totally cool discovery that this toy not only teaches about colors, shapes numbers, with a little dexterity thrown in, but it also fits the bolts and nails that come with the Green Toys Tool Set they own, and that it also makes a whole new 'wardrobe' for their Turnello the Mouse toy that they received for Christmas. My youngest, had she not been in such a tizzy at this point might have approved, but my four-year old insisted this kind of out-of-the-box thinking was a highly unacceptable use of a toy with only one stated purpose.

Against her explicit warning, and under her disapproving eye, I continued to compose a little car - that would even roll for a time - though the nuts inevitably fell off, and thus the 'wheels' detached.

My four year old, witnessing my experiments, eventually conceded there might be other cool things you could do with these pieces, and built a little neighborhood, with houses made from the 3-peg triangles and 4-peg rectangles, and over-sized people made from 2-peg rectangles topped with a circle. She flipped the board over to use as a mini-table for this project. Then she sat on the board, and we all held our breath thinking one of the pegs might pop off, but it withstood her 30-odd pounds of weight, so that speaks well of the integrity of the workmanship.

I bet there are even more uses for these little flat pieces we haven't yet imagined. But I'm so crazy-bored I may just discover them over the course of a few days!

In any case, chances are you can find a plethora of ways to use this toy - if the kids will allow it. Our toy seems pretty well-constructed, and it's attractive enough - though more utilitarian in appearance than most of the Plan Toys we own. And actually it's not a bad little teaching tool to have around, even if you do only use it for the stated purpose.

And, unlike Melissa & Doug, Plan Toys line of products has been tested extensively - via XRF - by the Ecology Center, with one of the best safety records of any toy on the market. So I feel pretty good about my children playing with this toy, or using the pieces as throwing stars in their endless competition of sibling rivalry. Whatever. They might lose an eye, but at least I won't have to worry about lead and cadmium, so that's something.

Bottom line: This is a great toy. Open ended. Educational. Safe. I highly recommend it.

We bought this toy for our 1-year old son at Christmas last year (2009). He's now 22 months. This toy has offered fun and learning for different stages throughout the last year. And it's one of those toys my son keeps going back to over and over. When he first started playing with it, the challenge was simply for him to get the shapes on the pegs. Then he began learning the name of the shapes, then he was counting the number of holes in the shapes and now it's the colors of the shapes. Great investment! Lots of time spent playing w/ this simple (and simply wonderful) toy.

This is a great toy - simple, no -frills construction yet very good concept. There are many toys in the market which have the concept of stacking blocks of same shape on one rod but the rods are all the same. This toy encourages development of problem solving skills and even a child as young as 17 months can be explained about how it works and can be expected to carry it out. This toy allows for self correction of errors and promotes concentration as well. It can be used for sorting colors and counting too but the main intention of matching the number of holes to the number of pegs is awesome (though very simple for adults, this is a huge step for children). I have made this analysis based on how my child used the toy. She also loved the shapes, they are easy to hold, manipulate and provide just the right amount of challenge which prompts the child to complete the task out of own will. You can change the challenge levels by using appropriate cues initially and progress to no cues eventually. Great toy. I would give it 10 stars if I could.

I will be honest - I bought this on a whim. I really didn't know how he would like it. He has found more ways to play with this toy than I could have imagined! The obvious way to play with this is to take the pieces off the pegs or dump them over and make a lot of fun noise. He also likes to put them back in various ways - testing different pegs with different pieces, he likes to clack them together, spin them around on the pegs, turn the board upside down and use it as a drum by hitting the various pieces on it, he tries to stack the wooden pieces on the floor and knock them down. He likes it when I stack them like house of cards - on their ends - and make a tall tower. The pieces are small enough that they are easily manipulated but not so small that I worry about them. Very engaging and quite a surprise!

i picked up this shape sorter for my 10 month old daughter. it seemed small when we bought it, but then i realized that this is perfectly proportional for a toddler - easy to carry around and "them-sized"!
she's too young to put the shapes back on the pegs right now, but oh my does she love taking them off, banging them together, flipping the whole thing over to empty it all, putting her fingers into the holes, and sliding the shapes around on the floor.
like previous reviews say, this is a sturdy, multi-purpose puzzle toy. it's great to sit with her and name the colors and shapes, and for me to race against the clock and try to get the shapes onto the pegs before she pulls them back off. she laughs like a maniac.
i know that this will be one of her favorite, crawl-across-the-room-for-it toys for a looooong time.

I love, love, love Plan Toys! This stacker is great. I love that there are different shapes (as opposed to a typical ring shaped stacker). The shapes have a certain number of holes in them, that only fit the corresponding number of pegs on the board. It is definitely a challenge for younger toddlers. The pieces and board are the perfect size for little hands. This introduces shapes, colors, and also very introductory math skills. I think that there is a ton of education in this toy & would not hesitate to buy it again. It is well made and it is definitely one that can be saved for the grandchildren!