building sets for 5-year old girl?

[Beppie]

My dd is turning 5. I'm trying to figure out what cool building toy I should get her for her birthday. Last year she got a beautiful marble run, and also a parking garage for her cars. For Christmas she got some more duplo legos. She has liked all these toys. She likes girlie things, but also plays with cars, animals, etc. (Right as a speak she is playing with matchbox cars on her road-rug). Last year we also bought her Wedgits.

I was browsing at Rainbow Resource center, and am wondering about several construction things...anyone have experience with these?

Superstructs? or Straws and Connectors?

They have so many other building sets that I am not familiar with. What do 5-year olds enjoy? I hope some of you can help me! It seems many of these toys are targeted to boys. Fortunately, despite loving to wear dresses and bows in her hair, she also loves cars and other typically "boy" toys ... I'd love to encourage that interest of hers for as long as I can!

[macandcheese]

Just because most building sets are marketed towards boys doesn't mean they are for boys only!

I was a total Lego junkie growing up (and now I can't wait until my kids are old enough to pull out the big tubs of Legos!), and by age 5 I was definitely ready for the "real" Legos. I preferred them to other building sets, as they are much more open-ended and versatile. Your DD can use them with her old Duplos, and of course she can add to the collection infinitely with more sets. The Duplos alone might be too simplistic for your DD at her age—perhaps try picking up one of those big tubs of assorted Legos for $20 at Target or wherever, and see how that goes over.

I guess the only concern might be your little ones. Can the Legos be kept in a place where they won't become a toddler buffet?

[dubatatamama]

Both of my DC (4.5 y/o DS and 3.5 y/o DD) enjoy Kids K'nex as well as Trios. They also really enjoy just plain old wooden blocks and will spend quite a while building elaborate structures.

Here is a link to the Kids K'nex as well as the trios:
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&key...l_54gvlc612x_b

http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-P...8087560&sr=1-2

I also think these look cool and have them on their Christmas list:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...neatos&x=0&y=0

Good luck with your search!

[meetoo]

target and walmart sell pink lego buckets.

[Daffodil]

We have Superstructs, mixed with Tinkertoys (they pretty much fit together), and they get a lot of use. I think we first got them when DD was 5 and now that she's 7 she and her 4 year old brother both use them. They also both like Legos, but I don't think my DD would have been ready for them at 5. (Though DS is only 4 and has a lot of fun with them.)

[Beppie]

Superstructs or K'nex

I'm starting to think I'd like to get her either Superstructs or K'nex. But how do I decide between those? Which do you like better?

thanks mamas!



(I know she likes legos and we already have quite a bit of those, so I'd like to try something new for her b-day.)

[rockportmama]

Toys-R-Us carries pink tinker toys. We got a wooden set for our 4.5 yo DS & he LOVES them! Even our 18mo DD loves playing with the bigger pieces (we keep the little caps & connectors up).

Sorry, no experience with the others you mentioned.

[dubatatamama]

I don't know, I think the Superstructs look pretty darn cool...I may have to add those to the list! Tough decision...

[BellinghamCrunchie]

DD has Legos, Tinkertoys, Knex, Wedgits, wooden blocks, bristle blocks, Lincoln Logs, and Magnatiles.

Hands down, Magnatiles are the favorite. They are about the only toy in the house that gets played with every single day. They are pricey, though; we have 3 sets at $50.00 each.

[Gem0406]

This week I have been not-so-silently cursing the creator of legos as I have swept them from under every piece of furniture in the house. But there is no doubt that they have great value and are a toy of lasting interest. Duplos are wonderful and easy to pick up LOL.

When my son was 4 or 5 he had a couple small sets of the kid k'nex and they were fantastic - he loved them. He could build independently and make amazing contraptions that made him so proud. His sets had some wheels and some eyeballs, he made all kinds of "robots."

I endorse the kid K'nex without reservation!

Gem

[Gem0406]

just looked up magnatiles - those are so cool! I want that!

[Marimami]

My DD turns 6 soon and we have many/most of these things and magnatiles are the current favorite here

Holli

[emilysmama]

1. Yes, definitely the magnatiles.

2. Our dd has the purple wedgits. They also make a set of pink wedgits. Pink and purple seem to be every 5 y.o. girl's favorite color around here.

3. We have two sets of wooden blocks. One is just the standard set of rectangular prisms of various sizes (cut from a 2x4?) of maple. The other set is more ornamental. Made of softer wood (pine), but it's got arches, and steps and, things that look like onion domes. Makes very decorative buildings.

4. 3 dimensional wooden jigsaw puzzles. This 3D butterfly puzzle was our first one, but we have others. My dd couldn't do it herself. She needed an adult's help. But she loved it nevertheless. You can put it together, take it apart, then put it back together, as many times as you wish.

5. Escher foam puzzle Okay, this puzzle isn't exactly building, and your dd likely would have been able to do this years ago, but it is cool nevertheless, and my dd still likes it to this very day.

6. Magnetic Pendulum Man is hanging on our refrigerator door even as we speak. Not exactly for building elaborate structures, but the applications from pendulums are something that is useful for a budding builder to learn.

7. Lincoln logs. Not that there is a feminine version of it, but my dd enjoys that as well.

8. Paper dolls Okay, this is a real stretch. But my dd loves this, and she also loves building things.

9. Between superstructs and k'nex, my personal preference would be superstructs, hands down. Don't know what a 5 year old would think, though.

10. I've seen the straws and connectors before, and while they are pretty neat, I think that the super structs look so much more fun, if I could only choose one of the two. I've never heard of super structs before, but now that you've told me about them, I am going to have to check them out.

[Tjej]

It isn't cheap, but there is a really neat add-on set to duplo that I am eyeing for my kids. It's tubes.

Also, if she does like Duplo still, you can get a bunch more of it. I recently bought another tub of it at a garage sale and it just seems to have opened up the building possibilities for us. It might be the building mat that came with it too - a large solid area that gives some sort of idea for the houses and what not.

Tjej

[karne]

My preteen dd was once a 5 y/o girl who loved building! She has kept her love of building, now draws and executes plans, and truly hopes to be an architect some day. She is always building or designing something. She is rare among her peers, especially the girls, for her continuing fascination with building, but it's something we have nurtured.

Hands down, the best investment we ever made was high quality wooden blocks. To this day, we continue to add interesting or needed pieces. I thought the whole wooden block/math connection was a little far fetched, but I can attest to how building with unit blocks has helped my dd "feel" geometry. She doesn't love math, by a long stretch, but geometry feels good to her and she can see the angles and formations clearly in her mind. She loves geometry and thinks that it is because of her block building. Legos-by the pound, have also been very important. We never bought a pre-packaged set, but rather bins of them off of Ebay and Craig's List.

We have most of the other sets/toys mentioned in this thread, but none have been as long lasting as the above.

Happy Building!

[mom2ponygirl]

Kapla blocks

Not structural, but when my dd was 5 she loved snap circuits! You can construct all sorts of cool electrical gadgets.