Unit Blocks - How many?

[mama2honu]

I am considering purchasing some unit blocks for my family.  This sounds ridiculous, but I had no idea how overwhelming this would be.

Do any of you have a block collection?  If so how many is enough and how many is too many?  I have two boys that will need to work together, I am sure you get the picture.  Is a good set too bulky for a small home?

Also, if you have blocks, how often do your kiddos play with them?  I would hate to invest and have them sit there.  Although, truth be told, I would probably enjoy building every now and again.

[OTMomma]

I have 3 kids, and 3 sets of unit blocks that were about 45 blocks each (I think), plus a few add ons.  I think barclayblocks.com has a calculator for how many blocks they think you need to have per child and per age.  I have ones that were by Melissa and Doug- so they came in a little wooden crate thing- I have found that I can put the blocks back in the crates, and then slide them under a bed, or into a corner, storing them isn't a problem.  I LOVE blocks- so we probably have 8 different kinds in our home- because of that, the unit blocks don't get as much play as they would if they were our only blocks, but they still get used regularly.  I have shown the kids how to use them to make roads for their cars, castles, and we have used them to talk about shapes and basic geometry.  I am often the one to pull them out and start playing with them, as a substitute for teaching math, but the kids generally join in without being asked.  My oldest dd is 10, and she will still play with the blocks some- though she would rather do it when there are no little ones around to knock down her castles, and she likes to use all 150 blocks herself.  

I would buy a set for 2 kids- I would try to get at least 100, but if you can't afford that many, or you find you need more, you can always add to your set later.  Our first set of blocks was purchased when we only had one toddler, and we have just added more blocks as the kids grew, and there were more kids to build with.  

Good luck!  

[Asiago]

Originally Posted by mama2honu 

I am considering purchasing some unit blocks for my family.  This sounds ridiculous, but I had no idea how overwhelming this would be.

Do any of you have a block collection?  If so how many is enough and how many is too many?  I have two boys that will need to work together, I am sure you get the picture.  Is a good set too bulky for a small home?

Also, if you have blocks, how often do your kiddos play with them?  I would hate to invest and have them sit there.  Although, truth be told, I would probably enjoy building every now and again.

I cannot comment on quantity as we have MANY, because some were gifts, some hand-me-downs, etc. I have put them all together in a big canvas bag and that seems to be the best for my three year old. The blocks get a lot of use, probably more than any other toy.

My FIL and MIL were at our house last night and built an entire city with my son, all out of blocks, he loved doing it along with them. Clean up, since we have such a large quantity is best done with my son's toy 'snow shovel', really......it makes clean up a breeze. I cannot imagine picking them all up otherwise.