best wooden blocks and marble runs?

[mama_daba]

i'm asking for myself being as how it will be years before i have a child old enough to really play with marble runs or old enough to actually build stuff with blocks (although i do plan on my baby having lots of blocks to play with from the start and my baby will be able to help knock down the things i build!)
i hope people don't think it is to strange i am asking for myself i have always loved building stuff with blocks and lately have been doing so a lot more

anyone have any recommendations for the funnest best marble runs? i have been playing with kapla blocks a lot and really enjoying them. any other good blocks?

[bluebird68]

Hello there... I love the unit blocks from communityplaythings.com, and novanatural.com has some cool marble runs, as does oompa.com and mookla.com-- I personally think it's great you can ask for suggestions for yourself until you have kiddos. I had lots of toys for years before we had kids-- people used to ask how many kids we had because our car had stuff stashed in the back (ie. sleds, kites, etc). I would just laugh, and say that they were just there if the mood struck to play! HTH!

[mama_daba]

thank you that does help. i have a kid now but he is only 2 weeks old so he won't be able to play with all the blocks yet. i have a collection of kites and if i lived where it snowed i would have a sled for sure. i am glad to finally get a reply to this and to hear i am not the only grownup who loves to play

[isaberg]

We found the discovery toys (plastic) marble runs to be really good for littler hands - you can help them build a big run before they're old enough to do it themselves, and then the run is stable enough for lots of play without coming apart. We had wooden-block based marble runs from - oh rats, I don't remember who - but they were not well-designed, fell apart at the slightest touch, weren't flexible, etc. Those went out with the garage sale.

A friend has the quadrilla ones. She says that they're fabulous for grown-ups, but her 5yo can't use them by himself.

My favorite, again for kids maybe 7yo up to grownups, are called frigits - they stick to your fridge and take some skill and a lot of trial and error, so when you've got a run you've really done something!
http://www.fatbraintoys.com/toy_comp...its_deluxe.cfm

These are especially fabulous for cubicle-dwellers.

[isaberg]

Oh yeah - and I have to put my vote in for Unit Blocks too. So incredibly useful for so many years. And big enough that they don't get lost.

[HobbitMomma]

We saw a nice one in the Magic Cabin catolog...

[bluebird68]

Just wanted to say congrats on your new little one, Moonfroggy! How exciting... hope your babymoon is wonderful! Sending you lots of good new mama vibes, too...
Oh, and too funny, but yesterday was out thrifting, and found a marble run at Salvation Army for $3.99! Looks to either be handmade, or just in need of sanding. Can't wait to try it out when DS1 asleep, and hope it isn't wobbly like the above poster complained... too fun to find it, though!