Toddler BrickOne thing I really appreciate about the Duplo sets is that they are ready to be played with as soon as you take them out of the box, which is perfect for small children who have yet to learn the art of patience. As soon as I got everything out of its plastic bag, my son began putting the train cars together. He just naturally knew what to do, which is another plus for Duplo sets. Children are able to play with them on their own with little to no help needed from Mom.
Along with the train cars, the set also includes several blocks (including ten numbered blocks), a train conductor figure, and a dog figure. My son built a tower out of the blocks (a train watch tower, perhaps?) and had the conductor and the dog alternate between climbing the tower and riding on the train. He was so engrossed in playing with the set that I was able to do a load of laundry and sit and fold clothes while he played.
What impresses me most about this particular Duplo set is the added educational value it brings to playing with Legos. Whenever my son plays with it I point out the numbers on the blocks and ask him to identify them, or I will tell him to put the block with the number seven on it on top of his tower. I will also get down on the floor to play with him and ask him to hand me the green block, or the block with the number three on it. He loves playing this game and can now identify all of the numbers from one through ten! In fact, I didn’t even notice that the train conductor has the number eight on his shirt until my son pointed it out to me, by telling me that it is the number eight. I am really impressed with how quickly he has learned to identify numbers with this set.
All in all this has been a great addition to my son’s Duplo Legos collection and has inspired hours of learning and playing. I highly recommend it!