Inchimals Review

Customer Ratings:

I hesitantly bought this toy for my son for Xmas, trying to find something for him to learn math with. He is a bright 3.5 year old. I figured I would be working with him using these wooden rulers, which are of a much higher quality than I was expecting. So on Xmas he opens the toy, and plays with them himself, measuring daddy's foot, his own foot, etc. I show him the included book about how the rulers represent numbers, and how these numbers can be added together... just a cursory review. Well, about an hour later I was in the kitchen, and he comes running in and says, "Mommy! Guess what? Eight plus four is twelve!". Needless to say, I was pretty amazed... so I would have to say this is a pretty amazing toy --you WILL have to work with the child, its not necessarily something that will fascinate them for long hours of play like legos or something... but it sure does hit the nail on the head when it comes to learning math. And its fun, too. I can't tell you how impressed I am. Plus, these rulers are build to last... so long as you don't throw them in the bath or something. I highly recommend this set.

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Pros:

-Great idea for a toy that teaches math! The idea is in the spirit on Montessori counting rods (check those out too!). There are 12 rods/blocks ranging from 1-12 inches tall; each features a different animal. My son loves to add up two animals to get the third one. At age 3, he uses included notebook with tasks independently (by himself) and even scribbles appropriate numbers in the notebook. This is one of the toys that he picks up and works with by himself:).

Cons:

-Upon opening the box there was a strong smell like that of some markers, or glue?. Blocks did not smell, just the box, maybe it was the marker that was included in the box. The blocks are made in China.

-Blocks came with some small defects in paint and the edges chip off paint very fast. The paint cover is glossy like that on Thomas and Friends wooden locomotives, but chips much easier.

-On one side of the block, there are little stripes marking the inches like on the ruler, but without numbers. My son counts the stripes and there is always one two many (he does not know that you don't count the first one). It would be better if one-inch intervals were indicated with alternating colors as in Montessori counting rods.

Otherwise, perfect toy and learning material.

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I found this toy described in a home schooling magazine and sought out a more reasonable price here at Amazon. (Which I found when I purchased the Inchimals last week... $22).

My almost 5 year old LOVES this product. We have been extremely casual about pre-school this year, and he begs to "do school" with the Inchimals. He has been measuring toys and household items. He has also been learning to recognize the numbers he hadn't mastered yet.

They are great in that they are specific lengths and can be laid out (or stood up like stairs) to show the relationship in size. He can see that 7 is bigger than 6. He can count the marked out inches along the side or dots on the end. As we have only had this product a few days now, I can see how in the future we can use them as a tool for learning addition and subtraction. This is the best math manipulative!

Honest reviews on Inchimals

Nearly 5-yo son thoroughly enjoys this, and I'm very impressed with it. Lots of creative and structured uses.

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I bought this item for my young grandchildren. My daughter wanted to use it in her homeschooling. One child is 5 and the other one is 2 1/2. She said she had to take them away from them because the paint chipped right away.