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AnonyMouse_1469

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Hi I had the privilege to visit Pen Green on Friday and they had solid and hollow bricks. I was waiting to visit to see them before purchasing. The hollow ones are large and quite heavy, but I can see lots of opportunities in all areas for them. Have decided to get the pre-school set too. Have fun I can't wait to get them.

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I would love the hollow blocks too and can see endless possibilities for how they would be used.

For those lucky people who already have them, do you find them easy to pack away in the trolley/cart or are they used so much in different combos that it's not an issue and also, do you find you have many accidents with them?

I am being over cautious I know and have lots of wood, planks, crates etc anyway but I always wonder, with the blocks being so lovely but so hard and rigid if they are a problem in any way particularly indoors?

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we have both and yes, the children DO occasionally get bumped with them, but oddly enough, they never complain! We emptied one of our rooms on Thursday and the whole group of children were playing with them........................one of the nicest things was a pair of children who used the very long blocks to make a bed........then they took two of the large cylinders to make bedside lamps, BUT one of the cylinders was new, and the girl complained that 'oh no, this light is TOO bright! I need a darker one!' and so she collected one of the older cylinders, which she said was 'nice and dark'..........wasn't that just lovely???

Incidentally, we sent a photo of one of our trucks to CP to ask them about it. We showed them the logo, which is a little different from the one they use now, so we were asking when it changed. The answer?? They stopped using that logo in...................1962!! which means that our truck, which is still in almost perfect condition, is at least 50 years old! we showed them photos of some other vehicles and many of them ar over 30 years old. They also think our original ( saved from the furnace) blocks are from the mid 60's. Value for money???? Absolutely! :)

 

Dreamgirl, buy both if you have the money.........................if you haven't got enough, then go for the solid ones first, they are vital in my humble opinion ( also if you phone CP, they will send you a free dvd about block play and why it is so important, they have several dvd's and booklets, or you can download them from their website, under resources). We are lucky enough now to have the mini ones, standard size and hollow blocks too. It's taken many years to accumulate them, but if I had to get rid of all the other toys in my setting, the blocks are the one thing I'd hang on to like grim death!

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I would love the hollow blocks too and can see endless possibilities for how they would be used.

For those lucky people who already have them, do you find them easy to pack away in the trolley/cart or are they used so much in different combos that it's not an issue and also, do you find you have many accidents with them?

I am being over cautious I know and have lots of wood, planks, crates etc anyway but I always wonder, with the blocks being so lovely but so hard and rigid if they are a problem in any way particularly indoors?

 

We've had ours about 3 weeks now and have had 1 accident with them - a few children where kneeling on the floor with blocks, leaning over them and a two year old went to pick up a block and caught another child on the head with it as she lifted it - result bumped head. I know so much detail as there was a member of staff nearby working 1-1 with a different child, and she saw the whole thing... (Yes, I think she could have reminded them to be careful not to lean over when other children were picking them up too :-/ ) But we've had none when the children have used them on their own :-)

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PS, the first set we had is what is now the preschool set........................... but if you are unsure, phone CP for advice, in my experience they are always very helpful and will offer good advice and without any hard sell.

 

PPS, do you know you can go to visit their workshop in Robertsbridge ( near Hastings, we're going next month!!), to have a look at how the equipment is made, and you can have a play around with the room settings to see how things will fit in your space. I'mreally looking forward to it.

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We have the hollow blocks on our decking area and the unit blocks indoors. The largest hollow blocks are heavy but excellent for muscle development! Children know to ask an adult for help getting the blocks off of the trolley if it is fully stacked because the long planks are the retaining walls as it were, we only remove them the pile is at a safe height. We generally help the children with the larger blocks or the other blocks until at a safe height for the children to do it themselves. I think getting them out and packing them away is almost as much fun for them as making things. Our children also made beds out them's, very peculiar as you would think they would go for soft furnishings for a bed! We've had the odd pinched finger where one child stands on the end of a plank that the other was picking up, and the odd tumble but it's an excellent way to teach the children to risk assess themselves by asking questions does that look safe, is it wobbly, what might happen if you stand on that plank?

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