There’s nothing better than a toy that promotes open ended play, and in our house, Connetix tops the list. My kids play with their tiles for hours and create some really amazing things. Connectix are perfect for all ages (adults even enjoy playing with them) and they are durable which means you’ll have a toy that lasts for all your kids (and possibly even your grandkids).
Here is a list of our 10 favourite ways to use Connetix.
1. Making houses and castles - Connectix make the perfect castles with towering turrets and inspire so many fun games. We like to add little animals, dolls or lego men to the game. Hours of fun ensues.
2. Car garages - my younger sons love to make garages for their favourite toy cars and have a blast designing new ones with multiple rooms and levels.
3. Marble runs - Connetix has an additional marble run attachment with means your children can flex their stem muscles and try out different designs to see what type of run makes for the fastest marble. You can even get out the stop watch to take things up a notch.
4. Early math - we also love to use our tiles as a way of teaching younger children colours, shapes (including some 3D shapes) and basic fractions. This is a perfect hands on activity that can be seamlessly woven into play.
5. Pattern and design - following on from shapes and colours, you can introduce the concept of patters and then once your child is confident identifying patters they can design their own. This is another early math staple.
6. Fridge play - if you have an on the go toddler who needs an activity to keep them busy while you’re making a meal, try Connetix on the fridge. Give them a challenge such as how high can you stack them or can you make them all fit on the fridge door?
7. Abstract art - Connetix are perfect for encouraging abstract art and making pictures. Ask your child to make their own design using their tiles, and when they’ve finished, take a photo and present it to your child as a piece of art. This is great for encouraging creativity.
8. Magnetic properties - explore how magnets work by investigating the properties of your magnetic tiles. See what things around the house the magnets stick to or test the strength of the magnets. How many tiles can you hold upside down in a chain before they pull apart?
9. Roads - Use your Connetix tiles to make roads and bridges for cars and trains. Most young children love this activity, and it’s bound to keep them busy long enough to get a few little jobs done.
10. Learn the Rainbow - make a rainbow with your child and sing them the “I can sing a rainbow”song while you work. This is a lovely way to combine hands on play with music. Children love this song and will have so much fun creating rainbows in different styles and shapes with their tiles.