Advanced Kit Beech

For an accurate list of pieces, see the "List of Pieces" button on the previous page.

The Advanced Kit is the best kit for the family with more than one child in the prime age for blocks, around five to seven.  It is also suitable for small day care operations serving two or three children.  It includes a full range of pieces including ten of the 22 inch rectangles, and over one hundred of the basic rectangular blocks of other sizes.  It includes 392 pieces.  There are enough blocks for making numerous large buildings, roads, roofs, smokestacks, garages and towers.  It is big enough for three or four children to enjoy without a lot of squabbling over the coveted blocks.  At this age, teachers and parents should engage children  in family play and a good way to do this is to take a picture of an existing building and to recreate it in blocks.  Our CD-ROM (included free) contains many such pictures and others can be found in magazines and encyclopedias. Many small schools and kindergartens make a ritual of taking the blocks out to play, and putting them away carefully sorted by size and shape.  This reinforces good habits and also reemphasizes the mathematical properties of these unit toys.  

  With a kit this size, the sky is the limit.  Children will cantilever structures and tall towers.  Boxes on top of boxes can make a tower that reaches nearly as high as the ceiling.  Construction projects may include projects with windows, doors, walkways, wheelchair ramps, etc.    Many of the smaller pieces become more fully integrated as children decorate battlements, fenestration, fancy entries, steps, and statuary.   Children vary in their interests, but many become blockaholics, and will spend hours and days completing incredibly creative and complicated projects.  This is a good set for cooperative play between four and five year old children and their younger siblings.  

The hand in the picture is a prop, adult, life size and is included to provide a sense of scale (doesn't come in the kit.  We invited PurrBagg the Cat to sit there, but it was a no-go.  The kit comes with a CD-ROM containing pictures of famous buildings and a mesh produce bag for storing the blocks. By clicking "List of Pieces" (above) you can see a list of the contents.  If there are particular shapes that you would like to add, you can find these on the "Open Stock" page.

 Our blocks are completely unfinished.  They are too large to pose a choking hazard and satisfy the CPSC rules for children under the age of three.  The blocks are sanded maple, and children can gum them without fear of chemical finishes or oils.  Germs are another matter.  Parents will be wise to keep them away from dogs as they enjoy chewing them.  They may be cleaned with a damp sponge or sanded with a fine sandpaper, but they shouldn't be allowed to soak as they will absorb water.