Plan Toys are exactly the toys I want my kids to like. They are attractively designed, eco-friendly wooden toys without a licensed character in sight. I believe they allow for kid-powered creativity and open-ended preschooler inventiveness like pretending the little crazy-haired dude is a princess who wishes she were an owl.
When we received the Activity Bus from Plan Toys, it was my sons’ favorite toy for one day. Only.
They loved setting up the little bus, desks, and non-gender-specific figurines in little configurations. I was smitten. And they seemed happy too.
On the second day, Holden got mad at us (because we said he could not bring the toy to school) so he punished us by breaking the toy. You have to love the way a four-year old’s brain works. Yes? To punish US he broke his own current favorite toy.
He cried. Milo cried. We did not cry.
The construction of the bus itself had a little hinge holding the two bus halves together; the hinge allowed for opening and closing the bus. Open to play. Close for storage. Break when angry. We were able to force it back in, but it just hasn’t been the same since.
But you know how kids are. Sometimes they play with that water bottle stuffed with pennies for days on end. Other times, they won’t play with that cool new toy once the box has been recycled. Ugh.
Sadly, the activity bus has been cast aside for play food, Legos, cars, trains, and Holden’s other favorite toy, the (broken!) garbage truck!
ebeanstalk is a unique resource for parents on the hunt for age-appropriate educational toys and baby gifts. They work with a team of parents who routinely test and evaluate toys to have the best selection. I’m so glad my strong opinions help them. I wrote about my love for their toy subscription service years ago.
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ebeanstalk and Plan Toys sent me this toy for my honest review. If we had not been sent this product (free for evaluation), I might have purchased it for our own use. I’m glad I did not buy it because it has not been played with since that incident.
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Great feedback! I need to check out those sites and then search Craigslist for the good toys.