“We contribute to child improvement by cultivating a positive attitude in life both towards oneself, society, and the environment through Sustainable Play.”
When you visit the PlanToys website, that is the mission statement you will find. Their goal is to create a better world through sustainable play. It is clear that PlanToys is way more than just a toy company. They care about the growth and development of children in order to make our world a better place. Now that’s a company I can stand behind!
For over 40 years, PlanToys has developed brain boosting toys for children ages 0-5 years old. Each toy offers a unique learning through play experience. Child specialists are involved in the careful design of each product, making sure each toy is age appropriate and enhances child development. In addition, PlanToys products are all eco-friendly and safe. Here are 3 ways PlanToys sets themselves apart from other toy companies.
Creating a Better World Through Play
Sustainable
Photo Provided by PlanToys
PlanToys prides themselves on offering Sustainable Play, but what does that mean? According to the United Nations, sustainability is defined as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” PlanToys uses eco-friendly design principles and materials to create safe toys and minimize negative environmental impacts. Here are some specific examples of PlanToys sustainable production methods:
- Toys are made with plant-based ink, organic pigments, and water-based dyes.
- Solar energy is used in the factories to reduce carbon emission.
- PlanWood is used to make all wooden toys.
- Leftover wood pieces and chips are used as fuel.
Giving Back
I love when a company sees the importance in giving back to their community! PlanToys wants their toys to be accessible to all children. That is why they have created some incredible initiatives, like the ones listed below:
- Mom-Made Toys Project: PlanToys collaborates with parents to develop toys for special needs children.
- PlanToys Bring Smiles: PlanToys has developed toys for special needs children.
- PlanToys Play Library: During the pandemic, PlanToys created 2 toy libraries in Bangkok and Trang province allowing kids to have access to toys.
- Annual Reforestation: PlanToys plants 2,000 trees annually.
Learn Through Play
All of PlanToys products encourage learning through play. Each wooden toy is carefully designed to target specific areas of child development. What I love is that PlanToys breaks their toys into categories by age, and each group focuses on developmental skills needed for that age group. For instance, toys for 0-6 months focus on sensory stimulation, which is how babies learn about the world, while toys for ages 6-12 months start to focus on social, emotional, and communication development. Toys for ages 3+ focus on developing logic, reason, early academic concepts, and concentration.
As a parent, knowing what toy to purchase to target certain skills can be difficult. Your child may be great with creativity but they have trouble with fine motor or your little one can build with blocks, but struggles with communicating. Finding the perfect toy to enhance certain areas of development can be a tough task. That’s why I LOVE PlanToys, they assist parents in finding the perfect toy. On their website, the Child Development tab allows parents to choose an age group and learn which skills are important to target. Also, when looking through the toy list, you can filter by the child development skill you are looking to work on. Lastly, each box the toy is in provides a list of targeted skills for that particular toy.
PlanToys recently sent me 3 toys to try out. Although my boys are no longer the target demographic for these toys, I do work with little ones all day long as a school psychologist. I also work with special needs students, particularly students with autism, communication delays, and fine and visual motor deficits. PlanToys are not only perfect for your home playroom, they are also perfect for daycare and preschool classrooms. Here is a look at the 3 toys I received and highly recommend! Amazon affiliate links are included to make your shopping experience easier.
Geo Lacing Beads
I absolutely love this toy! I have used toys like this before as they target so many developmental skills. Stringing the beads helps build fine and visual motor skills, hand-eye coordination, motor planning skills, focus, concentration, and problem solving skills. Now that’s a lot of skills! In addition, Geo Lacing Beads come with beads in a variety of colors and shapes allowing children to expand their knowledge in these areas as well.
Geo Lacing Beads is recommended for ages 2+. As your child masters the art of stringing the beads, you can expand the play by making patterns. This builds creativity and cognitive skills. The set comes with 3 short strings, one long string, and 15 beads so I recommend making a pattern, then having your child replicate it. This is another way to build visual motor skills. If you have multiple children, you can have them make patterns together or have them race to see who can string the beads the fastest. The PlanToys Geo Lacing Beads can be found on Amazon.
Water Blocks
When I was perusing the PlanToys website, the Water Blocks immediately caught my eye. I LOVE blocks and these add a fun and unique twist to a classic toy. This set comes with 6 blocks in 2 shapes using 3 water colors (blue, orange, and yellow). Water Blocks are recommended for ages 3+ as they target more complex skills. There are so many ways to use the Water Blocks allowing for hours of learning through play. While playing, kids are learning scientific and math concepts, using cause and effect, enhancing creativity, and increasing focus and attention skills. Here are some unique ways to play with Water Blocks:
- Stack the blocks and see what kind of tower or building you can make.
- Line up the blocks to make new colors.
- Place the blocks in front of the window and see what kind of reflection you can make.
- Move the blocks around and see what happens to the water inside.
- While playing, engage your child in conversations by asking questions about what they see and what they think will happen.
- Look through the water and see what the world looks like through the colors.
- Take things to the next level by making a scientific discovery journal to jot down all your experiments and findings. You can come up with hypotheses and then draw the outcomes.
If you love Water Blocks but your child is not quite old enough, then make sure to check out Wautomobile! Recommended for ages 18 months and up, Wautomobile are wooden water cars that also allow for experimentation through play. Wautomobile would also make a great addition to the Water Blocks to expand the play experience. Water Blocks and Wautomobiles can be found on Amazon.
Geometric Sorting Board
I have always loved sorting toys. Whether it’s sorting by shape, size, or color, sorting helps build important cognitive and motor skills. The Geometric Sorting Board is no exception. The PlanToys Geometric Sorting Board comes with 4 colorful shapes that stack using pegs. Each shape has a set number of holes that match the pegs on the board. While playing, children are using visual scanning and discriminating skills to find the right spot for each shape. They also have to use motor planning, dexterity, coordination, and problem solving skills. This sorting board also assists children in learning basic shapes and colors. Using the four different colors, kids can also use their creativity and cognitive skills to make and copy patterns. Add to the learning experience by taking the shapes off the board and having your child sort the shapes by color. You can also have a competition to see who can complete the board the fastest. My son also had fun making a creative design out of the shapes as seen in the picture below.
The Geometric Sorting Board is recommended for ages 2 and up, but PlanToys has other sorting options for younger children. Shape & Sort It Out, Sorting Bus, and Stacking Train Trio are wonderful toys recommended for ages 12 months and up.
What toy do want to try first?
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