The Working Mom

One of the things Rachel got for her birthday was a set from the Snap Circuits line. Basically they’re these pieces that very easily snap together, and you build various electronic devices. A fan, (that also doubles as a flying saucer with the right set up), an alarm, a music box, a light switch, etc. etc. It makes building circuit boards as easily as playing with Lego’s. They have a little booklet with easy to follow diagrams showing you how to build the various projects. There are symbols on the pieces that show you how it would look on a “grown up” diagram. As well, the booklet explains what is happening with what you’re building – so it’s teaching you as well. My daughter cruised through the first set she got for her birthday (something like 100 projects). So we ran out and got an add-on set that had 300. For a kid that normally has a fairly short attention span, she is playing with this toy way more than I expected.

If you are looking for a really cool science type toy – this one is a great idea. The site says it’s good for kids aged 8 and up – but it is simple enough I think kids a little bit younger than that could even do it.

Click here to see the larger Snap Circuits SC-300 set on Amazon.com (you’ll notice it has 5 stars and something like 469 reviews. I’m not the only one that thinks this is the coolest toy ever)

Here’s a video of her playing with one of her circuit projects:

I saw an ad for this website in someone’s sidebar recently and clicked it to see what it was. This company lets you design your own monster and then they’ll actually make it for you. It looks pretty cool. But even if you don’t go through the full step of BUYING the monster – I thought the “design and print your own monster” wizard they had was really cool. I think Zach would probably like playing with that. (Unfortunately, he’s figured out how to print from the computer so I’m sure once he makes a monster, he’ll be printing several hundred copies of it to decorate the house with!)

*disclosure: I just signed up as an affiliate (figured I might as well since I was going to link to them anyway). So if you click the image above and make a purchase, I do get a commission.