When Lauri came out with their Activity Variety Packs several years ago, we were absolutely thrilled. Lauri products were already household favorites, and these packs provided lots of Lauri toys that were highly educational, revolved around beloved themes, and were ideal for so many situations. We’ve used our Activity Variety Packs in restaurants, doctor’s offices, and many other places where quiet waiting was essential. They are also very useful for a variety of home situations when a child must be kept safely and quietly busy. My children have used them in a corner of the kitchen while I was cooking, on my bed while I was cleaning out my closets, at my feet while I was working on the computer, and at the table while I was homeschooling a sibling. Because the crepe rubber pieces are so quiet, these toys will not cause disruptive noise in public or at the table while Mommy is working with an older child. All of the activities will strengthen your child’s fine motor and problem solving skills while providing valuable imaginative play experiences.
This Toddler Tote set is jam-packed with great activities for any wee one from about 18 months -5 years old. It is difficult to find good, quiet, appealing toys for 2 year olds and I think you will be very happy with this set. There is an assortment of crepe rubber shape puzzles, some of which have only one geometric shaped puzzle piece so that your child can focus on placing the piece correctly instead of trying to determine where to place it, and one of which has three shapes for a bigger challenge. There are two thick, crepe rubber vehicle-shaped pegboards and seven of Lauri’s renowned Tall-Stacker pegs that your child can push into the pegboards and/or click and stack together. Finally, there are three animal puzzles, each of which has one animal-shaped puzzle piece. Little ones will enjoy working the puzzles and playing with the pegs, and they will also enjoy creative and imaginative play with the thick animal and vehicle shapes. This is an excellent set for keeping very small children happily busy for an extended period of time. When your child is finished, she can pack all of the pieces back into the box so everything will be at the ready next time.
I have two suggestions born of our own use of this product. First, we have always stored these packs on a shelf out of reach of our children. Doling them out only when we needed a child to be particularly quiet and busy helps make them special and gives them an added appeal and freshness. Second, we have found that the acetate front of the box can easily come loose after repeated use. If you don’t care about the cute box with the carry handle, you can store the pack in a large Ziploc bag. If you want to keep the pack in the box (it does have somewhat inspiring photos of play possibilities), then I would suggest reinforcing the edges of the acetate with packing tape at the first sign of wear.
