Toy of the month – September 2017

Wow honestly I don’t know how we only have a few more months left of 2017, how we are almost in Term 4 and that I am already looking at Christmas gift guides! But let’s not get ahead of myself as this month, I am super pumped and oh so excited to be reviewing the incredible open ended toy, the Wobbel Board.  Yes it has finally arrived in Australia via my brand rep fave The Creative Toy Shop!

This fabulous open ended toy brings hours of fun to not only kids but the whole family. It isn’t cheap and certainly set us back this coming Christmas but the versatility and flexibility of this toy is beyond most toys you have come across. You will be surprised at all the different ways this toy can be used, played with, balanced on and slide down.

I do admit the Wobbel board isn’t new, my eldest son used to play with them in Germany at Kindergarten and now in Australia, they also have a similar version at my youngest son’s preschool albeit their model has a padded cushion attached on the bottom rather than what is available on the Wobbel.

The Dutch company, Wobbel have reinvented a classic Waldorf design of the balance board ( also known as Steiner in Australia and the US) and modernised it with the special wool felt and cork underlays as well as various colour ways to customise the Wobbel for your own home and lifestyle.

Made from layers of European beech wood stacked and pressed under pressure and finished with water based lacquers and stains.  One thing that astounds me is that it can take up to 200kg in weight, so genius is the design.

What I love about the Wobbel board3 are all the different ways you can use it. There are Wobbel Yoga classes that have been set up in Europe and kids and adults ( yes there is now an adult size Wobbel) are doing Yoga with these boards. The kids tried out their tree pose as well as downward dog and bridge pose and they found it fun yet challenging!
The kids tested it out as a seat to sit on (even Hubby sat on it to build Lego with them) , a space to lie and read a book and even as a cubby, which I think was the favourite thing about it for my youngest son. 

The Wobbel comes in a few different versions to suit your taste or budget. We bought the unpainted wood version, but there is also the varnished version,

We bought the version of the Wobbel that has no felt or cork, just unpainted wood on both sides. I liked the aesthetics of the all wood Wobbel and I also wasn’t sure how much we would use it as a seat or balance board to then need the underlay. I knew that I could add my own underlay later on if we changed our mind. As we have laminate floors, we have placed a playmat or Ikea mat underneath the Wobbel to protect the board and the floors. The coloured Ikea mat works well as it has an anti-slip surface on the underside. 

We were at the playground yesterday that has sand and came home not realising that there was still sand in Hudson’s pockets. Eek! He then had numerous plays on the Wobbel and dropped sand on the floor and with the weight and pressure of him lying on it, it has left some tiny marks on the underside. I am not sure this would have happened if you had the felt or cork underlay option, so good to know for others. Careful of sand and hard floors! 

Next we tested the Wobbel out in combination with our open ended toys. The Way to Play track we own goes perfectly with the Wobbel and makes a brilliant ramp or bridge. Wooden train tracks can go around the board or under it and it also makes for a little showroom for our Candlylab Toys and PlayMe cars. 

We also found Grimms and Wobbel are a match made in heaven! The stackers and wooden circles are just so divine and trying to balance the stackers on the board was a lot of fun. 

The Wobbel is a gorgeous heirloom toy that is brilliant due to its open ended play, it will grow with your child and family and can be passed down to the next generation. The creative possibilities are endless but more importantly it allows the child to learn to balance, have fun, assists their co-ordination and when they have had fun playing and exercising indoors, the child can sit peacefully on it and read a book or just rest. It’s unique curve really allows a child to sit comfortably, almost like in their own cocoon. It isn’t cheap and I wasn’t sure we could afford to review it for this month’s toy feature but i knew it was something we would have always, the kids would love it and it would work with so many of our toys. I definitely don’t regret the purchase even if my credit card looks a little heavy!

Toy of the MonthWobbel Board4 

Helps to teach kids:  The Wobbel helps with building gross motor skill if they use it to balance or whilst sitting, it exercises their minds to think outside the square, to play for long periods of time creatively as the open ended nature of the toy allows fluidity and flexibility in play. The possibilities are truly endless!

Great for: having a whole heap of fun!  They can use it to practise yoga, as a seat, stool, see saw, bridge, reading nook, cubby house, swing, car garage, doll house, and so much more. It’s only limit is the child’s imagination especially when mixed with other toys.

RRP: from AUD$200.00 for the unvarnished version (this is what you see in this blog post), the varnished version is $240.00, the felt version for $295 ( in various colour options), XL version for adults with felt $395.00 and you can buy the cork version too but it is not currently available in Australia.

Designed and made in The Netherlands using only the best natural materials,  pressed sustainable European beech wood (FSC) and treated with water based varnishes and paints. The FSC wood for the Wobbel is sustainably sourced within a 300km radius of their factory. The EKO wool felt and sustainable cork are natural products. 

  • Size  90 x 30 cm
  • Age from birth
  • Rated to 200kg
  • CE safety tested to European and Australian standards

Wobbel Board5 is a Dutch company owned by two Waldorf families who have reinvented a traditional Waldorf ( Steiner) balance board and made them fully customisable.

We purchased our Wobbel Board6 from the company I brand rep for, The Creative Toy Shop. Check out their Instagram or Facebook page.

Disclosure: this is not a sponsored post nor was the Wobbel Board7 gifted. All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.