Toy of the month – August 2015

This month has been an exciting month here in the KGT household and we have had a real focus on the environment this month in terms of organic clothing and now eco toys for my “Toy of the month”. The boys and I have had so much fun building and creating toys out of cardboard!

Yes, you heard it correctly, brilliant environmentally friendly cardboard toys from Krooom Toys. It was with a HUGE amount of excitement when a large box turned up on our door step by our friendly postman and the boys discovered all the fab goodies inside. They were so curious that the toys were made of cardboard as they had never seen anything like them before.

We received 3 “Fold my cars” to test out from The Stork Nest in the form of an Ice cream van, Tow truck and the Hippie van with a surfboard! As well as the super awesome “Willson Bros Garage” playset which also comes with a car garage, play mat, tow truck, car, scooter, petrol tank, air tank and 2 little figures to play with not to mention the car wash!

Krooom Toys are made from 100% recyclable materials which contain at least 60% post consumer paper. Started in 2006, their focus has been on producing durable eco friendly toys which require no tools, instead using patented folding techniques which ensure each toy built is strong, and will stand up against the wear and tear of kids. Testament to this is the fact my eldest had continuous car races with 3 of the cars and not one was damaged.  They have a waterproof coating which give them their glossy gleam and the kids absolutely loved helping to build them and play with them. These are construction toys that turn into toys you can role play with. What an awesome design!

The “Fold my” series not only has cars but also robots and dinosaurs. The cars were easy to build and construct with the help of both my 3 and 6 year old, given there are no tools required and just some plastic studs to make them strong and stable. The little wheels move around which is important for kids and the designs themselves are bright and colourful with cute additions like surfboards and awnings.

As a parent, you would also be happy having them on a shelf for display, although they won’t last long there!

Fold my car – 3D Icecream Truck

DSC_9565

IMG_8602

IMG_8608

Fold my car – 3D Bucky aka dump truck

IMG_8709

  IMG_8743  IMG_8757 IMG_8752

Fold my car – 3D Hippie Van

IMG_8666IMG_8673IMG_8691DSC_9597Krooom krooom toys     

Building the garage playset which is aimed for 3+ took a little longer than the 3 cars due to the amount of fabulous additions that come as part of the garage. The play set took about 1.5 hrs to construct but I did realise afterwards they have a QR code for video instructions – doh!

However, with instructions on the back of the box (so clever) after the first few pieces, I got the hang of how to construct the garage along with my little 3 year old helper. The folding was really easy and with 3 years of research, they have definitely got this part perfected. Some of the plastic stud on this garage were a bit trickier than the “Fold my” series as they are a bigger plastic stud and meant you need to do a little more pushing to get them through the cardboard.

One very clever part about the garage which my 6 year old son J discovered when he came home from school that day, was that they have put a magnetic strip on the playmat which is where the petrol and air tank is supposed to sit. I noticed in constructing them they had a little insert stuck to the  bottom but I couldn’t work out what it was. My son in playing with it for all of 5 minutes showed me the magnetic area and where I should have been placing these added accessories!

I have to say watching it come to life from mere flat cardboard in a box to full scale 3D construction was seriously awesome and extremely satisfying for all involved.

Then all that was left was play, play and play!

Toy of the Month:           Krooom Toys

Helps to teach kids: imaginative play, role play, problem solving, construction & fine motor skills

Great for: every day fun, birthday presents, eco conscious parents

RRP: From  A$9.95 | US$9.90 |£6 |€8 for the”Fold my” series

RRP: From  A$30–$50 | US$39–$50 |£18–£30 | €30 for the play sets

Ages 3+

Designed in the USA and made in China.

Willson Brothers Garage playset

DSC_9715DSC_9773 DSC_9783DSC_9778  DSC_9790 IMG_8945  IMG_8966 IMG_8993IMG_9003IMG_9013IMG_9015IMG_9029IMG_9035 IMG_9055 IMG_9050 IMG_9036  DSC_9815 DSC_9866  DSC_9812 DSC_9887 DSC_9822IMG_9044

Needless to say it has been one SUPER fun month creating these awesome 100% recyclable toys.

NB:- we received these toys from the wonderful The Stork Nest in order to test and review.

Other items featured:

Play mat – One Two Nine

Stripey storage basket – House Doctor

Paper storage bags – Mon Petit Zoreol

Minimel “Miss Panda” cushion – Little Miss Elisa

Hudson wears Maiko Mini “Cool Bebe” tee and Gardner and the Gang AW15 Wayne the Shark leggings