What does your family look like? How about the family down the block?
Guidecraft makes beautiful wooden multicultural family figurines that reflect the diversity around us.
Both my preschooler and toddler, as well as visiting kindergartners and school-aged children engage in creative, pro-social play with these chunky blocks for hours on end.
My toddler appreciates that they are easy to grasp and that they will stand unsupported. The older kids enjoy the detailed designs and like to make up stories about each person and have the dolls interact as friends and family.
There are four families with six people in each family–giving your children a variety of open-ended play possibilities. These blocks are perfect for classrooms, homeschoolers, and daycare centers.
We love that our children have toys that mirror the multicultural friendship groups we’ve formed. My children are at an age where they view differences in size and gender as more relevant in identification than skin color. My son picks up the African-American man and proudly shouts, “Daddy”, even though his father is very fair-skinned. By playing with these block figurines, my kids continue to see the similarities–which hopefully with adult guidance will translate into an appreciation of our shared humanity.
Children love to play with dolls and figurines because it gives flight to their imaginations, allows them to work through new feelings and situations, and helps them process the events of their day.
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WANT IT: Visit the Guidecraft site to find this Multicultural Family Kit ($65) or check your favorite school supply store or catalogue.
