Guidecraft IO Blocks® 500 Piece Education Set

The blocks have a nice texture and it's a pleasing feeling to connect them. They are a little bigger than I thought from the pictures and a nice color variety. My daughter really likes them and they really spark creativity.

My son received a set of these IO Blocks as a gift and they're really fun! He absolutely loves them! He is 3.5 years old and although the box says ages 4+ he plays with them really well. These blocks are really unique and different from other construction toys. As a mom of 2 little boys, I think it's wonderful to give them a variety of ways to show their creativity and work on their fine motor skills. My youngest is almost 2 and while he's not quite ready for building with the IO Blocks, we had so much fun building together. Even younger kids can use them for fun activities like counting and sorting colors. It's fun to watch kids grow with toys like this building set and see how they hone their skills over time. The box shows quite a few examples of fun things that can be made with the IO blocks. We made the robot together and also a few other things, a tractor, a boat, etc. It was such a fun way to spend time together while doing something that my kids enjoyed. New toys are always lots of fun but I can tell this will be one that they use for a long time. There are six colors: black, white, tan, blue, green, and red. There are about 12 different shape styles. They are not super difficult to use for younger kids. My 3.5 year old had no trouble figuring them out right away, which was great. There is a cardboard piece that comes with the blocks in the package. If you download the IO Blocks app on either iOs or Android (it's free), you can use your camera to scan the cardboard and it shows you awesome 3D Augmented Reality renderings of lots of things that you can build with the IO Blocks. There are 4 categories: animals, vehicles, robots, and structures. This is a great way for parents and kids to use the examples to build the items in real life. I'm a visual learner myself, so this is a great option to get the most out of this building set. Older kids can probably use the app on their own, but we like to supervise anything that uses a camera with our son. Overall I think this is a great toy set that combines the art of fun with love of learning. I love that this building set combines a physical toy with technology. If used together, it can be a great tool and a way for kids and parents to spend quality time together.

Perfect sized blocks for a younger child. Lots of different items they can use their young minds to create.Happy with this item. Thank You

These are the best Guidecraft IO Block Buidling Toys ever! They are very easy to use and very easy to play with. I got these from Tryazon to test out for free and the little ones loved it! I highly recommend these building blocks for kids!

I received Guidecraft IO Blocks free from Tryazon and Guidecraft for an exchange of having a party where others could also try them and learn about this awesome new building product. I'm also required to leave an honest review about the product. The older kids and adults at my party really enjoyed sitting around playing with the blocks. Parents and grandparents were extremely impressed with the app. We did have some issues with the app working properly but it didn't stop any of the kids or adults on challenging their creative minds and coming up with wonderful creations. I love the feel of the blocks and as long as you build your creations with either the app or your creative mind you will enjoy countless hours of fun creative play with kids and adults of any age.

The best blocks for creative minds. Lots of fun.

My daughter, age 6, and I really enjoy these blocks. I received this set free from Tryazon and Guidecraft in exchange for hosting a party and offering an honest review. All opinions and experiences are honest and my own. We had a party and children ages 3-11 used the IO Blocks to build. We used the included Build Cards - which are sturdy, colorful, and two-sided. We also built using our imaginations. This was the kids' favorite part! Some of the provided projects were simply too complicated for this age group. As a parent/homeschool mom, this is actually an awesome feature - these blocks will be great for hands-on thinking and learning until at least age 15. I can see my daughter building structures and using them for STEM projects for many years. They are sturdy, durable and the color is great. They connect well, but provide the opportunity for movement [great if you decide to use them for stop-motion animation projects!]. They could easily be mixed and mingled with other textiles [like playdough] for even more imaginative play and projects. The only current drawback to these building blocks are that they come with a free app that just isn't quite up to par yet. The augmented reality app allows the builder to look up about 20 different build projects and see how they're put together. It is great to be able to see how the pieces of more complicated projects come together, especially if you find yourself stuck. However, right now, not every Build Card is included in the app and that left some of the children upset and frustrated. I think there is a lot of room for the app to grow, but the app is an add-on that is not vital to the enjoyment of these blocks! There are an endless variety of ways to use these blocks for teaching and learning. They are recommended for ages 4 and up and I would agree. I think they're a great investment for any classroom. The children I partied with would agree. They said they would choose these blocks over any others if given the choice! They loved the colors, shapes, and puzzleyness of the blocks.