Coming up with names

Now that we have a focus on blocks, we need to give them a name. Hundreds of post-its and whiteboard markers were used in our efforts, as were a few foam darts and many flying cubes. Unfornately, in all the fun, we forgot to take photos :(

So instead, here's a photo of some of the behaviors and observations we've discovered about how children play. The process of designing is messy and non-linear, and we hope you like this snapshot of our process.

We're down to three names for our blocks, and after some in-home tests, we hope we'll have a winner!

In case you ever wondered, our thinking is to create a name that is meaningful, no more than three syllables, and ideally descriptive in some way. It seems to be working so far, and we'll keep everyone posted as to how it turns out!

Focusing our efforts

After much searching and more testing with our wonderful small friends, we've discovered something special about our blocks: kids love them. Their size and sape are almost perfect for tiny hands and big hands alike. Based on this and some amazing behaviors, we've decided to put our riding toys on hold and focus on the blocks. 

Christian couldn't wait to play with these in the studio... 

Some new types have already been tested in homes and we can't wait to show them off soon!​

Testing at Bing

This morning we took our toys over to Stanford's Bing nursery school to see what some master block players thought. After playing with the same kids at Bing as those from the NPR story, we're confident we are on to something fun. 

All the toys were well received by the teachers and children, but our silicone blocks were the biggest hit. The variety and materiality kept about ten different kids engaged in experiments for over an hour, bouncing, washing, building. There were so many wonderful interactions, but my favorite was the introduction of dramatic play with one of our newer prototypes. After assembling a rod/dowel and a block, a series of girls became the Statue of Liberty, to great enjoyment.  

Overall, we had a great time playing with the wonderful people at Bing. It was another example of just why we are doing this: because nothing is more rewarding than seeing a little kid's face light up with delight when they discover something new and fun about themselves or the world. 

We're not the only people at Stanford who love blocks!

NPR did a wonderful story about our friends over at Bing nursery school discussing the wonders of blocks. Apart from teaching and exploring mathematics, they also add to the wonders of open-ended play. 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2015/02/06/384347659/behold-the-humble-block-tools-of-the-trade

We couldn't be happier to see this validation of our approach and can't wait to see what the kids at Bing do with our blocks.

Testing, rounds 4 and 5

Scooters, balancing, more blocks and all so much fun. We really enjoyed seeing how the kids moved back and forth between building the blocks, throwing the blocks, and riding around on the scooters. The toys were varied enough that most kids remained excited about the toys for multiple hours of playing. All in all, a very good testing day.

Testing round 3

Our first two tests at CCSC were generally considered a success - the toys were well enough loved by the kids that a couple of them cried when they had to go home because they wanted to stay and keep playing. Yesterday's test was no different.

First off, the kids enjoyed the big silicone dodecahedron. It was closer to a ball and had the right size and weight to be easily grasped. Playing with it outside was much like the first tests: throw, chase, hoard and not share. The coolest behavior was when the ball was used in conjunction with the slide - the kids found a way to roll it up and down and up and down, watching where it was going and trying to anticipate where it would end up. Otherwise, there wasn't much special about the dodec. It was basically a big ball.

OH! The best part of the dodec was that one of the dads, upon picking up his kid, wanted to see if it was like a lacrosse ball. So he launched it into the ground, only to watch it sail over the patio and onto the roof, where it still remains. We're now planning a rescue mission for later.

The omni-truck was a more interesting experiment. The kids, prompted by "let's play with this on the table" and nothing else, immediately turned it into a game. They gathered around the edge o the table and passed the truck back and forth, sometimes orienting it like a car and other times just pushing it back. After a little while, a group of three of them started taking the truck and the game to every other table they could find and trying it out there. It was pretty fun to watch.

Building building building

We've been hard at work coming up with new ideas. Coming soon are scooters, magic tables, and even some mini-rollers. Fueled by coffee and other toys for inspiration, it's been great so far!

Testing, round 2

Based on what we learned from the first blocks, we decided to try to something different this time. We gave the kids a set of 8 silicone blocks of various colors, shapes, and squishiness-es, but instead of giving them outside, we put them on a light table. With this, the kids started making all sorts of shapes and treating the blocks as blocks and not balls. 
Or at least most of them did until one threw one up in the air. Then it became a mix of block-balls and building blocks. With some gentle prompting (aka, I did it once and showed them), the kids discovered that the blocks can stick together. They were actually not as interested in that as simply stacking or throwing, but they did try to build that way. 

Overall, the cubes drew interest, but couldn't hold the interest on the light table the way the different material blocks did outside. We did confirm they love throwing them, and stacking them on the light table is really cool!