Average Price: $19.75
Age Range: 18-36mos (officially) but appropriate for younger children as well. My son mastered it at 12 months.
Official URL: http://www.montgomeryschoolhouse.com/
Rating:

Most shape sorters on the market are made of either garishly colored plastic or heavy wood that can hurt quite a bit when dropped on one’s foot. This shape sorter from Montgomery Schoolhouse is a great hybrid of the two options. The bottom is a see-through plastic that is rugged and durable (and recyclable with a prominent #3 on the bottom), and the top is made of a lightweight wood. The pieces themselves are brightly colored stained hardwood.

PARTS

The top is made of a disc of wood that is securely bonded to a plastic jar top. The wood and plastic have the shapes cut into them and have just enough wiggle room to allow a shape to pass through without much frustration, but they are cut closely enough to prevent incorrect insertion of a shape. The shapes are also different enough so that no shape can pass through the wrong hole. We previously owned another shape sorter that drove me crazy because the triangle fit perfectly into the square hole as well as its own, and my son preferred to push it through the wrong hole time and time again defeating the purpose of the toy. I love that this toy doesn’t have that issue.

There are four shapes: a yellow square, green rectangle, red circle and blue triangle. There are five wooden pieces in each shape, which allows your child to spend a good amount of time working on the sorting before you have to dump the whole thing out to start again. This is so much nicer than a lot of shape sorters which come with only one or two of each shape.

The bottom plastic jar allows your child to see the shapes and confirm that that the block that they just pressed through the top is now in the plastic jar below. It is fairly rugged and has held up well against use and abuse. The only time it started to crush down was when our babysitter inadvertently stepped on it, even then only the top layer crushed and it was easy to pull back into shape. It would be nice if this part was of a slightly thicker plastic, but that would ruin two other aspects of the toy: its lightness and the fact that it can be recycled.
PACKAGING

This toy arrived packed simply in its shipping box with appropriate padding. When I took it out I was struck by this overwhelmingly delicious smell of wood that transported me back in time to my New England childhood. Even after months of play that scent lingers and I can press my nose up to one of the shapes and drink it in. This smell is such a refreshing reminder of how toys should ????????be.

MATERIALS, SAFETY & DURABILITY

The blocks are made of rock maple and are finished using nontoxic colors and sealer. This means that they’re exceptionally suitable for younger children who are still prone to mouthing and chewing on things. None of the pieces fit inside of a choke test tube, none of the materials splinter or crack with use, and the stain does not come off even after much chewing by a teething child. The shape sorter has no sharp edges anywhere.

EDUCATIONAL VALUE

The educational value of this toy is wonderful. It’s a simple basic yet it exercises your child’s fine motor skills as they press the shapes through the holes. It helps them start to identify shapes and colors including differentiating between the dark blue and dark green used on the triangle and rectangle shapes. Your child can count the blocks as they go through, and count the sides on each block. It’s a great little toy with tremendous educational potential for a toddler.

MADE IN THE USA

This toy is made in the United States by a great little close-knit company called “Maple Landmark” that sources their materials as close to their workshop as possible so as to increase local business and drive down their impact on the environment.

BOTTOM LINE

This toy has been my son’s favorite from the time he was 13 months old. Now, five months later he will still play with it once or twice a day. No other toy that he owns has held its appeal for this long.