Melissa & Doug Deluxe Wooden Lacing Beads - Educational Activity with 27 Beads and 2 Laces

These lacing beads are a fantastic find! My almost-two-year-old grandson enjoys playing with them (with adult supervision). The oversized beads minimize the choking hazard and are perfect for little hands to grasp, aiding fine motor skill development. They are also a valuable tool for early learning, helping to teach colors, shapes, and numbers. Highly durable and well-made, this is a quality toy built to last.

As a mom always on the lookout for educational and engaging toys for my little ones, I was naturally drawn to the Melissa & Doug Deluxe Wooden Lacing Beads set. After several weeks of watching my 2 year-old immerse herself in threading these colorful beads I knew I found a hit. Especially because they have the added benefit of being stacking blocks as well! But there’s a lot to love with this.. Firstly, the quality of the beads is impressive. Crafted from solid wood and painted with vibrant, non-toxic colors, the 27 beads have proven to be enduring through my child's energetic play. The variety of shapes and numbers printed on the beads provides an excellent opportunity for us to work on pattern recognition, color identification, and counting. Moreover, the set includes two sturdy laces that are just the right thickness for small hands to grasp and manipulate. I would recommend this set to any parent who values toys that not only entertain but educate. Overall, it’s an excellent investment for fostering essential motor skills and creativity in toddlers.

I bought this set as a Christmas gift for my 27 month old. At first, it was difficult for her to lace the beads without help. This is because the length of the plastic end piece on the lace is less than the width of the beads. She could easily insert the lace into the bead, but there was too much slack in the lace to then push it the rest of the way through without the lace slipping back out. I tried used a piece of scotch tape to lengthen the plastic end piece, and it worked PERFECTLY. Now, my 2 year old can lace even the longer beads on her own... And I can always remove the tape later, when her lacing skills are more advanced. Also, it's worth mentioning that the "box" does NOT come with a lid. It's just a tray, so it has to be stored on a shelf with the puzzles, or dumped into a small bin on her toy organizer. Really, how hard would it have been to add a sliding lid like on other Melissa & Doug sets? The colors are gorgeous! The paint does wear quickly, especially on hardwood floors (see uploaded pic). The most loved toys are usually the most worn though. It doesn't bother me or my daughter. But you should expect the paint to chip easily. Even still, I'm really happy with the set. Perfect first lacing set for developing fine motor skills, practicing shapes, colors, and numbers... AND the beads are chunky enough to double as blocks. Great price, too!

I thought this would be a perfect introduction to beading for my three year olds, but they got frustrated really quickly. It was too hard for them to push the lace all the way through the big beads and coordinate grabbing it on the other side. The beads are also pretty chunky and heavy. They’re definitely big enough that I wouldn’t worry about them being a choking hazard. They lost interest really quickly. I ended up giving them smaller beads and pipe cleaners and they were more successful with that. However, these are well made and really cleverly designed and I do plan on using them when my kids are older and in my kindergarten classroom for a math center, I feel like there are lots of educational possibilities here but they were just too tricky for little kids. The tray that they come in is really nice but note that there’s no lid so unless you have shelf space to lay it flat, it’s actually pretty useless for long term storage and is therefore kind of a waste.

This review is of the Melissa and Doug Deluxe Wooden 27-Piece Lacing Beads in a Box. I bought this lacing beads set for my 3 year old son. He currently is enrolled in the Early Childhood Special Education program. I'm constantly looking for activities that will grab his interest as well as assist him in the various areas he struggles in. This does that. Included in this purchase is: -27 beads (blocks numbered 1-10, 4 cylinders, 4 circle blocks, 5 cube blocks, 4 star blocks) -2 lacing strings with plastic tipped ends -small wooden storage crate The beads are very well constructed and the included laces slide in well. They are very colorful and vibrant, but the color doesn't stay on with normal usage. We've had these for less than 5 months and the paint is rubbing off (only on the edges). To see this, please view the image I included. I read other reviews which indicated that this happens for a lot of people-especially those whose beads were played with on hard surfaces- so I was prepared for it to happen. Although I would love for the beads to maintain their color , I don't find it to be a deal breaker. The strings work well and the plastic covered ends allow for tiny fingers to navigate the lace through the bead. The storage crate is adorable, but not practical for this item. There is no lid so there's nothing to stop the blocks from falling out which, in turn, requires it to be stored right side up. Although this might work well in a more structured setting, it's not the best for free play at home. I decided to ditch the box and instead use a plastic storage container with a latch. It is easy for my child to take out and put back, and it securely keeps all of the pieces together. Please see included image to view my storage solution. We use the lacing beads for both structured and imaginative play. This set allows us to work on fine motor skills (lacing and stacking), colors, matching and sorting, shapes, and patterns. For kids still working up being able to lave with strings, our special Ed teacher recommended using a wooden sticks from a craft store or pipe cleaners. So I just said the paint wears off and the storage box isn't practical...why, do you ask, am I still giving it 5 stars. To start- there's nothing wrong with the storage container it comes in. It's actually very well constructed. This is exactly how the item was advertised and sold and I was aware of this when I bought it. I thought the price was reasonable and would have bought it for that same price even if the storage container wasn't included. Then there's the issue with the paint wearing off. I totally get that this would bug some people. It just doesn't happen to bug me. It seems logical and natural to me that painted wooden blocks would have paint wear off around the edges. And because this item is priced so reasonably, I wouldn't expect the color to stay perfect forever. But even with the color rubbing off on spots, enough of the paint remains on to keep the item looking cute and attractive to the kids.

cost is little higher but it is worth buying for kids less than 3-4 Yrs. they will definitely enjoy playing with it.

My daughter, 20 months old, loves this! Oh how she loves trying to string these through. Day 1 she was like wth mama, yiu do it but then i caught her trying on her own and now she's almost a pro at it hahaha great little buy! Love the skills they get to strengthen with this and overall the idea of it is just super cute. Does she sit there for 30 minutes stringing the blocks, no, but she does for a good 10 and that is a win in my books!

I got these as a gift for my 2.5yr old cousins and they are enjoying them. Their mother said they play with them daily!

amazing

色は原色ではっきりとしていて元気なカラー。男の子でも女の子でもいいですね。 ひもも２本はいっていて２人で一緒にあそべます。 ただ、色のぬりかたが雑だったり、へこんでいたりと、日本製でははじかれそうなクオリティーです。 さすが、外国製です。 木のブロックは適度に大きく飲み込む心配がないサイズ。 つみきとしてもあそべるので、楽しいですね。 木箱もついていておかたづけしやすいのはいいですね。