I've noticed a shift in my oldest son over the past six month... his single-minded interest in driving vehicles around a track morphed into focused interest on building the tracks and cities for his cars and trains.
I should just put up a permanent "Under Construction" sign in our house! And while I don't welcome the frequent pain of stepping on sharp little pieces left out, I do welcome the open-ended play experience!
His favorite activity is building and creating with modular brick pieces, and he's quickly shifted from the large "baby blocks" to smaller and smaller bricks.
When nanoblock® contacted me to share the news of their first-evern national nanoblock® Award: Build It Your Way Competition, I knew my son would love to check out these tiny bricks for himself! We were sent a nanoblock® mini series terrior dog, and a Sites-to-See Air Force One plane to assemble.
Each set comes with sealed bags of bricks and step by step directions. As my son is a bit young to follow the pictures on the direction sheet, I enlisted my nephew to help him build the Air Force One plane. And I assembled the terrior dog myself - although I usually go cross-eyed at the thought of assembling anything, I found the illustrated steps easy to follow... but I did hand the mighty task of assembling the Air Force One set to my son and his cousin! 
If you've never seen nanoblock® bricks for yourself, well... maybe that's because they are super tiny! Small hands have no trouble with these minuscule building bricks though. Just be sure to keep away from babies as these are incredibly tiny pieces and would be so tempting to an exploring child. Have older kids work on an enclosed surface like a large cookie sheet to avoid pieces rolling off the table and being lost forever!
For now, my little guy loves to go off on his own creating new designs daily - a shark, a train, a mini-plane... the only limit is his imagination and I love how right now, he has no limits there!
For builders who want to go "beyond the set," they might be ready for the new nanoblock® Award: Build It Your Way Competition. Using only nanoblock® bricks, kids create their own structure. Take a photo and upload it to YourNanoblockCreations.com - there's no limit to how many creation submissions you can upload!
Builders can create in one of two categories: Under 500 and Over 500 pieces. Submit by September 1, 2014 to be eligible. A panel of judges will review submissions and select five finalists by September 15, 2014. Be sure to read all the official details here.
Thanks to nanoblock® for sending product for review and offering a giveaway. All opinions are my own.
My son likes to make cars and houses with his bricks.
My son likes to make cars and houses with his bricks.
My son loves making super hero's and their vehicles with lego and such.
My son loves making super hero's and their vehicles with lego and such.
My son and I build robots together. It's the first thing I built for him from bricks and he still insists that's what we build!
My son and I build robots together. It's the first thing I built for him from bricks and he still insists that's what we build!
Their favorites are castles and towers!
Their favorites are castles and towers!
I think they would make a castle
I think they would make a castle
My son loves building cars and trucks, and race-tracks 🙂
My son loves building cars and trucks, and race-tracks 🙂
my son loves legos, he makes buildings and cars
my son loves legos, he makes buildings and cars
Mostly castles and tall towers.
Mostly castles and tall towers.
Houses, castles, cars, boats, planes--anything really!
Houses, castles, cars, boats, planes--anything really!
My grandson loves to make castles.
My grandson loves to make castles.
My grandson loves building anything with wheels.
My grandson loves building anything with wheels.
My youngest haven't been exposed to kit style building blocks. So far they love making different creations with the tiny Legos - space craft, new inventions, and they love to create secret moving parts with hidden compartments. A friend of ours made some cute spray paint cans that actually rattled.
My youngest haven't been exposed to kit style building blocks. So far they love making different creations with the tiny Legos - space craft, new inventions, and they love to create secret moving parts with hidden compartments. A friend of ours made some cute spray paint cans that actually rattled.
My 2 granddaughters (sisters) like to make school buildings. Yes, they're on summer vacation but they miss school. 🙂
My 2 granddaughters (sisters) like to make school buildings. Yes, they're on summer vacation but they miss school. 🙂
My nephew loves to build cars and trucks.
My nephew loves to build cars and trucks.
Lately my son has been building houses and skyscrapers.
Lately my son has been building houses and skyscrapers.