While on a cleaning binge last year, I hauled our plastic play kitchen out of the house and dropped it off at Goodwill, much to our children’s chagrin. It was bulky and I was convinced that the kids were done playing with it. A few weeks ago, in the midst of our moving and unpacking, a box from Guidecraft showed up on our doorstep and inside was the Hideaway Country Kitchen.

{Insert the cheers of children here}

The kids agreed to play in their rooms for a bit {so that I didn’t have four extra sets of hands trying to help me put it together} and a little over an hour later, they came out to ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ over their new play kitchen.

About the Hideaway Country Kitchen

From the above picture, you can see what makes this kitchen a little extra special. If your house or classroom are tight on storage, the Hideaway Country Kitchen compacts to only 6” in depth with a simple twist of an Allen wrench. Fully extended, it measures 30"W x 15.25"D x 38" H.

Guidecraft also added some great details to this kitchen: beadboarding on the kitchen wall and dishwasher door, an adjustable clock, switches and knobs that make a clicking noise when turned, hooks for towels, a storage shelf for dishes, and an oven with a pull-out rack.

When the unit is fully extended it has a locking bar that drops in place so that it will not fold up and pinch little fingers. The kitchen counter also locks in place with a bolt to further secure the play set. When the kitchen needs to be compacted, it will fold up securely in a matter of minutes to be stored.

My Thoughts

Aside from the fact that this play kitchen is very sturdy and well built, it has been WELL received by our children, young and old. Laurianna is almost ten and both she and McKenna wanted the kitchen to be put in their room so they could play with it ~ and it has been used almost daily since then. They have it well stocked with their doll dishes and are completely in love with it!

Assembly wasn’t extremely difficult, but it did require an hour and 15 minutes on my part. An Allen wrench was included with the parts and the only other tool that I needed was a Phillips head screwdriver. I would highly recommend sorting out all of the screws before starting to help save a little bit of time and help the assembly go faster.

The pieces were all labeled well and the most difficult part for me was getting the knobs on. Out of everything that I put together, that took the longest block of time overall {and I was about ready to just let Rick take care of it when he got home}. My stubbornness persistence finally won and the knobs were successfully attached. While it did take a bit to put together, the result was well worth it!

For teachers that are limited on classroom space or for moms looking to save a little space in their children’s bedrooms, this is a GREAT kitchen to purchase! The product quality is also high, making this a piece of furniture that can be passed down from child to child ~ and even generation to generation.

Learn More

The Hideaway Country Kitchen is available from both Amazon and the Guidecraft website. If you prefer a little more color, look for the Hideaway Playtime Kitchen instead. It features a pink, blue and yellow color scheme and is also available from Guidecraft. The kitchen is recommended for ages 3 and up.

As a Guidecraft Mom blogger, I was provided this product to review. I was not paid for this post and all opinions expressed in this post are mine…or my kids.

It’s amazing how a simple wooden block can be transformed by just a few things. Guidecraft has put together something very creative for children to use during block play ~ Block Mates. From farm animals to trucks, they add a new twist to unit blocks, extending an already great learning toy.

The Farm Animal Block Mates are a set of 5 different animals {cow, horse, pig, sheep, and goat} with each animal in four pieces to put onto a standard sized unit block. The four pieces slide and ‘lock’ onto the corners of the block and fit securely using a patented ‘Slip Grip’ system {see the nifty little grippers?}.

Block Mates are geared for children 3 and up, but when we had company over recently, their {not quite} 2 year old really enjoyed playing with them, and the pieces are large enough that there would be no swallowing issue.

My Thoughts

Prior to receiving the Farm Animal Block Mates, we had ordered a set of the Dinosaur Block Mates for the boys for Christmas ~ so we knew they were going to love them.

Currently, the farm animals reside in our dining room {a.k.a. school room} and have been spending much time on the table during snack and meal time. Usually, we don’t allow toys at the table, but these are just too cute, especially since all four of them are having a blast with them!

Find Out More

Both the Farm Animal Block Mates and the 5 Piece Unit Blocks can be purchased directly from the Guidecraft website or from Amazon. They also have several other Block Mates available: Dinosaurs, Safari Animals, and a few more coming soon ~ Construction Vehicles and Community Vehicles!

Would you like to win a set for your kids? Jodi @ Granola Mom 4 God is giving away a set of Farm Animal Block Mates along with a set of 5 Unit blocks {ends March 28, 2011}.

As a Guidecraft Mom blogger, I was provided this product to review. I was not paid for this post and all opinions expressed in this post are mine…or my kids.

Our kids have always loved to play with nesting and sorting cups, but we’ve never had a wooden toy version of them. Guidecraft sent us Cylinders and Cubes to have some fun with and when our 2 year old cousin came for a visit, we thought it was the perfect time to pull them out!

About the Cylinders & Cubes

Guidecraft has done an outstanding job with both of these products. Both sets are brightly colored with non-toxic paints. Rather than having all of the pieces in each size the same exact color, the pieces graduate in color from dark primary to a light pastel version of the color. Each piece also has a fun pattern painted on the edge of the piece, giving an added detail to an already wonderful toy. Both sets have twelve pieces in the set.

The base that the pieces fit into is also brightly colored and designed ~ definitely eye-catching for little ones! Although the age recommendation is for ages 3 and up due to the smaller top pieces, our 2 year old cousin had no problem stacking and nesting the pieces.

My Thoughts

Another feature of the toy that I really love is the graduated pieces are all varying in size. The largest pieces in each shape are NOT all the same size, meaning they can be stacked from largest to smallest in varying colors/patterns also {i.e. blue, green, red}. This adds another great educational twist to the product since the pieces also graduate in color to pastels.

Since children often put pieces in their mouths, the non-toxic paints used to color the shapes are a huge plus also. The detail of each piece makes it not only fun to play with, but colorful to look at too!

Find Out More

Overall, these are both products that I would HIGHLY recommend. You can purchase the Cylinders and Cubes from Amazon or directly from the Guidecraft website. Xenia from Thanks, Mail Carrier! is also hosting a giveaway that is open unitl March 11, 2011.

As a Guidecraft Mom blogger, I was provided this product to review. I was not paid for this post and all opinions expressed in this post are mine…or my kids.

Three of our kids have been very into building toys lately and I am literally watching their creativity come alive as they build and create. We recently added the Construct-It Early Builder set to our home and it has been a HUGE hit since it’s debut!

Construct-It has 160 pieces in the box, including building tools such as a pliers, a hammer, a wrench and a screwdriver. The tools are ‘chunky’ so that younger children have an easier time holding onto them. Among the pieces you’ll find rods to connect pieces, wheels of varying sizes, nuts, bolts and plenty of sturdy building pieces to come up with a variety of creations.

The box also includes a picture guide of vehicles and fun things that children have created using the Builder set. There are no specific directions so that your child can do the creating on his own and work on some critical thinking skills at the same time. :)

Our Thoughts

I knew that our kids would enjoy building with the Construct-it Early Builder set, but really I wasn’t prepared for how MUCH they would enjoy it. The boys immediately created as many vehicles as they could. Kaleb stuck to making planes and robots, but Zachary was putting together tanks, cars, boats, etc… and building away. Kaleb even figured out a way to attach a screw to his plane and then drop ‘bombs’ as he flew over the other vehicles.

All over our house I am finding various creations ~ proudly displayed on dressers, tables, counters, but played with continually. Although the pieces are made from plastic, they have held up wonderfully with our kids and we are loving the product!

Find Out More

The Construct-It Early Builder Series 160 Piece Building Set is available through the Guidecraft website and also available from Amazon. Recommended age for the Construct-it Early Builder is 4+.

Mama Jenn is hosting a giveaway for a Construct-it Early Builder Set from Monday, January 17th til Friday, January 21st, so be sure to visit and enter to win one for your kids!

As a Guidecraft Mom blogger, I was provided this product to review. I was not paid for this post and all opinions expressed in this post are mine…or my kids.