Review on 🔲 Melissa & Doug Shape Model Activity Set by Kevin Witherspoon

I bought this set to work on wrist stability and functional play with our son who has a long list of diagnoses, that both are associated with global developmental delays. Right now we're using this as part of the Nonverbal Imitation (NVI) goal, but wrist stability is a big thing I'm hoping for from her as it's an important area to develop a tripod grip with pens. I bought this one, unlike other roller sets, for 3 reasons: 1) two of the rolling pins have patterns they print into the clay and I suspected/hoped it would be more motivating for our little man, 2) one of the rollers can be used with one hand and I thought it would be easier for him to deal with initially and so he would be more inclined to try them as NVI displays 3) wooden blocks with imprints which I thought he would find easier would than him. I'll understand typical cookie cutters and give him something he can do to modify the clay faster in terms of skills, which in turn I think would be more motivating. I love that I was right about all three because yesterday was one of those days when our little guy was serving me in the car and this morning when we were trying to go in a different direction than his sister's school, wasn't it better and I really needed to see some kind of crazy success. As you can see from the manufacturer, these plasticine jars are tiny in the artist's picture. Just enough to be functional with this kit. At first it seemed stickier to me than a Play-Do, but to be honest it didn't stick to the table any more than a Play-Do and I had no trouble cleaning it up once we were done. A very small amount of the clay product did actually stick to the block of wood we used, none of it stuck to the rollers which appeared to be coated with a higher gloss varnish/sealant making them slightly less sticky. And I respectfully disagree with the other reviewer that plastic toys are better because we've had a full range of plastic toys since our daughter was a toddler. They are made of if the game dries in them they can definitely be killed, but sometimes plastic is easier to break than wood if you're trying to chip dried game clay. I noticed that some of the paint we had used had chipped off the red block into the clay, but I looked closely and it turned out to be loose, stained wood dust that came from the production was left because I didn't see any chipped paint on our clay. Block. But I think over time the paint can chip and seep into the clay. But on the other hand, anything will do, including pet hair, so I won't bother with that. Our son is 5 years old and his arms are a bit big for his age. He's good at gripping the reel with one hand, but he's better off with other reels because he can't wrap his arms fully around the handles and has to use his fingertips. Which I think could also be helpful. So if you're buying this for an older or larger preschooler or kindergartener, keep that in mind. They may be more comfortable with something that has more room to grip their hands. But since he also has fine motor needs, I'm pretty good at it. And I think the shapes on the lid are really cool too, and I'll move on to them once he gets comfortable with the blocks. Overall I think this is a very cool product.