Review on Melissa & Doug Pattern Blocks and Boards Review: Classic Toy with 120 Solid Wood Shapes and 5 Double-Sided Panels by Richard Muncy

We have had this product for a little over two and a half years now. I bought this to work on a number of things with our son who has multiple global developmental delays. This turned out to be serious overkill at the time, and we're only now getting to what we can use if we're functionally compatible. So made of lacquered wood. I love that it's painted, but my only concern is that, at least on our set, the paint smells a bit. It's been almost 3 years and I can still smell it. Now of course I keep ours in a Ziploc gallon bag which doesn't really allow for much ventilation between uses and it doesn't really make him stop using it but it's a potential downside for kids. with sensory issues, and it's always possible that a different color is used now, so I'm not bringing it down, it's just something you need to consider. I mention this even though I've spent quite a bit of time in the bag because I've had several other painted toys that haven't had the same smoke issue in a comparable period of time, so I thought it was worth mentioning. Also note that some of the parts are small. So if you have a small child or toddler in the house, or your child chews with low impulse control (like my child) there is a potential choking hazard in this kit that needs to be monitored closely. I think the concept of this toy is great and it has good potential in many areas. Fine motor skills, shape recognition, sorting, colors, matching, counting, there are actually many ways this toy can be used to teach different concepts. At the moment we are working on matching the wooden pieces to the corresponding shape in the composite picture on the board. Right now he has enough patience for about two forms, but we'll work on that. I also agree with the other reviewer that the lid on a wooden box would be great as they took care to put it in a wooden box. I think the lid makes a lot of sense, but I'm not marking it the way I wanted I need the overall shape flexibility when it comes to storage around our home that a ziploc bag could offer. Overall I think this is a great toy but to reach its full potential it will probably work best for even a normally developing child when interacting with the parents.