Wooden Mini Beast Blocks

2019 Nursery World Awards
(Silver - Understanding the World category)

What the NW Award testers said:

These chunky wooden picture blocks, colour printed on both sides with real images of minibeasts from around the world, were well-received in tester settings. Children enjoyed naming the minibeasts that they already knew and learning the names of the ones that they didn't know. Because they are free-standing, they can be used in imaginative play, and children were reported to spend a lot of time independently playing with the animals, adding stories and characters to their small world play.

Children also made homes for them out of leaves and grass to keep them safe. Following on from this, it opened up discussion about bug behaviour; how and what they eat; what eats them; if they undergo metamorphosis; and the habitats they live in. They also helped with developing descriptive language skills and learning about the characteristics of a wide range of different creatures.

2019 Teach Early Years Awards
(5* Winner - Early exploration category)

What the TEY Award testers said:

I immediately fell in love with this fantastic resource! The chunky wooden blocks feature a real image of a minibeast on both sides for children to observe and identify. Some feature well-known minibeasts and others something a little more unusual. They are fantastic for generating discussions about characteristics, similarities, differences and habitats. Other uses for the blocks include story prompts, minibeast hunts and for developing descriptive language.

The blocks are a perfect size for small hands to hold and manipulate and are also freestanding. As they are wipe-clean, it doesn’t matter if they get a little muddy outside either! Included in the box is an identification sheet, so adults can support children to recognise and name the bugs.