It's essentially a neat and tidy kit of blocks, shapes, wheels, and other pieces — all non-toxic – that in total creates 20 different challenges for kids, each one more advanced than the next.

Magnetic blocks. Toddlers love Magna-Tiles. They’re also expensive and easily break underneath an adult’s foot, causing the little magnets inside the plastic housing to pose a choking hazard.

Crows can count... out loud! They do so similarly to human toddlers who are learning to tally things up. A neuroscientist trained birds to produce a number of calls in response to random visual cues.

Effect of Block Play on Language Acquisition and Attention in Toddlers: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine , 2007; 161 (10): 967 DOI: 10.1001 ...