10 replies to this topic

[Gezabel]

HI
I have spent most of the evening trying to locate a source for buying fabric building blocks which have velcro so that they 'stick together' when a child builds.

Does anyone know if there is such a thing on the market I am sure there must be but no luck so far!!

I have a lovely set of 6 fabric blocks with each face made of a different texture and each block also makes a different sound when squashed/squeezed. I could buy velcro and attempt to adapt these blocks but would rather find the specific resource I need

Any ideas?

Whilst I am here any ideas for resources which cannot be nade from any form of 'hard' material would be gratefully received.

[HappyMaz]

Is the need for velcro blocks and entirely soft resources linked her? The only ones I know of are wooden and come in various shapes but have velcro around the sides.

Maz

[mundia]

I am not aware of any that haven't had the velcro added by hand. ne of the reasons for this could be that the soft blocks are usually marketed for babies and the velcro could be chewed off.

I am also curious to know why..is there an investigation looming there?

[mps09]

are you thinking of squashblox?

http://www.gltc.co.uk/pws/ProductDetails.i...tID=10000001112

I've looked at these before and think they are great!

x x x

[Gezabel]

mundia, on Oct 30 2010, 08:55, said:

I am not aware of any that haven't had the velcro added by hand. ne of the reasons for this could be that the soft blocks are usually marketed for babies and the velcro could be chewed off.

I am also curious to know why..is there an investigation looming there?

I hadn't thought of the 'chewing off' reason but they are going to be used in a 1:1 activity to implement a specific 'strategy' detailed on an IEP and therefore the risk of this is minimal.

It's a specific request from an occupational therapist who is 'involved' with a child we have in our setting.
I am aware that other professionals (6 at the last count) involved with this child are members of the forum so I feel I can't really give too many details. The child's needs are many and complex and he or she would therefore be easily identifiable to the many involved in meeting the child's needs.

I would love to write all the details, the difficulties I am desperately trying to address as I am sure all you wonderful people would undoubtedly offer ideas and support - right now I feel I am failing the child and so dearly want to do the very best to enable this child to 'blossom'.

[Susan]

You are not failing the child.

If specific resources are needed then they should be provided by the originator of the request or at the bery least they should be able to tell you where to get them from.

You can only ever do the best you can in the situation and you should never think that you are failing because a child has complex needs that can not easily be met--specialist support and provision may be failing but as a main stream provider you are doing your best.

[HappyMaz]

mps09, on Oct 30 2010, 09:30, said:

are you thinking of squashblox?

Love these! Although expensive especially given that two packs are used in that photo!

I agree with Susan - the person recommending them to you must have seen them somewhere. I'd go back and ask for more information.

Please don't think you're failing this child - we can only do the best we can with the resources we have. The very fact that you're on here asking for support speaks volumes. Please don't be so hard on yourself Geraldine.

Maz

[redjayne]

Do you have a Toy Library service in your area ? We are lucky to have Connors in Portsmouth and for an annual fee we ( the Nursery ) can borrow resources - they have lots of special needs things also for loan and when they have money in the budget will buy things on request. Its a lifesaver for us really especially when you only need items for a short time or specific activty

[SazzJ]

mps09, on Oct 30 2010, 09:30, said:

are you thinking of squashblox?

http://www.gltc.co.uk/pws/ProductDetails.i...tID=10000001112

I've looked at these before and think they are great!

x x x

These are very difficult for the children to master. The velcro is very difficult to pull apart from itself and so my children are yet to master these - we do use them for many purposes just not building

I have seen fake build bricks in possibly TES but not sure if they were fabric or plastic

[lynned55]

We have 2 packs of these and they are very expensive. We hardly use them for building, which is what we original bought them for. As SazzJ says, the velcro is so strong the children just cant manage it and sometimes, I have got in quite a mess with them as you pull of one bit of velcro and then the other piece sticks to another bit.We have also found that if the children run across them on a wooden floor they will slip

[Gezabel]

Thank you for all your replies

It's very early days and I have to remember 'I can't run before I can walk'

I have taken a slightly different overall view and perhaps if I say that the child has only been with us for three weeks or so and we have a very detailed IEP in place, we have external agencies on board, supportive parents maybe thats's not bad going but the wheels of 'officialdom' turn slowly and it is so frustrating.

With regard to the blocks I am talking about about the size of the classic brick found in those baby walker trucks perhaps slightly bigger but made of fabric and with velcro so that when you build a tower they can stick together.

Many thanks again for support and suggestions