Plan Toys Activity Bus - a good back to school transition toy

Selecting toys for children, let alone children with autism is not easy There is a toy website called ebeanstalk, dedicated to selecting good, safe educational toys and baby gifts ;">. BUT they need help from moms like me to help pick the toys.

So, I am thrilled to share that I am participating in a test panel of sorts and my kids will get to try out new toys in exchange for our honest opinion. People who know me, and my avid readers know that I am a product and Kids and Family Guru. Maybe, you didn't know this about me until now - maybe this not news to you. I am the Kids and Family Category Lead at the Epinions.com product review site. From time to time you might see one of my reviews float through the RSS feed on my sidebar.

I recently was sent the Activity Bus from Plan Toys, who makes eco-friendly wooden toys. I love wooden toys and will choose a wooden, natural toy over a plastic toy anyday. Since it is back to school season right now, I found this bus particularly timely and would like to suggest it as an addition to your toybox should you have a young child who will be entering school and boarding the big yellow bus for the first time. When my son was entering preschool he had a plastic schoolbus toy from Fisher-Price's Little People line of toys. I used that school bus toy to help him make the transition from receiving all his home therapy services to then taking a schoolbus and entering preschool. Looking back, If I were to be making that transition with him now, this "green" wooden bus would win over one of the many plastic bus toys on the market today.

My friend's son who is on the autism spectrum is "obsessed" and in love with any type of schoolbus toy and her son will be receiving this toy from us when my kids "are done" playing with it. My 8 year old autistic son is well beyond the scope of this toy, but his 4 year old little sister loves it and may have a hard time parting with it. She desperately wants to take a schoolbus to school and gets upset when the bus comes and goes every day for her brother and not for her. It will be another year of pre-k for her before she gets her turn to take the trusty yellow bus. In the meantime she has been enjoying playing with this wooden schoolbus set.

The Acitivity Bus is suggested for kids 3 and up, due to the small pieces that it contains which could pose as a choking hazard. This is important to know should you have a child who likes to mouth items. Though the set is made of wood and is non-toxic, it does have many small pieces. The schoolbus opens up and doubles as a classroom - it includes little wooden desks, 2 people, a reversable chalkboard, and teeny tiny books. My daughter loves the Dr. Seuss Like people and they take turns who is the driver, the teacher, or the student. When not in use the pieces can all store inside of the bus and so far we have managed not to lose them.

The cost of this set is around $35, which is pricy for a preschool toy. Still, I feel if you are opting for quality wooden toys vs cheaper toxic plastic - this would be money well spent and a nice gift for the preschool age child in your life.

Plan Toys also makes dollhouses and a wooden city and a whole host of green toys. If you are looking to decrease the amount of "toxic" products around your children, look into replacing some of their plastic toys with wooden ones from Plan Toys.

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