Archived Giveaways, Giveaways, Reviews & Shopping, Toys

Educational Building Blocks that Talk: SMARCKS Smart Blocks Review

Posted on by Cindy
Building Blocks at an Angle
23
Feb

Building blocks are one of the best toys for kids because they teach so much during natural play. Building blocks teach kids how to understand dimensions and shapes, how to design and create, teaches basic motor skills such as eye hand coordination, and even social skills.  Let’s take building blocks to a whole new level with SMARCKS Smart Blocks. SMARCKS are Educational Building Blocks that will teach your kids colors, counting, spelling, shapes, nursery rhymes, music, math, and even good manners all while they are having fun playing with the blocks.

SMARCKS Smart Blocks Hands On Review

SMARCKS Smart Blocks come in several different learning sets. Start off with the 70 SMARCKS blocks kit.  This kit contains specially designed blocks that will activate the talking smart blocks. The smart blocks will recognize the color of the block, the different shapes on top of each block, and the number block. The starter blocks kit is packaged in a sturdy case to store the blocks after playtime. The 70 piece set comes with 1 talking blue block to give you a sneak peek at the  talking blocks.

Quick video on my kids having fun with the blocks

If you are like my family, you have already chosen a set of blocks that you are going to stick with and build upon. Don’t worry, Smart Blocks are pretty smart, they are designed to work with full size Mega Bloks and Lego Duplo blocks. My family has been playing with SMARCKS with our Mega Bloks. I love that they can expand our already growing block collection.

Talking BuildIng Blocks Package
Talking Building Blocks Kit

For this review, we were able to review the full 70 piece set, music blocks, color blocks, nursery rhyme blocks, math blocks, and the counting, shapes, & ABC blocks. Being that our family enjoys playing blocks together, we were thrilled to tear into this amazing collection. I enjoy watching their creativity and skills grow each time we play. Smart Blocks is a natural and fun way to teach kids a variety of  lessons and skills.

SMARCKS on the Floor
SMARCKS in Presentation Mode! (This is the Prize Giveaway Kit too!)

Talking Smart Blocks

SMARCKS talking blocks for kids as young as one year old. There are 9 different sets of talking blocks. With SMARCKS, every time your kids play, they have a new learning experience. There are more than 300 statements, puzzles, and sound effects with all 9 sets. When kids stack the smart blocks on different number blocks and shapes, the smart blocks respond in a variety of ways. There are 6 buttons inside of the smart blocks, when they get depressed in certain orders, they respond accordingly.  There are so many different ways to place and stack the blocks for new outcomes. It’s a great puzzle! Each smart block has a different voice too.  The smart blocks even have a ticklish spot, once you figure it out, the block will giggle and laugh! Kids LOVE this!

4 types of Talking Building Blocks
4 types of Talking Building Blocks

SMARCKS Smart Color Blocks

Color blocks are fun for even the youngest of kids, for ages 1 and up. There are 2 sets of Color Blocks: Red Yellow & Green and Purple, Pink & Orange. Each set of Color Blocks gives your kid 24 statements about colors and good manners with rhymes and sound effects. Your 1 year old will enjoy the sounds and rhymes and as they grow older they will learn and understand the rhymes, good manner phrases, and colors. Elizabeth especially likes the pink block that has a younger voice.

SMARCKS Smart Nursery Rhyme Blocks

The SMARCKS Smart Nursery Rhyme Blocks are for ages 2 and up.  There are several ways to play with the nursery rhyme blocks. Your 2 year old will enjoy just listening to the nursery rhymes when stacked on other blocks. As your child grows, he will enjoy the puzzle that each nursery rhyme block contains. The puzzle gives your child 1 verse at a time depending on what order the blocks are stacked. Each nursery rhyme block is different, so it is something you and your child and figure out together. Elijah is 6 years old, so he is having fun with me trying to figure out the order of the verses for each block. Elizabeth just loves hearing the Old MacDonald song, one of her favorites.

The Pink Nursery Rhyme Block recites:Pat-a-cake Pat-a-cake, This Old Man, and The ABC song. The Red Nursery Rhyme Block recites: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Hickory Dickory Dock. The Purple Nursery Rhyme Block recites: 7 different verses of Old MacDonald with real animal sounds.

SMARCKS ABC, Shape & Counting Blocks

SMARCKS ABC, Shape & Counting Rhyme Blocks is a unique spelling and reading system for ages 3 and up. Your child will get a head start on reading with these blocks. The blocks teach sounds of letters as well as words such as C is for Cat, and spells out C-A-T.  The blocks will add up the sum of the number of blocks it is stacked on, identify shapes on top of the block it is stacked on, and even teaches counting backwards. Elijah is in kindergarten and learning sounds and how to sound out words, these blocks reinforce what he is already learning in school. Elizabeth is only 4 and is already starting to copy the blocks, getting a head start on letter sounds and words they are associated with.

SMARCKS Music & Dancing Lights Blocks

The Music & Dancing Lights blocks are for kids ages 4 and up. My daughter loves music so the SMARCKS Music blocks are so perfect for her. She likes to listen to the music right up to her ear.  The blocks are at a good volume but she just likes it loud! When we first opened the blocks, my kids were putting each block up to their own ears and then to each others ears to share the excitement! They were so amazed!

picture of Listening to the talking blocks
Listening to the talking blocks

There are 15 exciting song verses. Kids can play the music by stacking on other blocks. To see the dancing lights, your child must solve the puzzle to put all 15 verses in order. Don’t worry, if you give up, the sequence is printed on the package for great clues! First, stack on single blocks, then doubles, then triples, and so on is the general rule.

SMARCKS Song Game
SMARCKS Song Game

SMARCKS Math Blocks

The Math Smart Blocks are for kids ages 5 and up. They teach kids first and foremost that math is fun! The math blocks build confidence early on for kids. The math blocks teach addition and subtraction. One math block uses the 5 little monkeys song too make math even more fun. We are just starting to play with the math blocks with Elijah, who just turned 6.

Our take on SMARCKS Smart Blocks

My family has enjoyed playing with SMARCKS over the past few weeks. It is a crazy time when we stack the smart blocks all together, we can have several talking at us at one time. Perhaps this isn’t what is intended, but my kids love it! With such a variety all at once, we are still learning what each block can do and keep getting surprised at new phrases, songs, and activities the blocks provide. I know we will be discovering and learning new things for a long time to come. We have also had fun just building with the blocks. They are playing with them alone and with our Mega Bloks. This is an excellent set of blocks to start any child out with, from age 1 and up. I recommend starting with a couple sets of talking blocks and going from there.

picture of We love our SMARCKS Talking Blocks
We love our SMARCKS Talking Blocks

Buy SMARCKS Smart Blocks

You can buy SMARCKS Smart Blocks on the SMARCKS Smart Blocks website.

This was not a paid post. My own opinions were used based on my perceptions and experience. Thank you to SMARCKS who provided the products for review & giveaway.

Comment Via Facebook
Cindy
Founder and Lead Blogger at Akron Ohio Moms
Cindy is the top Akron Blogger with her own take on awesome brands for families, where to vacation for families, a beat on local activities and family fun, a knack for getting moms to share , and a house that is always 2 weeks away from a complete remodel!
Sign up for our Ohio Specific Newsletter- Each Email Focused on Only our best Fabulous Local News and Ideas!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

228 thoughts on “Educational Building Blocks that Talk: SMARCKS Smart Blocks Review”

  19. Jennifer T. says:

    I’m a facebook fan of Akron Ohio Moms.com under username Jennie Tilson.
    jtmagmom73(at)gmail(dot)com

  28. tina reynolds says:

    I really like the Yellow Counting Block: Counts the sum of the blocks it is placed on
    Orange Shape Block: Identifies 8 different shapes
    Green ABC Block: Spells 26 words. I like that there is a color specific for adding, etc I think this set would be great for my kids eaglesforjack@gmail.com

  33. Jenni Ward says:

    It’s wonderful that you can add these blocks to sets that you already have. Also being able to purchase more blocks based on your childs likes is an additional plus!

  38. Stephanie Eagle says:

    I would loves these for my daughter…she loves learning shows & these blocks she can play & learn at the same time…I love the idea that they help Combine creativity and learning with colors,counting, spelling, shapes, nursery rhymes, music, math, and even good manners.I love toys that do all this & will help me teach her these important steps in learning & developing who she can be in life…Thanks

  44. Viva says:

    I learned that an engineer, a school district superintendent, a teacher, and a school counselor were the core design and development team members for the Smarcks.

  46. wcc says:

    I learned that Dr. Toy selected the Smarcks 70 Piece Building Set as one of her 2010 Best Picks. Thanks for the chance! 🙂

  50. Mandala says:

    Learned that Smarck has a sophisticated microchip that allows it to recognize and remember the blocks it is stacked on
    mandalarctic at gmail dot com

  85. Colleen S says:

    I learned that “Each of these toddlers blocks has a different voice and also has a secret ticklish spot. ” So cute and fun

  103. Pingback: 3/9/2011: New Sweepstakes & Giveaways | A Life In Space

  110. Stephanie Gregory says:

    Each Smarck has a secret ticklish spot. Each one has a different ticklish spot and if you find it they will laugh. Thank you for the chance!

  133. clynsg says:

    Learned that they were ‘tested’ by the developer’s young children, who learned colors, etc, just by seeing the blocks on the computer screen during development.

  140. Courtney S says:

    I learned that Smarcks can be assembled on other common kids blocks; however, they can only perform their educational functions when stacked on blocks from the 70 Piece Building Blocks Set.

  154. Cynthia Shern says:

    I learned that the inventor and CEO of Smart Blocks Inc. is a mechanical engineer that comes from a family of educators with three masters degrees and a phd in education and 50 years of experience in the field of education and child development. An engineer, a school district superintendent, a teacher, and a school counselor were the core design and development team members for the Smarcks. shern.cynthia@yahoo.com

  159. Alycia says:

    I learned that Smarcks can be assembled on other common kids blocks; however, they can only perform their educational functions when stacked on blocks from the 70 Piece Building Blocks Set
    What an amazing toy!

  169. Amy Rouse says:

    I think my grandson Eli would love the music and dancing lights set of Smarks!! I love the educational aspect of these blocks….

  178. Rita says:

    Dr. Toy selected them for 2010 Best Picks for new children’s toys. The talking blocks also received the Parents’ Choice Award in fall 2010 from the Parents’ Choice Foundation.

    I think my son would love this product especially the nursing rhyme set. What an amazing learning tool.

  187. connie black says:

    Wow, what great products. I also love the music and lights blocks and the math blocks. They look like a ton of entertainment.

  203. kathy dunaway says:

    I like the Music and Dancing Lights blocks. My son loves to dance and these would be lots of fun for him.
    Thanks for the giveaway:)

  213. Janice Crespo says:

    Each of the smarck blocks has a secret tickle spot, never touched by putting blocks together, but when touched with a finger, it will laugh – adorable!
    janicecrespo AT gmail dot com

  227. Katie S. says:

    looks like I’m lucky commenter number 1 and number 2… I’m a twitter follower of yours too… @kanderspina

  228. Katie S. says:

    I was thinking to myself the other day, “What is a toy of my son’s that doesn’t have, but totally needs, batteries?” Looks like someone beat me to blocks… hmmmm, maybe lincoln logs with electro-magnets next or perhaps a bouncy ball with radar tracking…

    🙂

    I learned that they won the 2010 Educational Toy Award from Dr. Toy as well as a Parent’s Choice Award. Two very prestegious awards for new concepts in childrens toys. Good for them!

Leave a Reply

Share via