Wish List Wednesday: SmartMax House with Car

**This week's Wish List Wednesday is sponsored by SmartMax. I received a sample for review purposes at no cost to myself, but as always, all opinions are my own and I only review products my family uses and loves.**

Growing up, I was a little science nerd. I wanted to know how everything worked and often did "experiments" to test out whatever rhyme or reason I was curious about. Already at 4, I see the same qualities in Charlie, Mr. Curious Tinker. When I was introduced to SmartMax, I figured it would be a fun building toy for him to try out, but it turned out to be so much more than that!

SmartMax Magnetic Discovery sets are a series of plastic and metal bars, shapes, and balls with high quality magnets in them. They stick together to create not only fun shapes, letters, vehicles, and contraptions, but they are a creative way to teach kids about magnetism and structure.

For this review, we received the SmartMax House with Car set. This set, which includes a total of 22 pieces, builds a house and a small (adorable) car. Now, Charlie has obviously encountered magnets before, but not a magnetic building toy. It definitely surprised him when he dumped out the box and all of the pieces flew together into a pile!

Together, we built the house and the car, then a few letters, a microphone, several shapes, a castle; he was getting the hang of what connected to what. But why? He was intrigued. He's not a kid to "ask" why, but I know he's thinking it, so we did some experiments. Does this bar connect to this one? What about here? Why don't the balls connect to each other? Though he doesn't understand the science behind magnetism, in simple enough terms, he understood that magnets stick to each other and to metal, but that metal doesn't stick to metal and nothing sticks to plastic.

During our "experiments," Charlie and I discovered that some of the bars connect to each other and some push away (magnetism and repulsion), but all of them connect to the metal balls. We also learned that the longer bar can pick up much more weight than the medium size bars. Charlie had a blast running around the house playing "what else is magnetic?" He found out that our car keys, pots and pans, the fridge and dishwasher, door knob, the laundry rack, and the dog's license tag were all magnetic. Thank goodness we have a patient dog.

Yes, Charlie, the pots are metal. Can I made dinner now? 

Though we've categorized almost everything in the house as metal and non-metal, he's still thoroughly enjoying experimenting and building with this SmartMax set. I am hoping to buy him more pieces for Christmas to add to his collection! I've been eyeing up the Mega Ball Run. Seriously, tell me that doesn't look awesome.

No need to worry about Ginny getting a hold of tiny pieces.

Things we love about SmartMax Magnetic Discovery...

• Large, chunky pieces that are safe for toddlers and great for little hands. 
• Encourages an understanding of magnetism and repulsion. 
• Teaches concepts of architectural structure as kids try different methods of building towers, bridges, and more. 
• Bright, gender neutral colors. 
• All sets work together. 
• No tiny pieces, nothing comes apart. Read more about their safety here!
• Project ideas span from young toddlers to school age children. 

Courtesy of the SmartMax website.

With over 40 different building sets available, SmartMax has more than the House with Car set. Check out all SmartMax has to offer on their website and social media outlets. I've already seen some deals for SmartMax around the internet, so keep your eye out! I think this is going to be a big one this holiday season!

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