AD – these Kid K’Nex sets were sent to us for the purposes of this review.

Introduction to K’Nex

In just a few short weeks, Pickle will be starting school (insert cliché quote here about how fast time has gone, how can my baby be old enough etc. etc.). When we visited the school back in January, just before the deadline for school applications, I asked the Headteacher what we could do to prepare him for Reception. His answer? Let him play with building toys. Don’t worry about following instructions, but just let him be creative, use his imagination, encourage dexterity and hone fine motor skills. This kind of play helps build up the little muscles in his fingers which will make holding a pencil easier.

Thankfully, Pickle has always loved this kind of play. We bought him some Kid K’nex sets for his birthday a couple of months ago, and so we were delighted to bolster up our supplies with two new sets: the Safari Mates set (RRP £12.99) and the Budding Builders set (RRP £34.99).

Pickle looking at two boxes of Kid K'Nex sets on a reflective table

Kid K’Nex Budding Builders

The Budding Builders set has 100 pieces and offers suggestions for 50 models to make! It’s a great base set to start with as it offers lots of variety and really lets little ones see what’s possible to build. Pickle loves the little blue connector pieces the best, and is always bagsying those when we play together – he uses them to make fingers, toes or just pretty decoration. I really love the big eyes that help bring any creation to life! The big green box is a great for storage too, making it easy to keep all the construction pieces together.

Close up of the Kids K'nex Budding Builders box

Kid K’Nex Safari Mates

This 21 piece set includes lots of unique pieces that really help bring animal creations to life. The lovely lion face really is the star of the show with this set! His soft foam lion mane makes for a nice textural change too and really stands out against the rest of the plastic. The bendy tail is a great piece too, breathing a bit of life into lions, worms, cats…

At four years old, Pickle doesn’t need much help to play with this set independently, and will happily construct whatever he wants (on this particular occasion, he was obsessed with building his own tables, trying to figure out how to make them more stable and be able to stand without assistance). I love watching him pick out the exact pieces he wants, slotting them into place, testing them out and amending as needed. We like to spread all the pieces across the floor. He’ll point out what he wants me to build from the ideas in the inspirational leaflets and I’ll get to work on that, whilst he lets his imagination take over.

Pickle sat cross-legged on the floor, constructing a hot air balloon with Kid K'Nex

The box says the kit is for 3 – 5 year old children, but I beg to differ. I’ve had just as much fun building creations as Pickle, and even Nanny Pol has been in on the action as well! She loved putting the lion pieces together from the Safari Set. It’s a toy that all the family can enjoy together and it’s made to last: I know we’ll get plenty of play out of these sets over the years to come, making it really good value for money. The sets offer a lovely introduction into the world of K’Nex building fun, and I’m already looking forward to when Pickle can advance onto the older K’Nex sets. I’ve long thought we have a future Engineer on our hands, and the K’Nex kits are great for some STEM fun keeping everyone happy.

Pickle adding parts on to the lion in the Safari Mates Kids K'Nex set

Where to Purchase K’Nex Sets

The Safari Mates set is available to purchase from Argos and the Budding Builders set is available from Smyths Toys, with both retailers also stocking some of the other sets in the Kid K’Nex range. I’ve got my eyes on the Rocking Robots set next! Do your little ones have any K’Nex sets? Which would you recommend? Feel free to send me any of your wonderful creations over on Instagram, I’d love to see!

Happy Pickle playing in front of the Kid K'Nex boxes