It’s no secret that we’re open-ended toy fans around here, and Flockmen certainly fit in the open-ended toy category! If you’ve not come across them before, Flockmen are little wooden people – but describing them like that doesn’t do them justice!!! They’re absolutely fab, and being open-ended, can be used in multiple ways.
Flockmen’s main draw, is that they’re cleverly designed to be stackable! The feet of one person fit into the shoulder and neck area of another, and almost interlock, meaning you can create the most incredible acrobatic stacks and towers with them! The fact that they’re a building toy while being people is so much fun – and so unusual! The stacking aspect is probably our kids’ favourite thing about them, and they spend hours balancing them and creating the most complex stacks they can! (And for parents who like to play too, it’s quite meditative balancing them and inventing patterns!)
At the same time, they’re a little person, and fit in to small world play seamlessly. With a nod towards Waldorf style play, they’re faceless, so can be anything – or any mood! – your child wants. They have an adorable, simple, stick-man like quality, though they’re still quite chunky for little hands to grab. Made of untreated, solid wood, they’re very sturdy and durable – ours have already taken a number of clatters from tumbling stacks, and there’s not a mark on them! Plus, you get to see the lovely wood grain, and when you first open the box, that lovely cut-wood smell!
With the family set, you have 10 different sizes of Flockmen – from the biggest at just under 12cms, right down to the smallest at 4.5cms. (That’s just over 4 ½ ins to 1 ¾ ins for you imperial system people out there!) And you get 3 of each size too! The beauty of this, is that you can produce any family with them – your child isn’t limited to the traditional “2 adults with 2 small children” family, (like so many dollshouse sets out there), and can create their own family with mid-sized teens or grandparents, tiny toddlers, or even differently sized parents! Brilliant for the diverse, modern family of today! They score highly on the eco-friendly front too. Not only are they solid wood, they come in a neat cardboard box, with compostable, non-plastic mail packaging – brilliant for those trying to cut down on plastic usage. And as a bonus, you get a small fabric, drawstring sack for toy-shelf storage!
Flockmen are one of those toys that grows with your child. The family set means they’re perfect for things like size sorting and creating patterns with younger children, whereas older children are learning about symmetry, balance and gravity through playing with them! The sheer variety in ways to play with them means they’ve been a real bonus to our playspace, and they get used A LOT! We really love them, and I’m positive they’ll get used for a very long time to come! We can’t recommend them enough! They’re just brilliant!!!
Flockmen can be found with free shipping to most of the world here, and their Instagram account, with lots of stacking and play inspiration, can be found here.
We were gifted our Flockmen Family Set for the purpose of review. Thank you so much Flockmen!!!
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