When I was contacted by Timberdoodle to review some of their products, I was intrigued by the Purpllinker! I am a big fan of open-ended toys and I was certain the Purpllinker fit the bill!
So, what exactly is a Purpllinker? It is a purple, plastic, hinged, manipulative toy! It has seven arms that hold its shape so that you can make tons of shapes and designs, including the ENTIRE alphabet and the numbers 0 through 9!
I just love the quote on the product packaging:
“Operated by brain power! Powered by imagination! No batteries required, no assembly needed, no parts to lose or switches to turn off.” Now that is my kind of toy! No batteries! No missing pieces! No parts to assemble! Just pure creative fun all while developing hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills! “Watch as the fun unfolds!”
The kids have had fun playing with their new learning tool! The packaging contains instructions and diagrams for making various shapes, including the alphabet and numbers. I often find the kids lounging on the bean bag chairs with their Purpllinker in hand!
Here are some of the shapes we made by following the instructions on the packaging:
I was concerned that the packaging might end up in trash…which would mean the diagrams of how to make the various shapes, letters, and numbers would be gone as well. But, I was pleased to discover that I could download a free Purpllinker instruction sheet with all the same diagrams plus a few extra! I have already printed a copy and slid the two pages (back to back) into a page protector!
After following the instructions for awhile, we had fun making our own creations! This is my sons purple ant-eater:
Here are some of our other creations (not found on the instructions): space ship, tree, arrow, fish, bow tie
We even decided to use the arrow during our geography lessons! Here my daughter was pointing to various countries on the map as I called them out for her!
We even came up with a little game using our Purpllinker! I pulled out our homemade geoboards and our Education Cubes with the capital letter insert cards. We rolled the cube and then raced to see who could build the letter first…the one using the geobard…or the one using the Purpllinker!
Thanks Timberdoodle for introducing us to another great open-ended learning toy that definitely stimulates the imagination!
Be sure to head over and check out the Purpllinker! It is even part of the Timberdoodle Preschool Curriculum Kit! While you are at it, be sure to sign up for their free homeschool catalog. As a homeschool mom, just browsing through it makes me giddy! 😉
As a member of Timberdoodle’s Blogger Review Team I received a free Purpllinker in exchange for a frank and unbiased review.
Valerie McClintick
Love that it does the alphabet!! You got me wishing I had one!!
🙂 Valerie