A terrific older toddlers and preschoool toy! Most bowling sets are hard for kids to set up. The pins fall over too easily. Or you can buy the fabric bowling sets--and most of them are too hard to knock over.  This set, on the other hand, gets it just right. Each of the pins has a wide base--just right for preschoolers to handle on their own. And as an added bonus, you can stack the pins to make towers to knock down. How cool is that?! Comes with a red plastic ball.  The pins each have a decal face to put on...our personal favorite, the one that looks like Mr. Bill from Saturday Night Live. Older twos will need help setting them up, but anyone who plays with toddlers, knows how toddlers like to knock things down. Marked 3 & up. The company has signed a verification form complying with our safety requirements.  We did not independently test this toy in a lab.

SNAP: Use these lightweight but much easier pins to involve kids in active play. Use them for counting fun to reinforce beginning counting skills. How many were knocked down? How many are still standing? For kids who are learning to write keeping a score card is motivation for pencil and papers skill. For kids who cannot write, keep score with raisins or crackers for each point. In the end count them together...making piles of 5 and enjoy for a snack.

Age: Preschool. Award Year: 2011.