Tegu: Pros and Cons + How to for the Montessori Homeschool

With my girls off to theatre camp for two weeks, I am checking back in to review Tegu from Timberdoodle. Do you know about Timberdoodle? We’ve been fans of their complete curriculum packages for a couple years now. They have really interesting hands-on materials for the younger set plus great creative work for the older ones; many of the products they carry have made it to our Montessori-inspired shelves.

Tegu is one of those — one of the pricier offerings — I’ve eyeballed for a while. I love the idea of a premium quality product. I don’t love the price tag. I love the idea that it’s sustainably sourced. I don’t love the price tag. I love the idea of high quality magnets that bring staying power to construction play. I don’t… you get it.

So all that said, I’ve seen nothing comparable, and sometimes you do have to pay a little more for the integrity of a product.

Anywho, I jumped at the opportunity to review these bad boys for free: Tegu Oceans Deluxe. Would they live up to the hype? Would my kids love ’em or leave ’em? Inquiring minds (er mind. Mine.) had to know.

First of all, I introduced Tegu to my kids while on the road.  My oldest had a consult in Tampa for airway surgery (which went poorly, but that’s a topic for another blog). I have to say, Tegu is wonderfully portable!

Please try to remember not to stick the gallon ziplock bag of Tegu blocks in the same tote as your new Macbook Pro. Bad idea. For there are magnets. We tried that very thing on our road trip, but luckily no tech was harmed in the process before my braincells kicked in. Whew.

Because the blocks are hollow, yet surprisingly seamless (how?), they are super lightweight, and it’s not hard whatsoever to lug them around. If you need a versatile wait-room toy or something to bring to Nana’s and Pop Pops on date night, look to Tegu.

My youngest enjoys pairing them with Magnatiles.

 

In the educational realm, specifically speaking of Montessori homeschooling, I really love that Timberdoodle includes an ebook to coincide with the Tegu Oceans kit. That’s one of the special extras Timberdoodle brings to the table. Would I recommend purchasing Tegu through the Timberdoodle site just to get this ebook? Yes. Yes I would.

Not only are there picture cards to build from, but there’re also 36 weeks of open-ended prompts.

Here’s how I have the set included in our Montessori-inspired shelf work.

I’m still buffing out our classroom’s layout, especially the sensorial area. (We start school officially in two weeks, right in time for the August solar eclipse. Psst I have some educational activities for that to share soon!)

To recap, what do I really think about Tegu? Here’s my list of pros and cons for you who may be considering adding this product to your home.

Pros:

• high quality
• durable
• sustainably sourced / eco-friendly
• beautiful
• light-weight and portable
• open-ended
• fun
• sensorial
• fosters problem solving (whether following the ebook, or attempting to match up correct poles of magnets)

Cons:

• pricey
• likely need more than one set for optimal creative endeavors
• can be frustrating (my kids wanted the blocks to stick as they transported them — namely when they made bunnies vehicles on wheels, yet they tend to fall apart because that’s just the nature of magnets unfortunately), and sometimes the pieces couldn’t match up where my children wanted them.

 

My bottom line: I definitely recommend Tegu Oceans from Timberdoodle. I don’t see it as essential, but if you can swing it, it’s a fun addition to have and will add some variation to your school day / play time. If you go for it, be sure to pick it up from Timberdoodle, so you can score the added ebook.