Cutting Fruit Crate product reviews

Being an early childhood teacher I come across so many toys, some which centres pay a small fortune (early childhood resources and toys aren't cheap) and I have to say wooden toys are by far superior quality compared to there plastic counterparts, they certainly last a lot longer and are less likely to fade, scratch or fall to pieces, sure they are more expensive but it is totally worth paying that little bit more if you weigh up the long term cost of replacing cheap items.

I love these velcro fruits, we have these at my daycare centre and I have just gone out and brought a very similar wooden set for my daughter as part of her Christmas present. The set comes complete in a cute wooden storage crate with a wooden knife to slice the fruit apart, the fruit consists of seven pieces a banana, kiwifruit, rock melon, orange, pear, strawberry and lemon. What I really like about these is the detail on each piece of fruit, the colours are very realistic, and it's very cool how they show what the fruit looks like on the inside when they are sliced open. These have been quite a valuable tool for teaching children about different fruits and also for trying to build on encouraging fussy eaters to try new fruit. It has also been a great aid in teaching my daughter awareness of fruits that she can not eat due to allergies and helping her to know what these look like.

Other than teaching the obvious (different names of fruits) these also provide so many other learning opportunities such as teaching children colours, counting and numbers, they are also a fantastic tool for developing skills such as hand-eye co-ordination, problem solving and fine motor skills. The velcro dots are just the right stickiness for the children to be able to pull them apart or cut through with the knife easily. They are easy to clean and we do so each week either by soaking in a bucket or water and disinfectant or with a bottle or steriliser which we rub over each piece, quick and easy to do and it doesn't seem to effect the colours or velcro of the pieces at all which is great.

Definitely a great to have for any Early Childhood centre family corner or for your own little person at home, can't wait for mine to open hers on Christmas day,

I have always bought plastic fruits and veges, plastic foods for the kids to "cook" with and every single time, they start losing shape or the kids leave them in the sun and they go weak and start splitting. When i found this awesome wooden set and velcro together, the kids can actually "cut" the pieces apart from each other, I couldn't say no, so I brought it.

My kids are loving these and i must admit i have gone out and brought more wooden foods etc too. They are so easy to store away and use. Because they are wooden they will last ages. We seem to always be having picnics on the floor in the lounge, where my kids will put out a blanket, set up plates and "cook" mummy lunch and dinner etc.

I have also found these are easy to clean with a baby wipe or spray and wipe. These are fully recommended by me and my kids, they will last for ages and will give hours and hours of fun and play.

As an early childhood teacher who works in a centre where we have nothing plastic I can definitely vouch for wooden toys ~ they definitely last a long time, often a little more expensive but the benefits are totally worth it! This cutting fruit crate is no exception, it comes with a great selection of fruit and some that not all children would be used to (such as the rock melon). This is a great introduction for children to fruit and a conversation starter. You also have all the added extra learning opportunities of colours, counting/numbers etc. Our young babies often have a good chew on these fruit pieces and they are still looking as good as new!

I love the size of these fruit pieces ~ they are perfect for small hands and the wooden knife is also the perfect size to offer children the perfect opportunity for learning skills (hand/eye co-ordination, and building muscle strength). The velcro dots are the perfect strength to allow the children to cut through the pieces of fruit with just enough of a challenge for them. One down point would be the velcro does eventually pick up all sorts of fluff and no doubt germs but nothing a bit of scrubbing cant fix (and im talking from use with 50 odd children over a couple of years so probably wouldnt be an issue in the home environment).

We have a couple of these packs within the centre so there are plenty of knives to go around, however its great that they encouraged to share and take turns with this activity too. At one stage all of our knives went "missing" however this toy was great in that you could just get a bread knife or plastic knife from the draw in the kitchen and it would still work 100% perfect!

Totally recommend this to others

You can never go wrong when it comes to purchasing wooden toys... they last and out last a lot of the plastic toys on the market these days. The selection of fruit that comes in this pack is great, I love the rockmelon as this helps to introduce young children to fruit they may not have been introduced yet and it makes them curious to want to try eating a real piece of rockmelon. (and when it comes to encouraging young children to try new food, especially fruit!! This activity is a win win for any parent)

The velcro dots are are perfect size and strength to add a challenge for the children to cut through to separate the pieces of fruit with the knife, and the sizes of the cut pieces fit into their little hands perfectly, the wooden knife has a chunky handle which offers the children full control as they hold it to cut the fruit.

It would be great if the pack came with 2 knives however in case there are two children wanting to play at the same time, I understand that one knife would promote sharing skills but having two knives and two happy children at the same time would save my sanity!! haha...simple fix is use a plastic knife for the second child to use.

I would totally recommend this cutting fruit activity to all parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, makes great presents and last for many years!!

Wooden Toys have to be some of the best I have come across and the cutting fruit sets definitely at the top of the list.
My daughter loves her cutting fruit and veges. At 4 years old the toys are the perfect shape and fit for her little hands, and are easy to play with. She is learning all about size, shape and hand eye coordination without even realising. To her she is having fun but we can see how much she is learning from it.
The bright colours, soft edges and durable wood makes them a toy that will last for ages, even if little teeth decide to give them a try.
Definitely worth investing in. We got our set from toyworld and they dont cost an arm and a leg like some of the more simple play food sets, and of course they are much better quality with a longer lasting life.
Definitely a hit in our home and highly recommended by us.

A pretty good introduction for kids on how to deal with fruit. I liked how much of the fruits structure was represented and the way in which the "knife" would "cut" through the velcro but my older nephew was full of questions about why all the fruit had white cores. I tried to explain that it was just the velcro and that the fruit didnt really all have white cores but he couldnt really accept it since the evidence was right in front of his eyes. Maybe if the velcro dots were coloured similar to the bits of fruit they were covering up it would be less confusing. I have to agree that the banana was awfully squared off and the colours werent the greatest. Instead of a rockmelon, using a watermelon might have been a bit more recognisable by younger kids, especially down here where we dont tend to eat much rockmelon. The rest was pretty good and a lid for the box would have been a great move. As it was I used some duct tape to make hinges and butchered the plastic packaging a bit to construct something that will do the job until I can get a better solution worked out. Be a total shame to have to hurl out the wooden crate just because it wont hold the bits in.

Great wooden toy, nice and sturdy, should last well. Sense of traditional values, longevity and durability with wooden toys.
I like the ability to fix broken bits or repaint if chips occur, unlike plastic toys.

My 17 mth old girl thought this was a fun toy, she can hold each item easily, a bit of trouble guiding the knife at this age but will not be long before she has the hang of it.
I like the choice of fruit. I thought the melon slice would be more attractive if it was watermelon with the red flesh and black seeds. The pear and kiwifruit skin colour could be more attractive too.
My daughter tries to eat them a bit so glad it is non-toxic paint.
Not so keen about it being made in China with the latest news about safety standards there.
It stimulates conversations about names of fruit, cutting carefully, halves, what things go together.
It is fun to make genetically engineered fruit by sticking different fruits together.
A rounder banana would be nice.
Packaging is initially attractive with the fruit displayed well. Once you discard the moulded plastic inner, the nice wooden tray is too big for the fruit and knife and there is no lid to keep it all together.
Overall I am sure she will enjoy this toy for at least another year, maybe more, and I know it will last to be passed on to more kids as she outgrows it.
I think it is a very successful toy. Great job.