The No. 1 Toy in Our House: 10 Ways My Kids Play With Magnetic Tiles

One of the most common messages I get on my Instagram account is, “What are the favourites/most-played with/must-have toys in your house?” So today I’m casting the spotlight on our ‘Most Played With Toy’ and sitting WAY at the top of this leader-board are our magnetic tiles.

Magnetic tiles are incredibly open-ended and can be played with in multiple and varied ways. They are wonderful open-ended toys that can be described as 90% child and 10% toy as they leave plenty of room for a child’s input. 

There are so many fun and creative ways for kids to dive into magnetic tiles, and I’m excited to share some of them with you today. In the rest of this post, I will share 10 different ways that my kids have used our magnetic tiles, both as babies (from 8 months old), toddlers and even now as preschoolers and beyond.

 

 

Table of contents:

10 Open-Ended Ways to Play and Learn with Magnetic Tiles

• Sorting by Colour and Shape
• Exploring Magnetic Properties
• Experimenting with Light and Colours Mixing 
• Posting (Baby Activity) 
• Vertical surfaces
• Construction Play
• Imaginative Play
• Loose Parts Play
• Exploring Design with Magnetic Tiles
• Book inspired Play (Storytelling)

Sorting by Colour and Shape

From simple colour sorting to epic colour and shape sorting as our magnetic tile collection grew, sorting has always been a favourite activity. My kids even love sorting the tiles into neat piles by colour and shape before we pack them away. In the picture above you can see her sorting all the tiles by colour and shape, creating a beautiful castle-like structure.

Not only does this little ‘ritual’ boost their independence and self-help skills, but it also helps them understand colours and shapes more. Plus it’s a fun, hands-on way to explore loads of math concepts including geometry, and patterns.

Exploring Magnetic Properties

This was exactly how my kids began playing with magnetic tiles from the time they could sit unassisted at around 8 months old! They would sit holding two pieces of square tiles, pulling them apart and pushing them back together over and over again. This is such a wonderful resource for heuristic play, which is the idea of allowing babies and young children to explore and discover the properties of objects through free play. 

As my children grew older, their exploration of magnetic properties evolved into more complex scientific discovery.  They began experimenting deeply such as checking how magnets attract and repel, learning about poles, and understanding the concept of magnetic fields.

They would use different objects to test what is magnetic and what is not, and explore why certain materials (like our refrigerator door) are attracted to magnets while others, like their blocks and other toys made of wood and/or plastic, are not. You can already imagine how these explorations give them an early foundation in physics which fuels their curiosity and critical thinking as they begin to grasp basic scientific principles.

Experimenting with Light and Colour-Mixing

Magnetic tiles on a lightbox, light table, or light panel is ALWAYS such a beautiful and calming experience. The translucent nature of the tiles on a light source allows the light to pass through so beautifully. Even without considering all the learning opportunities that come with it, it is an amazing play experience. 

Toddlers and preschoolers can learn how different colors mix to make new ones, and they can see how light shines through the tiles, creating shadows and patterns. 

Engaging in light play helps my children to understand basic ideas about light and coloru, while keeping their senses engaged and sparking their curiosity. It’s definitely a simple yet exciting way my girls learn while having fun.

Posting (Baby Activity)

Toddlers often go through a stage called “posting,” where they delight in placing objects in and out of containers, into bags, or through small openings. When my youngest child was younger, she would always place stuff inside a box-shaped structure I’ve built using 4 square tiles- which makes sense as this is totally normal for toddlers at this age (around 12-18 months). This is a part of a play schema called “enclosure” or “posting,” where they are figuring out how objects fit into spaces.

This simple posting activity offers so many learning opportunities such as developing hand-eye coordination, practice 1-to-1 correspondence, build focus and concentration, and strengthen their fine motor skills.

All my 4 kids all went through the posting stage, especially my youngest who became extremely interested in posting things at around 12 months. She would see a hole, opening, or slot anywhere and attempt to stuff things into it. 

Here’s some simple and engaging setup with magnetic tiles that will feed on their natural curiosity.

• Hand your little one a tissue box and let them post magnetic tiles into it for a fun and engaging activity.
• Try building a cube with magnetic tiles, leaving one side open to mix up the play by adding or removing different pieces.
• Toss in some pom-poms or buttons for a bit of variety.

Trust me, it’s all about sparking creativity while keeping it practical and fun to keep the excitement alive! 

Magnetic Tiles on Vertical Surfaces

Fun fact: This way of playing was born out of #momlife 😂 I needed to prep food in the kitchen, and both my kids were clingy and crying out for attention, so I quickly grabbed our basket of magnetic tiles, set it up next to the fridge, and stuck a few pieces on to show them how to play.

So if you find yourself in the same situation, you can also set up this invitation in the kitchen by simply sticking the tiles on the fridge. Trust me, it’s a fun and easy play invitation! 

If you’re curious to know how working on a vertical surface can benefit your children’s development, you can read my post about it here. 

Construction Play

Not to sound like a broken record, but magnetic tiles are really our household’s favourite construction material- a true winner against traditional wooden blocks! They are just so easy to build with and make creating structures limitless.

From building tall towers and structures to creating vehicles, farms, and houses with windows and gates, our magnetic tiles have been my girls’ go-to for imaginative play. If you’re curious about how to choose the right magnetic tile set for your family, you can check out this blog post on our magnetic tiles collection for tips and recommendations 🙂

Imaginative Play

 

As my children grow older and become more engaged in imaginative play, their construction play and storytelling perfectly go hand-in-hand. They build props, settings, and entire landscapes for the stories in their heads— and even create stories based on the structures they’ve built.

Having a front row seat to my children’s play-based learning journey, watching them play with magnetic tiles is like seeing a whole new world come to life. As you can see in the photos above, they were able to build beautiful castles, huge homes and even an animal shelter at a farm! 

And the best part? Because of its versatility, my girls can easily adjust their designs as their stories evolve, making each play session fresh, unique, and full of new possibilities.

Loose Parts Play

Here’s a plot twist: even with all the amazing ways a child can play magnetic tiles, they still aren’t  always the star of the show. On some days, my girls will happily play with other toys and then spot the magnetic tiles, using them as loose parts to enhance and extend her play. Yet even in this case, they naturally become part of the scene, adding another layer of creativity to whatever she’s already doing.

Like how Miss 2 built rainbow houses using magnetic tiles, added roads, and matched our DIY wooden peg dolls to their colorful homes. She even gave each house a flower crochet roof for a perfect finishing touch. Such a #proudmamamoment !

Exploring Geometry and Design with Magnetic Tiles

Putting my teacher hat on, seeing my girls explore symmetry, pattern-making, and creativity through magnetic tiles literally makes my heart burst with joy and pride. 

Just look at all the math here! Honestly, I am just mind blown. 

With magnetic tiles, the possibilities for creating shapes and patterns are literally endless. Apart from the given example, you can encourage your children to experiment more different ways to form triangles, squares, or more intricate shapes by connecting the tiles in various arrangements and combinations.

Book-Inspired Play/Storytelling

Finally, magnetic tiles are perfect for play-based learning when used as elements for book-inspired play and storytelling. In this photo, Miss 2 noticed we didn’t have any bed props to retell Goldilocks and the Three Bears. 

Without hesitation, she ran off and returned with a bunch of magnetic tiles, quickly creating her own beds for the story! This just proves how amazing how these tiles encourage creativity, allowing our children to build and adapt props as they immerse themselves in imaginative storytelling.

With these 10 points mentioned, I am so confident  to say that the possibilities with magnetic tiles are truly endless. Whether using them as loose parts or creating entire play scenes, they offer a perfect mix of construction and imaginative play. Plus, they’re really great for exploring math, science, engineering, and design concepts, all while building fine motor skills.

And the best part? Our children are developing essential life skills like problem-solving, perseverance, and resilience as they play. Hands down, one of the BEST toy purchases we’ve ever made!

 

If you’re curious about which magnetic tiles to add to your collection, be sure to check out our blog posts on How to Choose the Best Set of Magnetic Tiles and our detailed Magnetic Tiles Review: Magnatiles, Playmags, and Connetix to help you make the best choice for your child’s play!

 

PPS. You can learn more about the different ways my children use our magnetic tiles in this post. For even more inspiration, feel free to snag a copy of  “The Ultimate Guide to Learning and Playing with Magnetic Tiles” which is designed to help you unlock the full potential of magnetic tile play for children of all ages. Whether you have a curious baby, an energetic toddler, a creative preschooler, or an older child, this guide will provide you with valuable insights and play ideas to make the most of magnetic tile play 🙂