The My Little Farm Activity Kit from SmartFelt Toys is “multi-sensory, multi-purpose, interactive, reversible 3D playhouse” for ages three and up. It brags that it was invented by a speech pathologist and encourages spatial, temporal, quantitative, and descriptive play. The barn can be folded two ways, to play on the walls and loft of the barn or on the outside, traditional red barn exterior, or laid flat. 32 felt pieces offer tools, animals, people of several ethnicities, a short story to act out, and all the fun you can think of to encourage play for hours. The My Little Farm Activity Kit retails for $39.99.

When our kit arrived, I set it out and my kids set to work. All my elementary and younger kids jumped in to set up the barn, arranging and rearranging to build the perfect barnyard. My youngest is three, and he has requested repeatedly that the barn be only his, because he does not want to share with his older siblings who keep jumping in to “help”! The only help he wants is to set up the barn to stand – he cannot quite get the Velcro to work the way he wants it to. My five-year-old can manage that fine, however. I have added it to the toys in our main living area and it has been pulled out repeatedly to be set up and torn down. They have giggled over pigs on the roof and pitchforks used by roosters and searched feverishly for the goats to complete their scenario. My three-year-old and I have discussed animals and their sounds and made the barn setup match our own barn with the animals we have. We have talked about wool coming from sheep and what pigs like to eat.

The box did not last us very long. It is the only thing that shows any wear after several months of play. It is sturdy, with a carrying handle and folding flaps and made for continued use, but my son was less than gentle with it and did not quite understand how to open and close it. He tore it instead. I found a plastic storage container that perfectly fit all the pieces and cut the box to fit the bottom to keep the photos and short story that came with the kit. I have every expectation that the barn and felt pieces will last for years to come.

We love the My Little Farm Activity Kit! I have been thoroughly impressed with how well the barn has handled the use and abuse of a toddler's hands. My five and seven-year-olds love to play with it as much as the three-year-old, and it has provided hours and hours of fun already. I love toys that require imagination and not batteries, and SmartFelt Toys has totally met this and exceeded every expectation for durability and creativity. They also have a My Little House that I am thinking would be a super fun addition to our barn kit.

-Product review by Adrienne Falkena, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, September 2019