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SuzanneG
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| Posted: July 30 2007 at 10:12am | IP Logged
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AndreaG wrote:
I'm just wondering if anyone bought the puzzle maps from Kid Advance? They are cheaper than Alison's, but I don't want to buy junk either.
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Andrea - we purchased the Kid Advance cabinet and maps. Here is what I wrote on the "Boxes are arriving" thread:
SuzanneG wrote:
The geography cabinet from Kid Advancehas a couple dings/scratches in it (I'll ask about this) and I'm not crazy about how the puzzles sound when you push them all the way in. The backboard is very thin and it makes a hollow kind of slam that makes me think I'm pushing it in too far and it's going to fall off. The rest of the cabinet is 1/2" wood. I wonder why this piece so thin?
The cabinet actually holds 9 puzzles, not 8 as they advertised. The puzzles themselves are great. They DO HAVE plastic knobs, not wooden, like Alison's. But, my knobs on the leaf cabinet from Alison's are plastic too. Two of the puzzles from Kid Advance are on backorder, so I have only six of them.
This set DOES NOT come with the control maps, which I'll probably end up buying eventually. My shipping was significantly less on this cabinet/puzzles compared to Alsion's because Kid Advance is on the west coast. Like Theresa mentioned somewhere, the cabinet is lower, so it's not high enough for bigger kids to stand at to work.
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Kid Advance, dh and I all decided that the dings in the cabinet were no big deal and we could live with it. dh just sanded a tad bit and it's fine.
I'd rather have the wooden knobs.....but there is a cost to that. Plastic is fine.
And, then what I wrote above was about the Kid Advance puzzle maps:
SuzanneG wrote:
I did notice just yesterday that the corner of one of the puzzle maps is "crushed". (we did this, as I'm almost sure it wasn't like this upon recieving) Hmmmm.... And, the puzzle maps are bending a bit in the middle. (IOW, when laid flat, they aren't actually flat, they curve up on the outside). DH thinks this is normal as b/c they are wood, they are heavy. they also were tight when we first put them in theh slots, now that they have bowed a bit, they fit perfectly. But, wondering how this affects the wood and puzzle in the long term. I guess only time will tell.
I do think the Alison's cabinet and puzzles are a step up. |
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But, at the time Kid Advance set was $289. Alison's $400 - $40 = $360. And, the shipping would've cost me almost $60 more with Alison's. So, that was $130 difference.
If I had to do it again, I would tend to go with Alison's. If DH had to do it again, he'd say, no....even if they are lesser quality, he's very happy with just having them. $130 isn't worth it to him and he'd rather buy a few other things with that $$$. (Which I did, of course....   )
Note: DH is a geography / outdoor NUT, and is VERY FRUGAL! The fact that he is happy with this purchase, and thinks of them as a "good investment", and doesn't mind spending money on them is nothing short of miraculous!
So, there's our .02!
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Suzanne in ID
Wife to Pete
Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
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Lorraine
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| Posted: July 30 2007 at 2:44pm | IP Logged
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Hi Jordan,
I'm sorry to hear that you've had poor experiences with Montessori Equipment. I also made a huge purchase from them a two months ago and my materials are probably of the same quality as yours. You can see my descriptions in this thread. I guess I didn't have very high expectations - I knew before hand that all the materials are made in China. In general, I thought their materials would probably be fine for home use, but would not survive in a real classroom. As I mentioned in the other thread, this is the only place that I found to offer free shipping to Canada. Shipping from any other stores (Alison, Montessori Outlet...) would have cost me a fortune, so in a way I didn't have much choice.
Anyways, I just want to say I sympathize with you and I hope you can use most of the stuff you got in some ways.
Lorraine
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Eleanor
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| Posted: July 30 2007 at 6:31pm | IP Logged
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Celeste wrote:
| Speaking of imperfect pink towers: If it's any consolation, the pink tower at my children's school had definitely seen better days before they replaced it a couple of years ago (rounded corners and edges, wood showing through in many spots). And even the new one is showing signs of wear. |
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Our pink tower is from Nienhuis, and it's picked up a few dents and chips just through normal use (e.g., the blocks hitting one another when the tower falls over). I've also noticed that the red rods have been noticeably chipped in every school we've visited.
I don't know why the suppliers can't make their basic sensorial items more durable.  We also have a bunch of painted wooden toys (from HABA, Selecta, Brio, and some mom-and-pop American companies) that have withstood much heavier use, and still look practically new. And I don't buy the argument that the chipped paint "teaches the children to be careful." We weren't being careless with our materials, but they got chipped anyway. Not to mention that the pink tower is supposed to fall down frequently... that's part of the control of error.
BTW, here's a passage from The Montessori Method (one of MM's earlier books) :
"The exercise consists in throwing the blocks, which are pink in colour, down upon a green carpet, and then building them up into a little tower, placing the largest cube as the base, and then placing the others in order of size until the little cube of one centimetre is placed at the top.
The little one must each time select, from the blocks scattered upon the green carpet, "the largest" block. This game is most entertaining to the little ones of two years and a half, who, as soon as they have constructed the little tower, tumble it down with little blows of the hand, admiring the pink cubes as they lie scattered upon the green carpet. Then, they begin again the construction, building and destroying a definite number of times."
And in the next chapter:
"The construction of the tower with the pink cubes is very attractive to little ones of less than three years, who knock it down and build it up time after time."
<gasp> Positively scandalous! I wonder if this is a mistranslation... or if she changed her views after her tower started getting dinged up?
Anyway, it seems to me that the most sensible response to this sort of damage would be to buy (or mix) some touch-up paint... and then just relax about those inevitable "bumps and bruises" that come along in the everyday course of events. I'll bet that's what MM did. 
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montessori_lori
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| Posted: July 30 2007 at 7:06pm | IP Logged
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You're right, Eleanor, every school I've ever been at has a dented and chipped pink tower. I've always seen it as kind of a badge of honor, like proof that the pink tower is irresistible to kids.
I'm not sure whether any pink tower could withstand the kind of use you quoted! Now that they're fairly inexpensive, it would be easy to buy one every few years.
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: July 30 2007 at 7:35pm | IP Logged
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Thanks, Eleanor! Glad to know my kids are not some kind of ill-mannered brutes always wanting to knock down what they build!
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
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Meredith
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| Posted: July 30 2007 at 7:54pm | IP Logged
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Eleanor wrote:
| <gasp> Positively scandalous! I wonder if this is a mistranslation... or if she changed her views after her tower started getting dinged up? |
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I like the paint idea  ETA: removed links, sorry about this if it came in your email, some inappropriate language on one 
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Meredith
Mom of 4 Sweeties
Sweetness and Light
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Kristee
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| Posted: July 31 2007 at 3:16am | IP Logged
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I appreciate all of your comments. It is so neat to learn from all of you. I have also been trying to determine quality and what my expectations should be from different companies. I still have not placed any orders. I've been deciding first what things I will make. Right now I am making dressing frames. Whew! The cost is still higher than I would like.
I live about 5 minutes from the Nienhuis distribution in Mountain View,Ca., and I have been there twice to get a feel of their materials. Speaking of boxes,
I was asking a representative if they sold any of their boxes separately, and she gave me a long list of all the replacement parts, with $$prices, that can be ordered separately. I'm assuming that I could order a replacement part without having bought the origional product. I am still trying to go through and match the product numbers and descriptions on the list with pictures in the catalogue. There are some specific boxes on the list, but not all. (List is like this, ie.empty box for items: 0130.00 $47.40, 0131.00 $42.70, 0132.00 $46.80) Still seems pricey. I'm actually not spending alot of time on this right now, but maybe other companies would have similar lists where defective parts from other companies might be replaced, especially if the origional companies cant replace the items. There might be some possibilities there as well, although it might not be worth the time, I don't know?
Kristee
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Eleanor
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| Posted: July 31 2007 at 4:39am | IP Logged
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Hi, Kristee -- we live a short drive from their showroom, too. I guess that makes you a neighbor, as well as a fellow insomniac!
Just wanted to mention that we have one Nienhuis box... the one to hold the paper for the metal insets... and it's made in Thailand. It's still excellent quality, but I was disappointed to find that they're also on the outsourcing bandwagon. (I'm pretty sure that all of their actual materials are still made in Europe.)
Most of our boxes are bamboo drawer organizers from Costco. They're made in China, of course... but after finding out that even the Nienhuis boxes are Asian imports, I pretty much gave up my idealism with regard to this particular item. The bamboo boxes look great, are quite sturdy, and (if I remember correctly) they were less than $20 for a set of 6 assorted sizes. The Container Store, and other stores, have similar ones; theirs are about twice as expensive, but might be more practical, as you get to choose the sizes you want (and don't get stuck with extra cutlery trays!). Of course, they wouldn't necessarily be available in the right size for the materials in question, but it might be worth investigating.
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ambermelody
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| Posted: July 31 2007 at 6:19am | IP Logged
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Has anyone purchased from Adena's?
They are the only ones I've found with decent priced shipping to Australia (free with orders over $350) but I do think that their stuff is made in China - I requested a catalogue which arrived yesterday in a postpack from China.
Actually, 2 different catalogues were enclosed - both for Adena Montessori - but obviously 2 different ranges of the same products (maybe lower & higher quality options?) but with no explainations
So, I'd love to know if anyone has dealt with them or has any other suggestions for me
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Amber
Mama to 2 beautiful boys (1 & 3)
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Land O' Cotton
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| Posted: July 31 2007 at 6:36am | IP Logged
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Aaaack! I was in Mountain View, CA earlier this summer visiting family and had no idea that there was a Nienhuis showroom there!! I can't believe it! Well, I'll know for next time. I also think that I wasn't far from Michael Olaf's store/showroom by the time I was in Oregon. Next time I travel I'm going to scout out these places and put them on my itinerary!
About the bamboo boxes--I saw the draw organizers at T.J.Maxx and also Marshall's this past weekend. I think they were ~$4 to $6 or so with several different sizes and styles. Hmmm, of course I didn't get those either... I knew I could use them, but couldn't remember why! I'll look at Costco the next time I'm there for the boxes.
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Vicki
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SeaStar
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| Posted: July 31 2007 at 6:48am | IP Logged
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I ordered from Adena: this post Overall, I have been pretty happy with the quality. The brown stairs have already been dinged from being dropped by my two year old... but so it goes.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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Jordan
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| Posted: July 31 2007 at 2:12pm | IP Logged
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What do you guys think about the difference in products from Alison's? They offer three different options for some of their products. The pink tower, for example, has one for $97 made of Russian birchwood, one made in Thailand for $60 made of rubberwood, and another made in China for $24. Does anyone know what the difference is between the $60 one and the one for $97? It seems a big difference in price from one level to the next.
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Jordan
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Meredith
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| Posted: July 31 2007 at 2:42pm | IP Logged
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Jordan I would call him!! He is VERY helpful and straight forward, he'll tell you exactly what you need to know.  I have the $24 one and it's going to dent and chip, but I DO have three boys, so it'll be just fine for us
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Meredith
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Jordan
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| Posted: July 31 2007 at 3:38pm | IP Logged
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In case anyone besides me is interested, I did call Alison's. It was an international call for me but I'm glad I called because the guy was really helpful. He told me that the products from Thailand are made of a higher quality wood that won't chip and dent as easily and that they're more durable. When I asked him to compare the products from Thailand to the premium products they offer, he said that the quality of the wood is better and the craftsmanship is better. He used the word flawless.
He said that they prefer the products made in Thailand over the ones from China and are trying to move that direction.
I hope I've repeated this correctly. As Meredith mentioned, the guy was helpful and straight forward.
Personally, I think it's really nice that Alison's offers products of different quality levels for people to choose from. I have ordered a small number of products from them before and have been happy with the quality.
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Jordan
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Meredith
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| Posted: July 31 2007 at 3:49pm | IP Logged
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Jordan, I'm SO glad you talked to him, way to go!!!
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Meredith
Mom of 4 Sweeties
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ambermelody
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| Posted: July 31 2007 at 6:43pm | IP Logged
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Thanks, this is a big help!
Amber
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Amber
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AndreaG
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| Posted: Aug 01 2007 at 2:15pm | IP Logged
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Suzanne,
Thanks for the feedback on Kid Advance, I will probably go ahead and order from them, just one or 2 maps at a time. I really wish I could get the Alison's set though, especially after seeing Meredith's pictures of her geography center.
Jordan,
Thanks for the info about the price ranges at Alison's- good to know!
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Andrea
GrayFamilyCircus
Read Through the Catechism in a Year- For Moms!
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marianne
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| Posted: Aug 01 2007 at 5:02pm | IP Logged
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I am just getting some of my first orders. I got the maps and map stand from Allison's, and not to be picky or anything, but there was bird poop all over one side of my map stand!  The maps are beautiful, and it cleaned up fine, but golly, this is a new one, bird poop!
There was also no instruction sheet included with the map stand, which made it tricky to assemble, but I figured it out, without even waiting for dh to get home!
I'll let you know more as more of my stuff arrives!
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: Aug 01 2007 at 5:23pm | IP Logged
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marianne wrote:
| and not to be picky or anything, but there was bird poop all over one side of my map stand! |
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WHHHHAAAAT????   You've got to be kidding!!!! I'd be curious as to what they say about THAT!  
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Suzanne in ID
Wife to Pete
Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: Aug 01 2007 at 5:30pm | IP Logged
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AndreaG wrote:
| Thanks for the feedback on Kid Advance, I will probably go ahead and order from them, just one or 2 maps at a time. |
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Andrea - If you are ordering 1 or 2 at a time, take a look at clearance puzzle maps at Alison's. (In case you haven't already). They are the compound cardboard (similar to wood, but NOT wood) with plastic knobs (I think). Anyway, they are a good deal....although not the quality that they are selling now, but still a good puzzle at a great price.
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Suzanne in ID
Wife to Pete
Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
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4Real Forums : Nurturing the Years of Wonder
Topic: Are you happy with what you've bought?
