Are you reaching that point where getting the kids back to school sounds more tempting than you care to admit? You’ve gone through your list of fun things to do and it’s starting to look a little threadbare.

‘Oh not that again Mum?’ ‘I’m bored’ ‘What can we do?’ – Striking any chords?

Well if you haven’t discovered Geomag yet, this could be the answer to your prayers. In fact these toys are such fun for all ages that I’m sorely tempted not to share.

Like most of the best toys, they’re simple but clever. Magnetic brightly-coloured plastic rods and metal balls, with variously-shaped bases – that’s it.

But what fun – the magnets are powerful, making it really easy to construct all sorts of stable buildings -from houses and towers to pyramids – even a dodecahedron (yes I had to look that one up too).

You can also use them on a flat surface to make stick men, flower shapes and stars – the only limit is your imagination. This means that kids from 3yrs upwards can enjoy them at different levels – and this includes big kids too, did I mention that I just can’t stop playing with them?

But there’s more – they’re also great for helping school age kids with STEM (science, technology, engineering, and maths). You can build all sorts of geometric shapes in either 2 or 3 dimensions and these toys help kids understand magnetic polarity – if you try to attach two positive ends together you’ll see what I mean.

I personally love the Supercolor set with brightly-coloured rods. The 42 piece set is perfectly big enough for hours of fun and makes a great introductory set, although larger sets are available too.

If kids are looking for something a bit different the Glow set pieces contain natural plant minerals which absorb sunlight and then start to glow – fun for night-time.

The sets come with small storage boxes which mean they take up almost no room at home and are really easy to take on journeys. The other big plus of the magnets, is that individual pieces are less likely to fall – thus avoiding the ear-piercing screams and demand that you stop immediately on the motorway and retrieve pieces from the car footwell (or is that just my painful memory?)

You can add to the sets too, with lots of different selections suitable for different age groups.

You’ve probably noticed, I simply love these. If you want to grab some for the rest of the holidays check out the links below but you’d better hurry – there’s a serious risk I’ll be buying out all supplies myself. Well I am in the middle of building a rather impressive space craft.

Geomag Supercolor 42 Piece, £29.99 from ToysRUs.co.uk

Geomag (329) Glow 42 Piece Set £19 from Amazon

By Dr K Thompson, author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q

http://faitobooks.co.uk

Note: These articles express personal views. No warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of information given and you should always consult a doctor if you need medical advice.