Cole’s Tread Assault

Mock if you will, but LEGOs will never be uncool. Last Christmas, Mister’s uncle bought him this car from the Ninjago collection, Cole’s Tread Assault. I have no idea who Cole is. Still not too sure why Ninja’s have assault vehicles either. What I do know, however, is that Mister came into the living room one day and asked me if I wanted to help him build this car. I was up for it. Then, I saw there was not one but TWO instruction books included in the package. The thing has over 280 pieces! This was going to be awesome.

It turned out, it really was awesome. Mister and I got this assembly line thing going. First, we sorted all of the pieces by color. Then, we opened up the first book. The instruction books are laid out in steps using big, bold color pictures. Each step shows you a picture of which pieces you will need followed by a sequence of how to assemble those pieces.  I would collect the pieces and then hand them to Mister so he could put them together. Sixty percent of the time, he could do that himself. Twenty percent of the time he did it wrong. The other twenty percent of the time, he looked at the steps, passed me the pieces and said, “Here. I’ll let you do this one.”

Thanks, kid.

It’s a $40 toy which can be expensive if you consider that it’s just a car. On the other hand, it’s a car composed of parts that are virtually indestructible. They are easy to lose, for sure; but I challenge you to snap one of those little 2 x 4 pieces in half using only your hands. They’ll last for generations which is important if you have more than one child. Also, LEGOs are colorful, clever educational toys that really challenge kids to use their spatial relations skills. They also teach kids how to follow step-by-step instructions. (Sorta. They never actually do follow them, but it’s on the parents to make them go back and try again using the instructions).

Next week: the Rattlecopter.