The Connector Play Kit is the first of the 4th year Lovevery play kits, and it’s geared toward months 49, 50, and 51. This kit includes some stand-out toys, including a working microscope, a wooden village, and a daily to-do board.
Age 4 is when toddlers start to develop executive functioning skills like flexible thinking, critical thinking, frustration tolerance, and planning ahead (among others).
Let’s see what alternatives we could find from Amazon!
Discover & Inspect Microscope Alternative
The microscope in this kit is amazing because it’s not just a toy – it actually works!
It magnifies up to 20x and has two focus nobs on the side. A button also turns the light on and off, and a storage drawer holds all the specimen slides.
The really cool part is the microscope detaches from the stand so your kiddos can take it outside to explore.
There are several kids’ microscopes on Amazon, but some of them only magnify 3x (so it probably wouldn’t work for anything but the slide photos), or they have a bunch of unnecessary bells and whistles.
The best alternative to the Lovevery Discover & Inspect Microscope is this pocket microscope from Bebang. It costs just under $20 at the time of this writing.
It’s 100% portable, so your toddler can take it with them outside to explore. It also has 60x zoom, which is even more than the Lovevery one.
Last but not least, it has a focus knob and button to turn the light on and off, which is very fun for a 4-year-old.
Image Slide Wheels & Specimen Clip Alternative
I don’t think a wheel will work with the pocket microscope since it doesn’t have a stand, but there are plenty of options for slides on Amazon, like this set of plastic sample specimens.
As for the specimen clip, I didn’t have any luck finding a clear plastic specimen clip on Amazon – not even with the other toy microscopes, so it seems to be unique to the Lovevery kit.
The closest thing I could find were these jumbo kid tweezers, which could still be fun for picking things up and holding them under the microscope.
Wooden Modular Village & Pathways Alternative
I checked the play guide for this one (it helps parents understand the toys and their benefits) to see how we could play with the modular village.
The Lovevery experts say that at age 4, as pretend play becomes more imaginative, letting kids set up the village differently each time is a great way to develop their flexible thinking skills.
And wow, my kids LOVE playing with this! It really sparks their imagination. They were having full conversations and taking these characters through different scenarios.
This wooden town play structure is a great alternative.
If my top wooden town toy choice isn’t available (it frequently goes out of stock), another good option is this wooden play set from Melissa & Doug.
It’s wooden, so I like the aesthetic, and it has seven different buildings that your toddler can set up around the room as if they were arranging a real town.
It doesn’t have pathways that link together, but it does include the cars so they can pretend to wheel them in and out of all the different buildings.
Friends & Swing Set Alternative
The friends & swing set in the Lovevery play kit does a great job at opening the conversation about differences with an accessible playground.
The girl doll (Alia) has a powered wheelchair, and the swing is built to hold the wheelchair.
The play guide also explains that the boy doll (Jaeyong) has a food allergy to spark up that conversation, too.
To find an Amazon alternative, I think it will take two toys.
You can set up this Playmobil playground as part of the wooden town above, and this wheelchair Barbie Chelsea doll is a great addition.
Although the doll wouldn’t be able to get up on the swing like in the Lovevery play kit, it also comes with its own ramp, which would be good for realistic play.
Inventor Adventure Pack Alternative
The inventor adventure pack in this kit is the cutest little fanny pack ever. It’s reversible, bright, and has many things to keep your little one’s hands busy.
There’s a buckle, zipper, a coin purse that opens and closes with a button that can be removed, and some shoe strings threaded across the front. So many options lets your toddler decide how to wear it.
Choco Mocha has some really cute kids’ fanny packs that come in a bunch of different designs for boys and girls.
They don’t have as many extra features, but I’m sure kids will love stuffing their things inside and undoing the zippers and buckles a million times just as much.
Daily Helper Board Alternative
I really love the idea of a daily helper board for my 4-year-old, and the one in this kit is the best I’ve found.
The first side of the reversible card has tabs at the top that say, “We can do it together” and “I can do it myself.” While your toddler is still learning to do things around the house and might still need some help, you can decide where each chore magnet goes.
Once they’ve got the hang of things, you can flip the card over and start using the side that says “to do” and “done.”
I didn’t find any Amazon alternatives that accomplish the first part of the chart. The next best thing would be this magnetic visual schedule board.
It comes with a few different boards like the typical M-F schedule board, but it also has one that says “to do” and “done,” which is most like the second side of the Lovevery helper board.
‘Charlie Learns Something New’ Book Alternative
The ‘Charlie Learns Something New’ board book is a story about a little girl who gets really frustrated trying to solve a puzzle she can’t figure out.
She actually doesn’t end up solving the puzzle in the end, so the story is really about Charlie working through her frustrations.
While Charlie’s story is unique to Lovevery, I think ‘The Very Frustrated Monster’ would also teach this valuable skill.
It’s part of the WorryWoo Monsters series about understanding all the emotions our toddlers can feel at this age. It doesn’t have photos of real children, but those types of books are very hard to come across.
Lovevery vs. Amazon Price Comparison
It’s time to tally everything up!
Let’s see if these Amazon alternatives will save any money or if spending the $120 on the Lovevery Connector play kit is worth it!
- Pocket microscope – $19.99
- Plastic sample specimens – $9.99
- Jumbo kid tweezers – $5.45
- Wooden town block play structures – $49.98
- Playmobil playground – $24.99
- Wheelchair Barbie – $16.99
- Choco Mocha fanny pack – $18.99
- Magnetic visual schedule board – $29.99
- The Very Frustrated Monster’ board book – $9.95
Disclaimer: Amazon prices fluctuate. The prices listed are at the time of writing. Please check the current price when you read this article!
The grand total comes out to $186.32 – much more than the $120 that the Lovevery play kit costs; plus, you end up compromising on quality.
Not to mention, you wouldn’t get the guidance and support that Lovevery offers as part of the package.
Conclusion
It’s safe to say I’d stick with ordering the Lovevery play kit unless you wanted to buy just one or two of the toys.
The Connector play kit is high-quality, it includes toys that are great for 4-year-olds, and you can’t recreate it for any less.
Check out the rest of this blog series here: Lovevery Amazon Alternatives for Every Play Kit
