Uncle Goose Takes A Curious Approach Teaching Presidential History

We tend to remember things in life that are out of the ordinary, and this is definitely the approach that Lindenwood Inc. takes in creating its Uncle Goose Toys. The company’s latest move toward original play and teaching is the creation of a full set of United States presidential blocks.

Image courtesy of Lindenwood Inc.

“It’s an interesting thing to have presidents on a set of blocks and we are always trying to come up with unique ideas. Some people really key into our political history, even myself going through the process and getting into things that I had never really learned about the presidents,” said Pete Bultman, the company’s owner.

“Usually these guys are up on pictures in a classroom, and I remember when I was a kid looking up and thinking who are these guys. When young minds are active and engaged, it’s amazing what they pick up on and the potential in using presidential blocks. They might spark an interest that a kid might pursue down the line,” added Mr. Bultman.

Each block will have the presidential image on one side; the top will be embossed with the president’s name and their term in office; and three sides will have biographical information.

Presidential trivia on the blocks will include: their dates of birth and death, the first ladies and when they were married; their presidential nicknames; their political parties, and which ‘number’ president they were.

The set will have all 44 presidents and one placeholder block. “We even have Grover Cleveland in there twice. We haven’t missed out on his non-consecutive terms. Grover Cleveland had a term, then lost an election, then came back and won the next election. He actually became our 22nd and 24th president,” said Mr. Bultman

In addition, each block has a puzzle side, so that when each block it put together as a whole, it forms a “well illustrated” map of Washington, D.C.

Photo courtesy of Lindenwood Inc.

These blocks will first be premiered at the New York Toy Fair from Feb. 14-17. Beyond the presidential blocks, the company will also be debuting Japanese and Korean letter block sets as part of its Uncle Goose Foreign Language Alphabet Blocks collection.

Lindenwood’s other currently available block collections include: ABC, Braille with Sign Language, nursery rhyme, Groovie (numbers and equations), and decorative. On the specialty side, the company features: Egyptian Hieroglyphics, bugs, Antic Ants, and Sudoku blocks.

Photo courtesy of Lindenwood Inc.

The wood used to make the blocks comes from two sources - farmed, planted, and harvested from industry managed lands around the Great Lakes, and reclaimed. “Some of our wood comes from people that would normally just clear-cut a patch of land to build a house and just let the logs rot,” explained Mr. Bultman.

The company also prides itself in its safety measures. All of the blocks have tapered edges and non-toxic ink meeting the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act and the international ASTM F963 - 08 Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety. More information can be found about the company at: lindenwoodinc.com.

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