Product Review: Crayola Magnetic Double Easel

I was pretty excited when I saw the Crayola Magnetic Double Easel on sale at Toys 'R Us. It looked like it would be the perfect learning toy for older and younger kids alike. In use, the Crayola Magnetic Double Easel is definitely a suitable learning toy, but there are a few things to keep in mind before using the double easel.

First, the letters and numbers that come with the Crayola Magnetic Double Easel are very, very small. Crayola says that the double easel is for kids 3 years old and above and I can see why after seeing these magnets. Luckily, we had some larger alphabet and number magnets to use, but I wouldn't plan on using the magnets that come with double easel for younger children (especially those that like to put toys in their mouths).

Second, I thought that since the Crayola Magnetic Double Easel had the "Crayola" name on it, it would come with chalk and dry erase markers. Well, it doesn't, so make sure to buy chalk and markers if you want the kids to draw on the double easel.

Although I have read some online complaints regarding the double easel assembly, I found the Crayola Magnetic Double Easel is easy enough to put together - it took me only a few minutes to snap in the storage pockets and other parts. The pockets are very handy for holding chalk and markers (if I had them!) and other learning tools.

You do have to prime the Crayola Magnetic Double Easel chalkboard before it is useful (i.e. magnetic) and since I don't have chalk, I still haven't used the chalkboard yet. The magnetic double easel does come with a small eraser too (again, would be useful if I had chalk). There are also clips for those really artistic folks who plan to use their Crayola Magnetic Double Easel for large paper drawings.

All in all, the Crayola Magnetic Double Easel doesn't take up a lot of room and is a good value for a learning toy with many usage options for kids of all ages. In order to get the best use out of your easel, watch out for the smaller magnets with the younger kids and make sure to buy dry erase markers and chalk before purchasing. Otherwise, I would definitely see the Crayola Magnetic Double Easel being a toy used by the family for years to come.