Wondering if the Lovevery Planner Play Kit for 4 year olds is worth it vs Amazon self curating? In this Lovevery review, I’ll walk you through each item included in The Planner Play Kit from Lovevery, our personal experience with it after using the items since May 2023 followed by how the items compare to Amazon Alternatives and other toy dupes (with links to shop those as well if self curating instead!).

You can also use Lovevery discount code TCM to save on a new subscription!

What’s inside The Planner Play Kit from Lovevery? [+ Amazon Alternatives!]

Personal Experience:

My kids LOVE this item and it helped my oldest learn to tell time. My youngest mostly walks around with the mini clock as some sort of time machine compass gadget. With that said, neither really ever used the increment bars.

Dupes:

There is absolutely NOTHING like Lovevery’s clock set. While it seems simple, what they’ve created is truly unique. So let’s break it down:

• Visual color breakdown of the “hour” which also doubles for “5 minute” blocking
• Manipulatives that show 5, 10, and 15 min. Kids can use this as a “timer” set up or to help visually chunk what “in 15 minutes” looks like
• Mini clock to recreate and deepen the lesson

So with that in mind there are a few options:

• Learning Resources (my pick): This allows you to roll dice, set the clock to what you saw on the dice, create schedules and plans with the time, and even has 2 piece puzzles for matching the time. Check price on Amazon, Walmart, Kohls
• Melissa & Doug: A wooden face, with a slot for you to place the time you’re setting (sort of takes the place of the mini clock in Lovevery’s kit) with a digital style display of the time and matching cards
• Bubble Popper Clock: Allows you to set the hands, pop the numbers, and match it at the bottom (though it could be a little confusing)

Energy-In-Motion Wooden Ball Ramps

A ball run that’s a lesson in physics complete with wooden ramps, connectors, jumps, drops, and feet that can be stacked to various height settings.

Personal Experience:

We’ve had several ball runs over the years and this one is definitely our favorite! I think the simplicity of it makes it not too overwhelming plus the kids can actually do all the connections themselves.

The only negative thing I have to say about this, is the box that holds the marbles is a little tricky for the kids to open, but that has nothing to do with the marble run. With that said, I’ve seen the occasional negative review on the sturdiness of Lovevery’s and I disagree with that.

My kids have never gotten frustrated or too challenged by it, in fact this is the marble run they’ve played with the longest independently. The other marble runs we’ve had they needed adult assistance on the connectors, which meant the adults ultimately were building it. And while you could argue those are sturdier, they are still fragile. We’ve collaped every marble run at some point but this has very few connection points, especially compared to our picassotiles run, which means if there is a disconnect it’s a small fix, not the entire thing collapsing down.

Dupes:

I’d say the most similar to Lovevery’s is going to be Hape’s DIY Wooden Marble Run. It uses blocks to vary the height (similar concept to Lovevery’s stackable legs) and provides a jump/drop similar to Lovevery’s but lacks the curved pieces and it’s essentially wooden blocks, which means it’s incredibly fragile.

We personally have the Picasso Tile ball run and like how sturdy the builds are (more sturdy than wooden runs IMO) but they are also harder for the kids to assemble independently.

The Marble Genius marble run is also similar to Lovevery’s but with a lot more pieces and it’s more challenging for kids to assemble. My daughter is now 6 and she can do it, but it’s harder and she prefers Lovevery. It wouldn’t be appropriate for independent play at 4 like Lovevery’s. It is my top pick for older kids though!

Rover Route

A pre-coding game that allows children to practice visual planning and sequencing.

Personal Experience:

My kids LOVE this game! I think the Rover gives space vibes which they really like.

My only complaint with it is the mat is a thick, almost felt like fabric that you fold and roll up when not in use. This makes storage simple and clean, however actually laying the path on the mat becomes tricky as it doesn’t lay flat. I would’ve preferred a basic cardboard board game set up.

Dupes:

The most similar game to Lovevery’s is this one – but it’s elevated. Meaning the Rovers/Dozer’s can actually pull back and be placed on the track to go around. It’s going to require a little more hand strength and manipulation than Lovevery’s and kids will need more refined attention to detail on the turns, however most 5 year olds shouldn’t have a problem; but if you plan to play with a younger sibling Lovevery’s will be easier to get started.

Alternatively, this game is comparable to Lovevery’s in terms of simplicity.

Lastly, KiwiCo also offers a Robot Coding Starter Kit where kids can build their own robot and then practice early coding concepts through the puzzle with the Rabbit Race game.

This one comes with puzzle cards, and you pull a strip to “drop” the marbles which auto-run the path; and this one has a booklet of puzzles, with the board being elevated to auto run the balls.

Flex-Four Pattern Match

A set of double sided “boards” that increase in difficulty and fit onto a wooden base. You then use these flexible shape manipulatives to complete the pattern matching up on the card.

Personal Experience:

I LOVE THIS and so do my kids! Truly, I play with this by myself, it’s so calming and relaxing!

Dupes:

Ok this may actually be one of the most unique Lovevery items. Beyond finding games that allow you to pattern match with manipulatives, nothing will provide the same sensory experience or challenge levels of Lovevery’s

But here are a few options:

Subitizing Dominoes

A set of colorful and beautiful wooden dominoes that work “subitizing” which is the practice of quickly looking at a group of things and identifying the number without having to count individually.

Personal Experience:

We love playing with these! It reminds me of my childhood and playing with my grandma. You can play and do so many things with dominos and I love the ways these help the kids work on counting and early math concepts.

Dupes:

Nothing exactly like Lovevery’s but this set is most similar to it – though it’s not actually a “domino” and more pieces of cardboards like a game. Alternatively these are actual dominos with 4 subitizing options (dots, numbers, parts, and circle charts), though it also includes the “numberblock” shape faces which you could match the number of sides, but could be confusing because the faces.

‘Savy’s Scavenger Hunt’ Book

A lesson in empathy and how our reactions can impact others with a fun scavenger hunt element.

Personal Experience:

My kids adore this book! I think the writing is really realistic to how kids speak and think at this age. I also liked the engaging questions throughout that are also encouraging reading comprehension.

One of my kids really related to the empathy lesson in this book as people used to ask and comment about a part of their body which made them uncomfortable.

Dupes:

Obviously no books truly compare to Lovevery’s real people, and the new graphic add-ons they’ve been doing in the 4 year old play kits are so engaging and I love them for emphasizing feelings further and helping with reading comprehension.

So if you can pick up the original, I’d definitely get it. Otherwise I’d say the SPOT feelings book series are always a solid choice when it comes to feelings and they have an empathy one.

Alternatively I am publishing my first book this summer which does work on empathy!

Play Guide for Months 58, 59, 60

Basically a cheat sheet to your 4 year old!

Includes:

• Expert tips
• Developmental info
• At home activities to do
• Ways to play with the items

The Planner Play Kit Book Bundle

In case you missed it, Lovevery launched “book bundle” add ons for subscribers. For $18 you can add 2 books to your play kits; but they currently do not offer this for the 4 year old play kits.

How much does Lovevery’s Planner Play Kit Cost?

Lovevery’s Persister Play Kit costs $120, but they do offer prepaid bundle options for up to a 10% discount here or use Lovevery promo code TCM for an even bigger discount!

Is Lovevery Planner Play Kit Worth It?

This is probably one of my favorite play kits from the 4 year old ones! It’s a great mix of items that can use independently or together. It really fosters curiosity, thinking ahead, and problem solving too.

Financially:

Financially speaking, you could recreate this play kit for as little as $95 which does come in less than the cost of this play kit. However if you were to purchase all of the most expensive dupe options you’re looking at spending $152, which is more than the cost of this play kit from Lovevery. And when you factor the “most similar” alternatives you’re looking at $117 which is almost spot on to the cost of this play kit making it well priced (because Lovevery’s quality will almost ALWAYS surpass an alternatives).

You could always get it and resell the items you don’t want or they outgrow, and I will say this is a good strategy with this kit currently as I rarely see these items up for resale.

Qualitatively:

I really like this play kit! I’ve found the items have maintained my kids interest since we got it in the summer of 2023. All of the items help with planning, which I think is SUCH a critical skill at this age.

My youngest started taking to the items just before turning 4 years old, and my oldest at 6 still uses them.

Overall my only complaint is the Rover game mat bending up on us.

Lastly, with this being the last of the 4 year old play kits I want to share just some general thoughts on this year of kits.

I really struggled with asking myself “is this too much stuff? are these not getting as much use as earlier kits?” and I’ve finally come to a conclusion/realization on that.

You know my kids STILL play with year one and two items from Lovevery, so I kept comparing everything to that and thinking things were falling short. But that isn’t the case. The earlier Lovevery items are just so open ended that kids can incorporate them into such a wide variety of play scenarios; whereas the items starting at around 3.5 start shifting more towards close ended items.

That’s not to say it’s all of them, but the majority of the kits after 3.5 do have more close ended than open ended items. It’s also where Lovevery has created truly unique items that you can’t easily find dupes for. So essentially I’ve been trying t ocompare apples to oranges. Once that realization clicked, I realized just how muich they do play with Lovevery items still. They are honeslty our MOST played with close ended toys and the kids don’t even relaize how much they are learning.

As my youngest has gotten older, I’ve seen just how important these close ended Lovevery items are. He thrives on structure and a challenges, which Lovevery’s progressive difficulty in their various puzzles has really satiated in him.

Overall, I do think Lovevery is still 100% worth it, AND it’s important to understand how they fit into your child’s growth and play.

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