Design Professor Richard Elaver wanted to get his 18-month-old son Simon hooked on building and put every kid-friendly construction kit he could find in front of him, but all of the expensive offerings were rebuffed in favor of a simple silicone spatula. As Elaver watched his son repeatedly slide the wooden handle into the rubber paddle, he came up with the idea for Flexure, a creative system of wooden dowels and rubbery connectors that make building easy. It’s now raising funds on Kickstarter.

Unlike Duplo blocks which merely enlarge the exacting grid of the Lego system, Flexure is designed to accommodate the Pre-K crowd.