10 Toys with Longevity

Since it's Cyber Monday, I thought I might post a list of some of the toys/ gifts to our girls that have had a relatively long play-life around here.  (I'm definitely not in favor of loading kids with toys, but if you are going to buy a few things, it's nice to make sure that they're going to have some lasting value in your playroom :-)

1.  Melissa and Doug Stacking Train Set- The girls have been playing with these from about 18 months, and M (my 4-year-old) still plays with them.  I don't know what it is about kids and trains! :-)

2.  The Peter Yarrow Song Book: Favorite Folk Songs- Picture book and CD.  I'm pretty picky about children's music (I like it to be simple and gentle, but still pleasant for adults to listen to).  This CD gets played at least once a week in our house.  We all love it.  (It's the Peter from Peter, Paul, and Mary fame)

3.  2pc Adventure Play Tent Kids Dome & Children Tunnel Tube- This set gets pretty low reviews on Amazon, and I guess I understand why.  It is a little cheaply made and has gotten some holes pretty easily, but the girls have gotten LOADS of fun out of it- especially the tunnel- which they've put to all kinds of unconventional uses.  If you can find a comparable item that is of a little higher quality, that might be the way to go.  

4.  Dress-up Accessories- We don't own this exact set; so it's not really a recommendation, but it fits what I like in dress-up sets- lots of smaller accessories that can be combined in creative ways (rather than a single, expensive outfit that really only has one particular use).  

5.  My First Little House Books- Our favorite series of picture books (based on the original series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, but simpler language).  I think the words and pictures keep the same spirit as the original books.  We've read each book over and over again.  I think our favorite so far is Going to Town.

6.  Glue Sticks- seriously.  What craft supply gives more joy to a toddler or a preschooler and is in more need of constant replenishment?  

7.  Toot and Otto- like a simplified version of Connect Four with several versions of play for different levels.  My two-year-old regularly begs to play this game (I think she mostly likes the feel of the tiles sliding in and out, but she's starting to understand the object of the game more and more).  

8.  Child-sized Broom- We discovered what a wonderful thing this was when we visited my aunt and uncle who happened to have one.  M used it lots.  After we left, she talked about it as if it were the highlight of the trip.  And of course, what parent can resist a toy that helps make their child want to clean?

9.  Melissa and Doug Pet Sounds Puzzle- Just about all of Melissa and Doug's wooden puzzles are wonderful, but this one is probably our favorite.  

10.  Create Your Own Pop-Up Books- This set really more for older kids (especially six through nine- year olds); so I've saved some of parts of the set for the girls for later, but M loves the interesting little books she's been able to color and put together already.  I've also learned some fun things from the set on how to create my own lap-book mechanisms for homeschooling.  


I'd love to get some ideas from you about long-lasting toys, games, and books around your house.  Please share!

Crinkle Baby Squares

M and G are as excited as I am about the upcoming addition to our family. So when I saw this cute and easy tutorial for a crinkle square at Joy's Hope I thought it would be a great opportunity to include them in the preparation for baby J. (It's a boy, by the way, so Wimpherzina is OUT.)

I have a huge bolt of muslin fabric that I got for 5 dollars at a garage sale, an old ubersoft changing pad that I was able to cut up for the other side of the square, cellophane wrapping paper for the crinkly noise, and lots of random ribbon. The only thing I had to buy was the package of fabric markers so the girls could decorate their squares. (Crayola makes a pretty reasonably priced package of those though, and I have a feeling I'll be able to put them to another good use one of these days.)

The crinkle squares turned out great- nice crinkly noises and the girls are so proud of their decorations. They can't wait to give it to Baby J.

I'm thinking though that this may be one of those toys that is used with supervision only. It seems like maybe the cellophane in the fabric makes it a bit of a suffocation risk? I don't know...would it make you nervous?

We have three more months until baby J will likely show up. Do you have any suggestions for other fun things I can do with the girls to involve them in the anticipation?

Hats!

I really do love hats.  In fact, one of the elements at our wedding reception five years ago was a little girls' "Teaparty with the Bride" where the little girls got to wear lovely, fanciful hats.

So...ever since I discovered that my extra pizza pan would stick to magnets I've been scheming to use it to make this fun magnetic hat toy for the girls.

1.  First, I painted the pan with white acrylic paint.  (You can maybe tell that it could have used a third coat, but I'm impatient).

2.  Then I hunted down pictures of each member of the family (including our dear suburban chicken Miriam, of course)  It actually turned out to be harder than I anticipated to find full figure shots of each person head-on.

3.  Using Microsoft Word, I sized the pictures to be proportionate to one another and printed them out.  (You can see that I didn't quite get the sizing on little G right.  Her head is much bigger than everybody else's and tends to dwarf the hats!)

4.  Using clear packing tape I "laminated" each person.

5.  Back to the computer!  This time using Google images to find all sorts of wonderful hats.

6.  Resized and printed them out, and "laminated" with packing tape.

7.  On the back of each person and hat I put a small piece of an adhesive magnet sheet.

I may end up using one of these pictures for our family Christmas photo this year.  It just might be easier than the normal impossible task of convincing everyone to smile at the same moment.  :-)

Yes, I am a bit enamored with the sight of Miriam the chicken in all these hats.
This post is part of Works for Me Wednesday,   The Amazing Mess, It's a Blog Part,  Making the World Cuter,  Motivate Me Monday,

Homemade Toy: Weather Window

I'm not sure why, but I think weather should fascinate children. It's not so much that I've noticed that it actually does fascinate them; it's just that I think there is something really beautiful about a child noticing and thinking about how the sky changes from day to day.

Before our apartment fire, I had painted a "Little Weather Girl dress" with a place on the front of it for M to change the image based on the weather for that day. Someday, I hope to make another dress like that, but for now, I did make this little toy based on the same idea.
Some recent shoes for G came in a box with a plastic window, and I felt inspired to turn it into a little window scene with curtains and backdrops that M could change each day. When she gets up in the morning, she can check to see if the sky is cloudy, sunny, stormy, etc; find the sheet that pictures that and place it in the box. (The top opens up)She also likes to put her doll-house people in the box to "enjoy the nice day."

Yogurt Container Fishing

I'm always on the look-out for easy homemade toy ideas- especially those that use items I would otherwise have thrown away. So when I found in a book recently a use for old yogurt containers specifically for 15 month old toddlers I was happy to try it.

I cut a hole in the lid of a container, and tied a piece of string to a clothes pin. The idea is to clip various objects to the clothes pin and allow the baby to "go fishing" by reeling in the string and pulling the objects up through the hole.

It is supposed to be a brain stimulating activity because the objects get stuck, and they are supposed to work with them until they come out. So far, though, my daughter hates the idea. It frustrates her to no end. Oh well, I'll try again in a couple weeks and see if she warms up to the activity!

Measuring Spoons

A set of measuring spoons make a great baby toy. My baby likes them as much as a set of keys which is nice because they aren't nearly as dirty!