{30 Days of Simple Toddler Toys} Day 30: Box

You read it right.  How about giving a really big, really cool box to a toddler as a gift.  You wouldn't think so, but there are a whole lot of things that a child can do with a box, and they will find those ways.  You can help them create a house, rocket ship, truck, boat, fort, comfy reading spot, the largest coloring/painting surface they've ever seen, and so much more.  Give them a large box with a set of paint and paintbrushes and a promise to help them turn it into whatever they wish.

Where should you get your box?  Call around to local furniture stores or places with large appliances and ask if they will save you a large box.  I'm almost betting that they will, as most places just put their boxes out for recycling.  What an inexpensive and easy gift that kids will go crazy for!

Create With Your Hands:  Creativity with Cardboard Boxes

{30 Days of Simple Toddler Toys} Day 29: Flannel Board and Felt Pieces

Believe me when I tell you this:  I have not met a toddler that does not love a flannel board (also sometimes called a story board or felt board).  My mom made Greyson one for his second birthday and he loves it.  He will play with it for an hour at a time, creating his own scenes and stories with the felt pieces.  You could purchase a flannel/felt/story board, but you can save lots of money and have a better quality board by making your own!  Make sure to check out my simple flannel board tutorial.

If you're not into making your own flannel board, here are a few options that won't break the bank.  Make sure to get some felt pieces to use with the board!

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{30 Days of Simple Toddler Toys} Day 28: Cooperative Games

Cooperative games are great for toddlers, if they are ready.  Usually, depending on the child of course, they are ready by 3 to start learning the many skills it requires for cooperative games.

Skills:

• cooperation
• following directions
• taking turns
• life skills (winning/losing)
• concept skills (colors, shapes, counting, etc.)

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{30 Days of Simple Toddler Toys} Day 27: Shape Sorters

This is a classic toy that has survived the test of time.

Skills:

• problem solving
• fine motor
• shapes
• colors

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{30 Days of Simple Toddler Toys} Day 26: Shape Roller Coasters

I actually had to look up what the "technical" name for this awesome toy was, which just so happens to be "shape roller coaster" (also seen as a "bead maze").  I lovingly refer to them as the "Waiting Room Shape Thingy", because you can find them in any waiting room that may have children in it.  Amazingly, they aren't just available for doctors' offices to purchase!

Skills:

• shapes
• colors
• fine motor

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{30 Days of Simple Toddler Toys} Day 25: Bubbles

I know what you're thinking..."Bubbles?  Seriously?"  Yes, bubbles!  Bubbles can be used inside for just as much fun as outside in the spring and summer.  I used to wrangle the attention of 10 preschoolers with bubbles (once one saw them, they all came running!).  It's a simple activity that can be used during daily transition times, and it's great breath control practice for little ones.

"You get what you pay for."  This statement is true with bubbles.  If you've ever bought them from the dollar store, you will quickly realized you've bought watered down soap that barely produces 2 or 3 bubbles that pop one second after launch.  I've recently heard great things about Gymboree bubbles.  A mama told me that they last so long and will even sometimes bounce!  We are in love with Gazillion bubbles in our house, as they definitely live up to their name.  They are included here.

 

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{30 Days of Simple Toddler Toys} Day 24: Puppets

Puppets are awesome (even for adults) good fun, and they are a simple, imagination inducing gift for toddlers and children.  Folkmanis puppets are my favorite because they are so detailed and often-times very realistic, and we are lucky to have many in our house because Barefoot Books sells them!  Greyson loves his Folkmanis bunny finger puppet he got for Easter.

There are lots of options when giving a puppet for a gift.  My favorite (of course) is pairing it with a book.  

Barefoot Books Puppets

Skills:

• fine motor
• gross motor
• pretend play

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{30 Days of Simple Toddler Toys} Day 23: Sensory Bins

Most people don't think about sensory bins as gifts, but they are the perfect, personalized, homemade gift for toddlers.  They are inexpensive, and can provide hours and hours of fun for little ones!

Sensory bins can be made from almost anything safe for children to explore.  We have a few different kinds of bins right now, but the possibilities are numerous.  All you need is some kind of container with a lid to keep the items, and an imagination to decide what items to place in the bin!  Here are some ideas from our collection:

Simple Sensory Bin  #1

• beans
• plastic animals or bugs
• measuring spoons or cups

Simple Sensory Bin #2

• dry split peas
• toy vehicles
• measuring spoons or cups

Pom Pom Sensory Bin

• craft pom poms
• measuring spoons
• ice cube tray

The key to a really, really good sensory bin is to appeal to all of the senses (or as many as you can).  Smell seems to be a difficult one to appeal to, so think about adding a few drops of essential oils or some other scent that can spice up the sense-factor.  And remember, you can't always taste things in the sensory bin ;)

Go through any dollar store with an open mind, and you can create an amazing sensory bin for very little money!

Sensory Bin Ideas:

• beans
• rice
• dirt
• Easter grass
• sawdust
• sand
• rocks/stones
• pasta/noodles
• cotton balls
• feathers
• flour
• sugar
• koosh balls
• corn kernels
• cereal
• acorns
• nuts
• water beads
• epsom salts
• water/bubbles

{30 Days of Simple Toddler Toys} Day 22: Trains and Tracks

Trains seem to be a staple toy of a little boys life, but don't forget that little girls love things that go too!  When it comes to trains and train tracks, there are lots of options out there.  I tend to gravitate towards the wooden sets, mostly because they are sturdier and much nicer to deal with than the plastic variety, but they also seem to last forever.  My mother-in-law has a wooden train set that was my husbands (ahem...almost 28ish years ago) that is in near perfect condition still.  In fact, it's Greyson's favorite thing to play with when he goes to Mamaw and Papaw's house.

It's important to remember that when thinking about a train set, less can be much, much more.  I've seen many toddlers get completely overwhelmed by hundreds of pieces of track and never able to keep it together just perfectly.  Most of the time, they are perfectly content with a simple 8 piece track that they can easily get together and manage themselves.  It's nice to add track pieces as they get older, too.

Skills:  

• pretend play
• fine motor
• imagination

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{30 Days of Simple Toddler Toys} Day 21: Toy Vehicles

Toy vehicles are a perfect pretend play toy.  Most kids envy the fact that the adults in their lives can drive, and love to pretend that they are in the driver's seat.  Toy vehicles give them that fun experience, while also working on several other skills and having fun.

My sister and I used to line up wooden blocks to use as roads, and I recently taught Greyson how to do this with his vehicles.  He loves it!  Another perfect pairing with toy vehicles is a road rug or road mat that has roads printed on it for driving.  

Skills:

• fine motor
• pretend play
• imagination 

 

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{30 Days of Simple Toddler Toys} Day 11: Books

I know you were thinking it..."When is she going to post about books?"  Books are the most fundamental simple toddler toy necessity.  At the risk of sounding cheesy (cheese!) books can teach your child so much (beyond just how to read) and take them places they've never been (or ever will be).

I think my husband has finally conceded to the fact that you can never have too many books.  We have enough books here to catalog them and start our own library, but Greyson's gift list will always include books.  Always.

Barefoot Books have the most amazing books for children, and there is FREE shipping on orders over $60.  That means you can stock up on books for all the children you know (and even for a few different holidays, birthdays, and baby showers!) to earn that free shipping.

For the holidays, Barefoot Books has created Dazzling Gift Sets for even more savings.  These sets come shipped loosely (meaning they're not packaged together), so you can buy a set and separate it amongst a few children or even a few special holidays.  Here are a few of my favorite sets.

Curious Cleo Gift Set

Alison Jay's Laptime Stories Gift Set

Singalong and Swingalong Gift Set

Traditional Tales Gift Set (including our new book, The Little Red Hen)

The Little Red Hen

I ordered Greyson one of Barefoot's brand new books, The Little Red Hen. I've always loved this traditional tale, but when I saw the illustrations in this book, I knew it was special.  (It also helps that it comes with a Story CD narrated by none other than Debra Messing!)  Check out the illustration by Kate Slater below.

Here's a few more of my very favorite children's books that I think should be in every home with kids.

{30 Days of Simple Toddler Toys} Day 9: Costumes and Dress Up Clothing

Who didn't love to dress up as a kid?  Actually, who doesn't love to dress up?  Dress-up is good for so many things and it's fun.  Costumes and dress up clothing are great gifts for toddlers because at this age, children are learning how to pretend.

Let me tell you a fabulous costume/dress up clothing secret:  Halloween is 2 months before Christmas.  Stores like Target and Walmart put their Halloween costumes on deep discounts November 1st, and each day after the discounts get deeper and deeper.  In fact, I got Greyson two costumes at Walmart this year at a whopping 90% off 8 days after Halloween.  (Yes it was that good that it needed to be bolded, italicized, and underlined).  So for a total of $1.46, Greyson now has a ninja costume and a superhero costume for his dress-up bin.

If you've missed the amazing sales at your local stores, here are some other great costume options for you.

Skills:

• dramatic play
• life skills

    

  

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{30 Days of Simple Toddler Toys} Day 8: Puzzles

I've never found a kid who doesn't enjoy a puzzle.  The best part about them, is they teach so many concepts with one simple toy.  Some people gripe that puzzles are nearly impossible to keep organized, but there are many solutions out there to help store them neatly.  One of my favorites is also a frequent-pinner on Pinterest from many different blogs:  the pencil pouch puzzle storage (say that 5 times fast...).

Picture from Signature Moms.

Greyson isn't at the stage where he has many jigsaw puzzles for us to use this method yet, but when we do, I have a few ideas of my own.  I'd take a picture of the puzzle put together to tape to the outside of the pencil pouch so that he would know what puzzle he was choosing before putting it together, as well as have the template for putting it together.

Greyson loves wooden peg puzzles, and is beginning to enjoy easy jigsaw puzzles with some help.  Here are a few that are perfect for toddlers, representing a few different concepts.

Skills:

• fine motor
• problem solving
• concept skills (shapes, animals, transportation, colors, alphabet, etc.)

If you have lots of wooden puzzles to store, a great purchase is a wire storage rack.  It keeps the puzzles organized but also easily accessible, and we love ours.

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{30 Days of Simple Toddler Toys} Day 7: Dolls

Parents of boys:  Do not just skip over this post.  It's okay for boys to play with dolls.  Some boys love them, other boys couldn't care less about them.  My son has a doll, and his name is Reese Stu.  Reese Stu was born in 1983 when Shane was born.  Shane toted Reese Stu around for a few years, and then one day, was done with him, so my mother-in-law saved him for her grandchildren.  Greyson hasn't really discovered the awesomeness of dolls yet, but when he's ready, Reese Stu is waiting with (literally) open arms (and in a pair of my favorite preemie pajamas of Greyson's).

Greyson (3 months) with Reese

The great thing about dolls is there is such a huge variety to choose from.  You can choose a soft plush doll, a doll closes it's eyes when laid down, or a doll that sucks it's thumb.  My preference is for a doll that requires the imagination of a child to make it cry, make it go "potty", and make it fall asleep.

Skills:

• dramatic play
• life skills

 

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{30 Days of Simple Toddler Toys} Day 6: Play Food

To go along with a play kitchen (Day 5), you'll need some play food and other kitchen accessories to really amp up the creativity.

Skills:

• dramatic play
• vocabulary
• fine motor
• life skills
• organization

If you search for play food, there are what seems like millions of options.  For Greyson we are looking for very realistic options to help him with his exploration of food items.  We also l-o-v-e the play food that you can cut and peel, because it even furthers the interaction he can have with the food.

      

  

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{30 Days of Simple Toddler Toys} Day 5: Play Kitchen

There are so many skills to be learned through dramatic play, especially with a play kitchen.

Skills:

• dramatic play
• fine motor
• vocabulary
• life skills
• organization

Our big gift to G this year is a kitchen.  It's the perfect gift for any almost 3 year old, but we are really hoping that it will be especially perfect for him.  The interaction with the food and utensils will be good practice for his oral eating skills.

There are kitchens of all types and sizes.  We are looking specifically for a wooden one, as they are sturdier and hold up a bit nicer than the traditional plastic ones.  Here are a few different play kitchens at different price points that we think are great.  

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{30 Days of Simple Toddler Toys} Day 4: Soft Play Climber

Okay, stick with me.  When you see the price tag of these bad boys, you will almost certainly be feeling the need to click the 'x' on my blog and move on.  Soft Play Climbers are worth the money.  While I do not know this from my own experience, I do have a friend who would put one of these in every child's house if she could.  She has one in her house, and she has nothing but positives to say about it.  Here's the climber her kids are lucky to play on every single day:

Here are her top ten reasons every child needs a Soft Play Climber (from I Spoil My Kids):

1.  It gets played with every. single. day.  (Periods inserted for dramatic effect, because it's true).   My friend's children don't just use it to climb.  They pretend they are on a mermaid lagoon, fight epic battles, sail the ocean as pirates, read, color, do school work, and more.

2.  Soft play climbers are worth the money.  If they get played with every single day, it pays for itself in no time.  If you are looking at a climber that costs $699.99, that breaks down to $1.92 per day for a year.  It's kind of impossible not to see that as an amazing deal when it's broken down like that.

3.  It provides active play inside.  Being outside is something that we feel is super, super important.  However, there are times where being outside is just not an option (weather, schedules, etc.).  Children need to be active every single day, and soft play climbers provide that opportunity!

4.  There are no small pieces to clean up/step on/lose/etc.  Simple. as. that.

5.  Soft play climbers are easy to clean.  Just take some hot water and a disinfectant and wipe down!

6.  One climber serves the play needs of all ages!  With supervision, babies can enjoy soft play climbers, and even the oldest children (adults) have fun with them too!

7.  There are lots of teachable options.  Colors, shapes, spatial relationships, developmental milestones and more.

8.  Soft play climbers come in a wide variety.  Choose one that suits your family's needs.  Big, small, corner climber, center climber, wall climber, the possibilities are endless.

9.  Soft play climbers are high quality.  You will not need to waste money replacing items or making repairs, as these climbers are made to withstand rough play from lots and lots of kids.

10.  Climbers will not ruin your house.  They are made lightweight to be easily moved around and rearranged and will not damage carpet, floors, or walls of your house.

Shane and I would love to get a soft play climber for G sometime within the next year.  Please check out I Spoil My Kids wonderful selection of climbers here.

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{30 Days of Simple Toddler Toys} Day 3: Wooden Blocks

Wooden blocks are one of the most versatile simple toys.  You can do so much with them, and they incite so much imagination that it's hard for adults not to play with them too!

I recently paid very close attention to Emma and Greyson playing with our wooden castle blocks.  Emma was counting each block as she stacked them and Greyson was lining the fence blocks up and pushing them like a train (complete with choo choo noises).  It's important to note that these two behaviors were not prompted whatsoever.  This is the perfect example of authentic play bringing out a child's imagination!

Emma practicing counting and Greyson making a "choo choo".

There are many different kinds of wooden blocks, it's almost impossible to pick the "wrong" ones!  Here are a few that I find great choices.

Skills:

• fine motor
• pretend play
• colors, shapes, counting, etc.

A Few Things to Do with Wooden Blocks:

• stack them
• knock them down
• sort them
• count them
• build castles
• build towers
• build creatures
• build roads to drive cars
• more, and more, and more!

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{30 Days of Simple Toddler Toys} Day 2: Play-Dough

You'll notice that I spelled Play-Dough incorrectly in the title of this post, but it was completely on purpose.  There are so many, and I mean so many types of play-dough that I do not just mean the branded Play-Doh that most people think of.  Also try Moon Sand, Play Foam, and/or Modeling Clay.

        

There are also many easy recipes out there for play dough that can make a much more personalized and fun gift for the children in your family.  Here are just a few of our favorites that can be altered easily for different children:

Skills:

• fine motor
• sensory
• pretend play

Cloud Dough (comparable to Moon Sand)

(recipe from Kiwi Crate)

Materials:  

-baby oil (1/4 cup)

-flour (2 cups)

Directions:

1.  Mix together, and enjoy!

Play Dough (comparable to Play Doh)

(recipe all over the internet, but I use from Buggy and Buddy)

Materials:

-1 cup flour

-1 cup water

-1/2 cup salt

-1 Tbsp cream of tartar

-1 Tbsp oil (I used vegetable oil)

-food coloring

-any scents or glitter (optional)

Directions:

1.  Mix all ingredients together.  Add glitter or other scents to personalize.

2.  Stir over medium heat continuously until it forms a ball.

3.  Dump out onto wax or parchment paper until it cools.

4.  Knead a bit until it is fully mixed and enjoy!

Yummy Dough

Edible play dough!

Materials:  

-1/2 cup brown sugar

-1/4 cup peanut butter

-1 Tbsp. granola (optional)

-bowl

Directions:

1.  Measure brown sugar and peanut butter into the bowl.

2.  Squeeze with hands to mix.  If too sticky, add more brown sugar.  If too dry, add more peanut butter.

3.  Add granola (optional), and enjoy!

No matter what kind of dough you are going to give as a gift, it's perfect to pair it with some cookie cutters, rollers, and dough utensils to explore.  This is the set we have on G's list because it is heavy duty and unique.

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{30 Days of Simple Toddler Toys} Day 1: Gear Boards

Gear boards are a great toy for children to explore lots of different concepts.

Skills:

• cause and effect
• fine motor
• problem solving

There are many, many different kinds of gear boards for children.  The one I've featured above is the one that we purchased for one of G's Christmas gifts, as it is more appropriate for a toddler.  With this particular gear board, we can explore the additional concepts of color, simple mechanics, patterns, and more.  It comes with color-coded design cards and you can also use the white magnetic board for more open-ended play. 

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