{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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