*original post May 2013, updated*
I am a teacher by trade, and a mama by … everything else. =) My husband and I try to keep educational/classic toys and books in our home, avoiding twaddle, and “junk” toys.
A fellow homeschooling (and dear) friend, and a few other readers have asked me what we use for toys in our house (I think my reputation for a toy nazi must precede me?!). So I thought I would make an easy list of educational and fun learning toys that we enjoy or wish we had to enjoy.
These have really been a blessing in our home and homeschool- I know that seems ridiculous to say about “toys,” things that are material. But they have really helped Lexie learn so much, often times on her own, or through questioning me. Many things were gifts or bought with gift money from family and friends. We are very grateful for their love and support.
This is a list that excludes puzzles, books, baby dolls, and toy trucks, etc-the general toys kids have aren’t on here. I will do another post on those recommendations. But I don’t think you would generally find many of these items in most homes.
These are not in a particular order, except the first one. All the others Lexie plays with equally as much or in conjunction with the Magna Tiles
! You probably saw my post. They are an investment … I know; I was nervous clicking the checkout button. BUT, they’re amazing learning fun! Last time I talked about them on here (the light table post) I wasn’t kidding about grabbing them for $120 with free shipping and the free book promotion. That is no longer available, two weeks later. I scoped theses things out for weeks to get that deal; but it sells out quickly.
– she loves them. And they are great for her to play with during independent play. They are good for learning and imaginative play-this set comes in 3 different sizes. We read the three bears and then I introduced them. She plays with them several days a week (if you get them, be sure to get the set with 3 sizes like the one in the link)
get used ALL the time, for all different things. They also make the pattern block cards
that go with them, to use for more instruction type learning/play. My younger children love using the pattern block cards independently while I school with my olders.
, or some sort of snapping cube. Unifix cubes are great for building, sorting, counting, and learning about number sense, etc. They’re a great math manipulative! I linked to the 500 count set because 100 isn’t really enough. When you get into complicated math down the road (multiplication, division, fractions) you will need more than 100 to compare amounts, makes graphs, etc. So I’d suggest the larger set if you are able (Especially if you will have more than one child using them at a time)
is Ah-MAZING. I think I paid $25 w shipping (we have amazon prime, it’s worth it just for the shipping on Christmas gifts for family, alone!) The set is a little more now. The set is very strong, the pieces are big and wide so they’re easy for little hands to manipulate, and it’s fun.
. She loves it and uses it all the time. We got the wooden one, and the wooden trains to go with it (we only have a few, but she seems happy with that for now). I thought she would get frustrated with it, because the tracks have to be put together a certain way, unless you have enough track pieces then it doesn’t matter. But she doesn’t. She just pretends, takes it apart, can almost get it back together correctly… but often she plays with the trains without the tracks. **All 4 children now enjoy this train set, playing with the train tracks, and the trains. One of the first sounds baby #4 learned was “choo choo”
. I know- it looks simple but it has seriously been on her table in the living room for over a year, and she plays with it almost daily. We have used it for numbers, colors, and shapes.
like these (they were a gift for her first bday, I have no clue what brand ours are. But they are a nice thick foam made for the bath tub, though they’ve never been in the tub…)
and dry erase markers
– my mom brought one for the trip from Memphis to NE when we moved. Bug really likes it, but it isn’t something I let her have all the time (we are learning not to bang the marker on the board….) The board is a small 12 x 12 board, great for playing, and learning to write. The one linked has both a lined side, and a blank side; so as children develop their writing skills they can use the lined side. We enjoy ours so far!
– it is the fisher price loving family dollhouse, I had when I was a kid. She plays with it all the time, and we play with it together.
– you may have seen my post. Cheap and fun (and they come in colors, too)! They aren’t something we do every day, or even every week. But Lexie LOVES them! I think we may cover them in shaving cream for some extra sensory fun in the next few days.
– So much fun, so much learning and exploring.13. Lacing cards
14. Melissa and Doug Buckets– we have a few different versions of these- they are all VERY well loved, and have held up so to much abuse play. Living on a farm, outside toys like buckets get used on an almost daily basis and these have no disappointed! This is one toy that we can’t really have too many of.
15. ABC Bean Bags– I cannot count the ways we use these bean bags! One way, is by throwing them into those buckets I posted above. These have been so much fun for all ages in our home (7 down to baby). We toss, stack, count, hide, and tote around these bean bags daily. We also like our shapes bean bags and I plan to get the number bean bags eventually.
So, there are my top toys for toddlers through PreK children. Of course always supervise your young children with any toy.
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! I really wish when I’d bought her 38 piece set that they’d had this deal! Apparently, they sell very quickly, and since they are such a hot item, the price sky rockets when you purchase from anyone other than Valtech (through Amazon) because they aren’t always available through them (yes… I did that much research on them before I purchased haha). I paid $50 for the 38 piece set, and would have gotten the 100 piece for $120 if it had been offered at the time; you really need more than 38 pieces to construct really fun, elaborate shapes and “buildings.”