WFMW: our best-ever toys
With Christmas looming ever closer, Shannon wants our toy recommendations. We don't have many toys, but I can think of a few that stood the test of time and I never regretted purchasing:
- Music Maker Lap Harp - we've had ours for many years and it still gets plenty of use. Kids can make real music with no lessons at all, but they are becoming familiar with written music as they play.
- Legos/duplos - another toy that I never regret buying and my kids never tire of. They're the greatest thing on earth and you can never have too many, unless you just stepped on one. We need more of these. Well, we want more of these. Maybe because every time I step on one I toss it in the trash?
- Gears! Gears! Gears! - These eventually left the house because they were just too noisy, but we all have fond memories. Maybe someday soon, when I have another temporary lapse of sanity, I'll buy another set. They can be fun. (what can be fun? lapses of sanity or gears? you decide!)
- Super Marbleworks - a marble maze by Discovery Toys. We enjoyed this for many years. We once tried a cheaper version but it simply didn't hold up. The Discovery Toys version is well worth the cost.
What can you add to the list?
You may have figured out that most or all of these are good toys for a pack herd group of children to share, ideal for large families. They are also toys that rely heavily on the creativity of the user, and none require batteries.
These are all members of that sneaky class of toys which exercise the mind without ever feeling educational. Unfortunately they are all a bit on the noisy side, but some things are just worth putting up with increased noise levels. Kids, for example.
Related posts:
- WFMW: free ice cream
- WFMW: how to look like Superwoman
- WFMW: my best tip
- WFMW: potty update
- WFMW: guarding child bloggers
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Filed under: WFMW: works for me
Can’t believe you didn’t list the speed-stacks!
I thought about it, but it’s a new toy around our house; although it’s a great favorite, I can’t say that it has stood the test of time yet.
Maybe in a few years…
K’nex: ain’t noisy, but has a lot of opportunity for creative building. Rather expensive. Lot of small parts.
Magz-X, magnetic construction kit. We bought the cheaper version and it worked very good. Unfortunately rather expensive as well if you want to build LARGE things
. Ain’t noisy, lot of small parts.
A big kart, here are the Dutch ones, you might have those in the USA as well: http://www.mammoetskelters.nl/products.php?cat=2. Warning: for outside use only
. You can choose different accessoires, like an extra seat, etc.
Men’s tools
(our 13 yo is allowed to use every appliance except the circular saw, which he ain’t eager to use either).
Blessings,
Erna
Legos, knex, regular blocks, etc. all that gets put to frequent use around here. How do you handle the stuff with marbles, though? My kids are *pretty good* at keeping things away from the baby, but marbles scare me, and it only takes once. I’ve always been too nervous to get anything with marbles. I’m looking at something called the chaos tower for this year as a gift that seems slightly similar to knex in that it is used for lots of different building creations. I do think it has balls, though, I just hope they are bigger than marbles.
I’m glad to hear I’m not the only mom who throws away legos
)
LINCOLN LOGS. We loved them as kids in our house unfortunately my kids didn’t like them as much.
LOVE your new header! Too cute!
The most fun my 5 and 7 year old boys had playing outside this past summer was when grandma brought over giant pieces of cardboard. They used strong, wide tape to build a clubhouse, painted it, furnished it with items from the house, and even had places that were covered on top to shelter them from the rain (which it did almost an entire day and they were giddy with pleasure just to sit and talk inside the 100% Boy-made structure.)
It was truly the best “toy” we’ve ever encountered. All it required was creativity, imaginaiton, and ingenuity (and a buddy to share it with.) Who says a plaything has to cost a dime? I was so delighted at their enthusiasm of such wholesome play that I stood on the deck and peered down at them at one point and was just washed over by a sense of joy and admiration for what beautiful creatures God had given to me. It is so good to see siblings connecting and enjoying each other’s company without any prompting from a parent. Hmm… maybe it was magical cardboard.
Legos are the best! Funny that you said “nothing with batteries”…Whenever my kids get somthing that requires batteries, we just don’t put batteries in it! They don’t know the difference! Ha!
Oh, I LOVED Marble Works. I played with my set for so many hours; I think the box eventually disintegrated from dragging it everywhere.
Looking back on it though, isn’t it obnoxiously loud? I enjoyed the noise, but I wonder if it drove my mom crazy.
Two more that I adored were Litebrite (teaches colors and letters, but mostly just plain fun), and Easy Bake Oven. Although, I was never given adult instruction in the kitchen. I wonder if the Easy Bake Oven would be boring for your kids since you seem to give them great opportunities to learn in the kitchen.
Great ideas! I don’t quite have a pack/herd, but I do have 4! I am so looking forward to the day I can get the marbleworks set, but alas, my 3 year old and my 20 month old would just choke on the marbles. Oh well, these days are few.
love the new header… i am still here but read about our new adventure living off grid starting oct 18, 2008 on our “new” 40 acre amish farm
Oooh, the gears is a great one. But it wouldn’t have lasted long in my house either.
my son played alot with his Thomas the train wooden tracks and trains. They are a bit pricey but we bought them at AC Moore with 40% off coupons and they will last forever. It creates alot of thinking as far as putting the tracks together the right way.
I like the new header!
I just love your picture at the top of your blog. Very creative. I need to be more so when photographing my large brood of kiddos.