Since moving I have realised how many cr@ppy toys we have around that the kids don't even play with now they are getting older. Just those babyish ones they aren't interested in and even with Christmas just gone I feel like they are a bit bored at times because the stuff we have isn't age appropriate. I get SO overshelmed in the toy sections of stores and don't even talk to me about Toys R Us so I need ideas!
The things we do have that they love
Craft - glue, textas, crayons scissors paper etc - these do my head in becuase they leave lids off but they do love it
Lego - away at the moment because they refused to help me clean up but again, good and bad!
My Little Pony/Barbie/Polly Pockets/Strawberry shortcake stuff - DD loves this stuff and DS will play with her too
Dolls and prams - still a big hit
Puzzles - might need to update these
Trains - really gone off these - DS used to be obsessed, from the age of about 1 to now, loved tracks and trains but the last few months is over it.
Ok so what am I missing? Are there any open ended sets that are really great for kids that I could invest in that will last them the next few years! Ideas please!!
(Nb: I only really need indoor stuff - we bike ride, hang at the beach, play in the yard heaps!)
I'm not sure if you're interested in this 'connector' type stuff called mobilo, it's got these rectangle links and wheels that you can make cars, trains, trucks, buildings even a robot if you have the right pieces, etc, similar to leggo I guess. But if you have trouble with the kids cleaning up the mess it might be an issue as there are lots and lots of little pieces. We also have a little pram with baby and DS loves using it. We've recently got a little keyboard with drums and a mike and again it's a big hit as DS loves his own voice so we get lots of singing every day. Blocks and puzzles are good too. Kitchen tea parties? Cooking pots or like a little kitchen set up?
Thanks for the ideas! I think I need to go through everything and sort it, and label, and make it a bit more accessible then add to it. Kitchen sets are a good idea we had a few sets that got lost and I never replaced them so might get some new ones! Might do little "shop" type stuff as well.
Dress ups - we have lots of very open-ended dressups - like large square scarves in lots of different fabrics - op shops are a good source for these. The nightwear section is great, we have a number of wacky old nighties and robes that get used in dozens of different ways.
Play-doh - we have zillions of different sorts of cutters & things - food-based ones are a huge hit (esp during masterchef season) but we also have a couple of sets themed around random things like fairytales and dinosaurs. I buy the play-doh instead of making it because i find it keeps well, and the kids have lots of colours to play with.
We also have a pretend kitchen with a variety of pretend food which gets used a lot - dolly tea parties, more masterchef, etc etc. I'm a bit fussy with this though, a lot of the pretend food is dang ugly, so I've only bought nice wooden sets or Target had a huge range of fabric ones a while back. The kitchen is stocked with a plastic tea set and then a whole lot of op-shop "real" kitchen stuff - wooden spoons, tea pot, etc.
Also, weirdly enough - we have hung onto our wooden block set and it's getting a great work out now that DD's a bit older - she plays a lot more laterally than she did when she was younger.
After mucking around with different storage options, I now keep the most used sets in those big stackable plastic drawers (got ours at Big W). The drawers pull all the way out so you can carry the whole drawer to the spot where you're playing, then put everything back in right there and the whole drawer goes away. Makes packing up easier. We keep all the little "critters" (eg pet shop, disney fairies, zoobles etc) together in their own seperate drawer - helps prevent them drifting through every single part of the house. Top tip for lego - have a lego quilt or mat so you can just pick up the corners and tip the whole thing into the lego container.
Games
Kitchen and shopping (we have cash register shopping trolley and heaps of fake food)
Mobilo
Hot wheels ramp things that do spins etc (we have 1 that attaches to table and car runs down does a loop and a plane fires off to take off)
Dress ups
Puzzles
Animals etc we have dinosaurs, farm animals, zoo amimals etc and they make things up.
IPAD
I'm planning a toy cull these school holidays, we also have so much stuff that just isn't played with anymore and I want it gone lol!
Things that mine love at the moment are:
Toy kitchen and pretend food, pots and pans, teapots etc
Cash register for playing shops
Dress-ups
Construction set (need to expand on ours as its only small)
Leggo
Board and card games, puzzles (need to replace puzzles with some harder ones)
Craft and play-doh
Cars with a car mat and garage/ramp (DS loves this more than trains at the moment)
Pop-up tent for playing picnics and camping
Doll's house and barbie (baby dolls and ponies/polly pocket not played with as much)
Dinosaur and other animal figurines, puppets
CD player with microphone for karaoke (drives me nuts but they love it!)
the favourites in our house at the moment are Barbie dolls. As much as I dislike the concept, I love the imaginative play that they do while using them so they can't be all bad. They frequently go on holidays, go to school or go camping with a kazillion barbies, princesses, dinosaurs and the occasional stuffed toy
Otherwise, pretty much everything you've mentioned. Lots of different craft stuff - plaster of paris moulds etc that they make then decorate was yesterday's after school activity. Also finding now that they're both learning so much at school that educational based stuff is something they want - activity books for writing, reading and maths etc.
Jigsaw puzzles, board games and card games are very popular too. Also nice that they're now both at the point where they understand the rules and play by them (most of the time anyway!)
We have a massive toy room with huge amounts of storage but its totally bulging. I really need to go through and cull too. My problem is that I look at something I want to get rid of - like the train activity table - because they have no interest in it anymore but know I really shouldn't because Miss A is going to want it soon.
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What toys for 4 and 5 yr olds......
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