Classic Toys For Tots

Every time my son becomes bored with his toys or skips to the next developmental level, I ask myself what kind of fun toys will encourage developing new skills and would be appropriate for his age. Several times I was tempted to buy toys that did not match his age and after a short observation from his side were left aside . We, moms, need to focus on our child’s personal skill level regardless of what the packaging (or the neighbor..) says. The secret is to find the toy that will be challenging enough but will still allow the child to acquire successful experiences and feelings of achievements, in other words, not too easy and not too difficult and most importantly, fun and interesting.

In this post I will share five successful choices of some great affordable toys that received excellent reviews from my now 28 months son:

1.  My son is really passionate about letters and a few months ago he learned to master the ABC’s. When he first started pointing at signs and frequently ask me about letters I realized that it is time for an appropriate toy. So, I went to my favorite local toy store and found Melissa and Doug See-Inside Alphabet peg puzzle. This is a classic peg puzzle in which each removable wooden puzzle piece is hiding a special full color illustration underneath.  It was love from first site; my son just loved taking out the pieces and look at the pictures below. At first it was hard for him to put them back in the right place & position and he didn’t know most of the words for the illustrations but after a short while he learned all the letters and words for the images below them; as a bonus he acquired a motor skill of turning and positioning the pegs to their right position. The process of learning was fun since we played question games such as: “where is the House?” what’s under the M”? and so forth. he was really excited to answer and reveal the correct image. For such a plain and inexpensive toy we received  great value and enjoyment

2. On the same visit to the store I also purchased Melissa and Doug Opposites Teaching Puzzle Cards. I wasn’t sure how my son will react to it but I wanted to expose him to puzzles toys starting with 2 pieces. I was surprised  how successful this purchase was. At first, I gave him just a few pairs to play with so he will not be overwhelmed with 40 pieces. The photos accompanied with our explanations helped him understand the relations between the two parts of the puzzles and he gradually learned which one belongs where. He had to also learn how to position the cards so they will fit and went through a process of trial and error until he mastered it. Gradually, when he was starting to get the idea of the game, we started using the correct adjectives to describe the photos and currently he is already familiar with all the opposites and can easily find the matching pieces. Again, it is always great to use the toy to ask questions to make it more interesting and that’s what we did all a long. He was eager to find the answers and learned a lot from the process.

3. Another great toy that my son is crazy about is the Magna-Tiles Build Cars and Trucks. This 27 piece set includes different parts of cars and trucks which can be assembled in several ways to create different kinds of vehicles.  My son loves magnetic toys and really enjoyed this combination of magnets and cars and he is still hooked to this game. I even bought him an additional set to expand the variety of combinations. The great thing about this game is that except for being great fun, it encourages creativity, improves fine motor skills, and helps the child to better understand magnets dynamics.

4. The following toy is one of my son’s favorites toys but I must say that I would also consider checking out different versions of it as it is a bit small. I chose this one since I didn’t want another big toy to eat the space of our apartment  and I didn’t want to spend too much for it as I had no idea if my son will be interested in it  (I also found Alex toys In My Kitchen set in a reduced price which pretty much “sealed the deal”) ; So there it was, standing in our apartment (with some additional accessories we bought for it) waiting for our little curious tenant to give it a try. Success !! My son responded very well to this new addition, it really encouraged him to play imaginative games and to create his own world in which he could act out what he absorbs from our daily life.  He started “cooking” and “baking” different objects and offered us and his teddy bears some of his “home made”  food. The whole experience helped him distinguish between the real and imaginative and better understand functionality of kitchen utensils.

5. The last toy I would like to talk about is: LeapFrog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Alphabet Set. My son first encounter with this toy was at my friend’s house. he showed instant interest in it so it was immediately added to the Christmas gift list. As I mentioned before, he loves letter games and since he already knows the ABC’s I wanted to buy him a toy that will help him get to the next level. The good thing about this toy is that every time you place and press a letter you hear the sound it makes which helps the toddler to learn the phonics. It is also made in an attractive and very friendly way and I think it can be appropriate for younger age as a trigger for learning the ABC’s in a fun way.