Toys, Toys, Toys

I have three kiddos ages 5 and under. And despite my best efforts the toy clutter monster seems to rear it's ugly head just about every month. Today I went into my five year old's room while he was at preschool (insert evil laugh here) and filled two laundry baskets full of toys and took them down to the basement. I am waiting to see if he notices. So far, he hasn't. 

But, while I do really dislike toy clutter I don't dislike toys in general. But, as I have gotten farther into this parenting journey I have become very picky about what kids of toys I do like my children playing with. As a rule I don't like toys that make a lot of noise or toys that "do all the playing by themselves". I prefer simple. well made toys that spark the imagination. And it doesn't hurt if all three kiddos can get good use out of them too!

Here are some of our favorite toys at the R household.

Our wooden kitchen from KidKraft. We have had this for a few years and it still looks brand new. All of our kids get lots of use out of it and I love the creativity it sparks.

Our little Jack loves cars. These ones have held up wonderfully through all three kiddos as well.

Instead of having a million different building sets I prefer to have a few that we can add to. By far the Lego Duplos still get the most play in our house. Max is starting to graduate to the regular Legos but these are still his favorite.

I don't know if you are aware but the R family is quite musical... or we try to be. We got Jack this musical instrument set for Christmas and it has been fun for the whole crew.

Of course markers are the most coveted art supply around here. My oldest usually spends at least an hour a day drawing. Usually pictures of Angry Birds.

Max has always loved dinosaurs and animals and my favorite toys for him have always been the basic plastic ones. They usually get the most play and are versitile for playing with around the house or in water or sand. He has a lot of Imaginext ones and frankly those just get on my nerves. They are noisy and plastic. I like how simple these ones are.

And of course the ultimate in imagination is dress up. Both of my kids love to dress up. Sophie is rarely without a princess dress on and Max is right with her putting together a Super Hero costume.

Those are our favorite toys around here. Anything else is fair game to get tossed at anytime! How about your house? What are your favorite toys?

I am linking up today at Raising Homemakers!