Wednesday, May 2, 2012

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!

8 comments:

  1. Hello friend. I just caught up on your posts and I wanted to say I am loving what you've been sharing lately! I love this post on toys. I feel the same way, however when other give Logan gifts it's harder to control the battery operated toys. Oh well...anyway many hugs to you today!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by the blog! I totally know what you mean about the gift toys. I am having to learn it is okay to let go of those too... but I really struggle with it!

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  2. Those are great toys. We love our play kitchen around here too! Also we have an Angry Birds fan too. :)

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    1. Glad you have a fellow Angry Birds fan! What is it that kids love about them so much? Cracks me up!

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  3. Our toy rooms must look very similar! Yes to the toy kitchen, the Duplos/Legos (we also recently graduated to regular Legos, and wow do they ever seem to hide well inside carpet fibers - I've stepped on three just this past week), the drum kit (even my hubby will bang out a tune when he's in the mood to be a silly dad) and washable markers! My girls love their markers. Fun post.

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    1. Eek! Stepping on Legos! I am not excited about this! But, I know it is just a matter of time!

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  4. We have a bunch of dinosaurs too here. And I bought a set from Amazon for ~$20 and there are only 6 but they are totally our favorites - nothing fancy just jumbo rubber dinosaurs. From Kelly's.

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    1. Thanks for coming by! Isn't it so awesome when super simple toys become their favorites?

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