Our toy collection!
Play is a childs work
We all are at home during this lock down. Most of the day, we adults are busy with our day job; to top that we are also juggling our other needs of eating, maintaining a functioning clean home and being emotionally available for our child. It's decently hard for us parents. It is also hard for Bubu as it is a shift from what he otherwise was used to, which is having parent/s not be engrossed on a laptop screen, going to his fun Montessori, etc. One thing that has helped to keep Bubu busy is 'independent play'. And the secret to have a child be engrossed in independent play is having the right set of toys. After all "Play is a childs work".
Don't get me wrong, I am aware, kids need no toys. Leave them in nature and all the sticks, stones, everything around will become a toy. But I am focusing on toys we own if you are living in a apartment like me and need to be on a desk to do work while your kid plays in the background.
Being a minimalist we have a very small collection. All of our toys fit in this awesome organization cubby shelf by IKEA. Minimalism works great as we make very informed and conscious decisions when buying toys or accepting gifts. Every time a toy is brought in our home these are my go to questions:-
Is it open ended?
How long will it serve?
Pandemic/lockdown made me realize we have made good toy choices. It keeps Bubu engaged for 15 -20 minutes stretches (very age appropriate), then reconnection with me for 10-15 mins and then back to the next stretch. I would like to share the toys that worked for us. Introducing them as categories:-
#1 Blocks
Blocks come in many types. Magnetic, wooden, sensorial, duplo, lego, etc. We have a couple of simple blocks, which are timeless and can be played with for years to come.
We own:
Grimm's rainbow - Tip: The link I have shared here, had a 40% off during Thanks Giving when I brought.
Duplo - hand me down from our neighbors
Bubu loves to play with all. He build small city scenes, patterns, structures, sculptures basically things he sees around him. Some days Bubu prefers to just stick to one of the block types and on other days mixes them up and uses to build bigger displays.
PS: Ignore the stacking toy. It's from his infant stage, now used merely as a decoration piece in our play room, needs to be handed down to an infant.
#2 Small world + pretend play
Anything that helps facilitate small world or pretend play. People, animals, vehicles, cookware, tent, etc. Literally give your Bubu toys to animate their own world when they build with the blocks, scarfs, sand, boxes etc. Bubu loves to act out scenes from the life around him. It helps to imagine social and emotional scenes and they process, understand their every day life they see.
We own:
Mini Lego people
Animals - Our collection has a mix of land, sea, farm animals by the brand Schleich. I loved the detailing, realistic, life-like look of this brand compared to its competitors.
Vehicle's - We brought all of ours from Amazon. I try to get them in die cast, at the ratio 1:32 of original model and realistic looking ones. The matchbox size vehicles are hand me down from my childhood.
Cookware set + magnetic fruits and vegetables
Scarves - Simple, basic, solid colors are the best. Scarves can be anything from landscapes in small world play, to pretend food, to costumes. Its a blessing as you do not have to buy and clutter your space with costume's. It also helps kids reimagine and be creative as they dress to be different characters.
Tent - Frankly, even a box will do. Our tent has been imagined to be everything:- a rocket ship, fedex office, house, etc. It's my favorite as it reminds me of my childhood, I had a tent shaped as a house.
#3 Sensory station
We have a table that doubles up as a sensory bin. I use materials like beans, grains, rice, pebbles, pasta, water, water beads, felt balls, ribbons and kinetic sand. I fill the bin with only one material to avoid mixing up and eventually waste. Also store them in separate ziplocks, that way they all lasts for years. Sensory bin can easily be an extension of small world play, by mixing the figurines and blocks we spoke about earlier .
We own:
Other sensory bin blogpost:
#4 Movement toys
Our faux grass mat and curve board fall in this category. Our mat allows freedom of movement to jump, lie down, fall, roll. There is less fear of Bubu hurting himself, as it is sturdy, heavy does not easily move and is dense so acts as padding.
The curve board is great for balance and movement. It does convert into a slide and seesaw too. We got ours from Leg&Go at the best price (for a 44 inch board). Many asian vendors on Amazon.com as well as Kinderfeet has cheaper options but their size is 32 - 35 inches. Kids grow up so quickly, I wanted this board to last him until his teenage years. Our board is sturdy (holds unto 440 lbs) + ergonomically designed so even an adult can play or use for core exercises.
The only thing our play area misses is a swing. Hoping to add one in the future.
We own:
Curve board
#5 Music Instruments
Again very inviting and open ended. I try to buy from companies that employ tribal people or make authentic traditional instruments with material's derived from nature. The instrument's look good and the money goes for a good cause.
#6 Art material
If you don't buy any of the above at least having some art supply is necessary. It allows kids to do exploration of artistic expression. It's a sensory rich activity and also very freeing, calming, therapeutic and helps build focus. All of our DIY literally are made from this basic supply. We don't store these in the Ikea cubby.
We own:
Colors: One set of basic 6 tempura paints, and another box set:- color pensils, oil pastels/crayons, water color. Paint brushes and pallet
Paper: Printer paper (white), card stock, some shipping boxes and cardboard from packaging we keep around
Glue: School glue, glue stick, hot glue gun, quick fix glue, tapes
Goggly eyes
Ice-cream sticks
#7 Outdoor toys
These are fun toys to enjoy in the outdoors. All of them are just good to have, not necessary. These we store in the garage.
We own:
Big bubble wand set and Big bubble solution.
Ball. It's the most ultimate open ended toy. There are so many ways to play with a ball throw, kick, bounce. Plus all age groups enjoy ball including adults.
Frisbee
Balance bike. Also hand me down tricycle and a push truck.
#8 Books
We own a few classic childrens books. Being a minimalist I realized early that we don't need to build a huge collection, instead we frequent our local library. We store this in a box we upcycled next to Bubu's bed.
#9 Miscellaneous
Puzzles - We have a few puzzles. Puzzle are the only toys that I prefer to exchange for puzzle related toys with friends. Reason being they are not open-ended. That means the charm lasts until you crack it. So having a new puzzle, by sharing with friends, helps increase the variety. Which helps to maintain our minimalist lifestyle. Puzzles after all are considered to be a good exercise for the brain.
Sensory balls - We had got a sensory set when Bubu was a infant. It is still being used during small world play or to make up our own play of catch, throw, roll, color match, etc
Thats all the toys we own. We love all of them! I feel I am always exploring new toys and always feel overwhelmed with the amount of options there are in the market. I thought it will be helpful for a new parent to know what is working for us. Do share in comments what works for you!