My daughter Drian turned three a few days ago, and it’s been such an exciting time, since she’s absorbing everything at lightning speed, and has been enjoying plenty of creative play time…
She has time alone, time with schoolmates, time with family (she loves bonding with relatives she’s close to), and a few select friends outside school. In every playdate, a few simple toys have made their way into the picture, and have stayed there for quite some time now. I’m also including in this list great new books she’s currently loving at the moment.
The toys and books and materials I’m about to share continue to be fantastic tools in stimulating her imagination, creativity, problem-solving skills, and give her a chance to have a whole lot of fun. And I’m so happy ’cause now, she can happily play by herself even for just a good number of minutes while I do a few errands a few meters away from her…I could be stealing chapters from a book while she plays on the floor next to me, or I could be fixing a quick lunch for us while she happily reads out loud from a book.
*I plan to constantly update this blog entry with more toys and books as we go along.
1. MEGABLOCKS
My child loves this toy! Whoever invented building blocks for children is an absolute genius in my book, since it is one of those simple “back-to-basics” toys that have numerous benefits for toddlers like mine:
- helps develop and sharpen hand-eye coordination as the child puts the block pieces together to form shapes and build structures.
- using the colorful blocks in color-sorting activities can aid the child in sorting and identifying colors.
- enhances fine-motor manipulation in putting together pieces like in a puzzle or forming an object or structure with the blocks
- creates bonding moments with friends and family as the child builds together with that person or group of people
2. Her Wooden Puzzles
This Shape Sequencing Sorting Set from the Melissa & Doug brand of wooden educational toys stands out as one of those toys that has held my child’s interest day in and day out for so very long. I’ve placed it on her playmat along with her other wooden toys, and she always gravitates to it, playing with the shapes. What I love about this toy is that its boldly colored wooden blocks appeal so much to my child, and she’s been able to enjoy recognizing shapes and sizes, and sorting these shapes into groups. Doing these activities, I know, are great foundations for teaching math later on.
3. An inflatable portable pool and colorful (FunBallz) balls
I think most of my child’s favorite places involve a lot of colorful things, and I think one of the best decisions I ever made was purchase this inflatable porta-pool and fill it with colorful balls called FunBallz, which are safe and non-toxic, and allow my daughter to expend her energy by engaging in active physical play in her own private play space here in the comforts of our home. These 100 balls (in this picture, you actually see 300 balls since we bought three bags of these for her to “swim” in!) come in a convenient zippered carry bag just in case you want to pack away these balls after your child’s playtime. I like that the balls are durable, that even with my child wanting to throw them around or sit on them or roll around on them, they’re sturdy and they always go back to their round and original shape. My daughter loves going home to her own little play area, and I love that it’s a great alternative for her playing indoors, especially during rainy days when we can’t enjoy a sunshiny romp in the park or run in the fields.
4. Wooden Blocks
Wooden blocks have always been considered “classic toys” for any toddler or youngster, and for my own child, they are no exception. These come in a 100 wooden-block set, and they come in four colors and nine shapes. I have observed that my daughter loves not only building with these, but also stacking them and knocking them down. They’re also great tools to use for identifying colors and teaching your kid sorting shapes.
5. “Curious George Flies A Kite” by Margret Rey
This wonderful classic was one of the gifts Drian received for her third birthday, and once we began reading it, she’s been hooked on this interesting story about a curious monkey named George who always seems to be on a brink of a misadventure because of his curiosity. It’s a great bedtime story too. The illustrations are appealing to children and my child keeps requesting that we read about “Curious George” over and over again.
6. The Usborne First Picture Cookbook
Another useful and wonderful birthday gift Drian received was this great hardbound book called The Usborn First Picture Cookbook, filled with pictures of step-by-step instructions of recipes ideal for parents and children to work on together. The “clay art” characters or figures in the book are shown preparing ingredients, mixing the batter, etc. and they look engaging and fun to imitate. The recipes are simple but also encourage children to understand simple instructions and processes involved in baking and cooking. Recipes like muffins, tomato and cheese tarts, chocolate crispies, fudge, biscuits and bread rolls in the book need only simple ingredients. With its wipe-clean pages, you can lay the book down the kitchen counter as you and your child follow the steps to food preparation. And since Drian and I have been busy in the kitchen with our own little recipes of cookies, brownies, and muffins the past month or two, it was such a delight to have new things to try using this fantastic book.
I’ll be adding more to this list within the next few days. Excited to share our experiences and discoveries with all of you!
*Latest Updates:
I SPY books are not only entertaining, but they sharpen your children’s skills at using their eyes to spot hidden objects, and going through these books together greatly aids a child in expanding his vocabulary as he searches for the hidden items in the clear photographs on each page. It posts challenges and also introduces the child to adjectives or descriptive words. My daughter and I love reading the riddles and hunting for the items on the pages of her I SPY books, and we want to collect them all! Here are some of the book’s author’s thoughts on I SPY books that parents and educators ought to read:
http://www.scholastic.com/ispy/books/jeanmarzollo.htm 
