Parents Asking About Educational Toys

[daycare]

I have a few parents that are asking me what would be some great educational toys for them to buy their children for xmas....

For me these would be:
legos
Lincoln logs
beads with strings
blocks
puzzles

but the parents were not happy with those answers..

Maybe you guys can give some ideas or websites that I can refer them to??

Thanks all

[SilverSabre25]

Anything without batteries?

Anything that allows the CHILD to do the playing, and not the toy?

On a less snarky note...your list is great. I have a feeling that the parents are looking for the types of toys that "teach" the child, a la Leap Pads and caterpillars that speak the alphabet, and DVD's that teach them Spanish and ******* and Swahili.

[Meyou]

Felt boards? Great for imagination but a nice quiet toy.

[Heidi]

-animal "memory"
-Steif animals, knights & horses, etc.
-a good quality marble run for older kids
-K'nex
-

My sister made her daughter a german "kaufladen", which is like a store front, last christmas. When we visit, everyone from the toddlers to the middle schoolers played with that. Now, that is a gift that will last through her childhood and her children's childhoods. I wish I had the skills! here is something similar:

http://www.dein-traum-kaufladen.de/

She made it with pine, and everyone in the family contributed small food containers, a couple shopping carts, a cash register, toy money, etc.

IMO, If it needs batteries, it's not educational, it's brain-draining!

[kendallina]

from Naeyc:

http://www.naeyc.org/ecp/resources/goodtoys

An article about 'simple toys'

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071123204938.htm

[daycare]

Anything without batteries?

Anything that allows the CHILD to do the playing, and not the toy?

On a less snarky note...your list is great. I have a feeling that the parents are looking for the types of toys that "teach" the child, a la Leap Pads and caterpillars that speak the alphabet, and DVD's that teach them Spanish and ******* and Swahili.

....your post cracked me up.....I feel like no matter what I tell them they wont be happy...


Heck let them play in the kitty litter...LOL its better than leap frog....I am so just kidding

[daycare]

-animal "memory"
-Steif animals, knights & horses, etc.
-a good quality marble run for older kids
-K'nex
-

My sister made her daughter a german "kaufladen", which is like a store front, last christmas. When we visit, everyone from the toddlers to the middle schoolers played with that. Now, that is a gift that will last through her childhood and her children's childhoods. I wish I had the skills! here is something similar:

http://www.dein-traum-kaufladen.de/

She made it with pine, and everyone in the family contributed small food containers, a couple shopping carts, a cash register, toy money, etc.

IMO, If it needs batteries, it's not educational, it's brain-draining!

OMG super cute..... I want one... but we just dont have the room

[Country Kids]

Anything without batteries?

Anything that allows the CHILD to do the playing, and not the toy?

On a less snarky note...your list is great. I have a feeling that the parents are looking for the types of toys that "teach" the child, a la Leap Pads and caterpillars that speak the alphabet, and DVD's that teach them Spanish and ******* and Swahili.

Exactly what i was thinking!!!!!!

[SilverSabre25]

Anything without batteries?

Anything that allows the CHILD to do the playing, and not the toy?

On a less snarky note...your list is great. I have a feeling that the parents are looking for the types of toys that "teach" the child, a la Leap Pads and caterpillars that speak the alphabet, and DVD's that teach them Spanish and ******* and Swahili.

Michael, why the heck is "R u s s i a n" getting **'d out?!

[harperluu]

Zingo is a favorite here and a great gift. I have 2 year olds that can play with coaching and the 3's & 4's flip over this great matching game.

Duplo lego sets are great. Not the bucket of various size duplos but the actual sets (i.e. airplane, fire station, etc.) These sets are sometimes hard to find and I have had the best luck locating them online. They come with interesting pieces that are versatile and large enough to be considered non-chokable in most cases. They are a great addition to the basic duplo block set.

A magnet set is great for over 4 year olds. Kapla blocks or Magna tiles are great for those kids that are creative builders. A marble run if they don't have younger siblings.

An Aquadoodle is great for preschool age. Cutting play food is always a favorite. I also recently purchased the Fisher Price picnic basket for my daughter for her birthday (she is 2) and it has lots of pieces and items for her to put in and out of the basket, plus she uses it with her dolls for pretend play.

Groovy girls. I think they still make them??

Hope this helps.

[harperluu]

Zingo is a favorite here and a great gift. I have 2 year olds that can play with coaching and the 3's & 4's flip over this great matching game.

Duplo lego sets are great. Not the bucket of various size duplos but the actual sets (i.e. airplane, fire station, etc.) These sets are sometimes hard to find and I have had the best luck locating them online. They come with interesting pieces that are versatile and large enough to be considered non-chokable in most cases. They are a great addition to the basic duplo block set.

A magnet set is great for over 4 year olds. Kapla blocks or Magna tiles are great for those kids that are creative builders. A marble run if they don't have younger siblings.

An Aquadoodle is great for preschool age. Cutting play food is always a favorite. I also recently purchased the Fisher Price picnic basket for my daughter for her birthday (she is 2) and it has lots of pieces and items for her to put in and out of the basket, plus she uses it with her dolls for pretend play.

Groovy girls. I think they still make them??

Hope this helps.

Dear lord! How many times did I say great??? Sheesh!

[daycare]

Dear lord! How many times did I say great??? Sheesh!

its ok...I think it's great!!

Thanks everyone for the replies...

I know that as teachers of children we see toys much differently than most parents do.

I will forward along all of these suggestions....

[kimsdaycare]

Refer them to site like Lakeshore Learning.

Many parents view educational toys and learning systems as the same thing.

School supply stores usually have a mix of both, but have a wonderful way of showing the value of even the simplest toys and what children learn from them.

Browsing through those catalogs are what inspired my first love of "getting back to the basics". Classic toys from our childhood that improve critical thinking skills and imagination.

I laugh when I see toys that are supposed to teach language or what not but are full of flashing lights buttons to press.

DCK brought one once where Dora was supposed to say "Hello!...Hola!"

It always came out "Hello!...Ho!" because they kept pressing the buttons too fast !

Educational indeed

[daycare]

Refer them to site like Lakeshore Learning.

Many parents view educational toys and learning systems as the same thing.

School supply stores usually have a mix of both, but have a wonderful way of showing the value of even the simplest toys and what children learn from them.

Browsing through those catalogs are what inspired my first love of "getting back to the basics". Classic toys from our childhood that improve critical thinking skills and imagination.

I laugh when I see toys that are supposed to teach language or what not but are full of flashing lights buttons to press.

DCK brought one once where Dora was supposed to say "Hello!...Hola!"

It always came out "Hello!...Ho!" because they kept pressing the buttons too fast !

Educational indeed

...that is super funny!!

I hate those types of toys and my In-Laws are always always always buying them for my son....

[E Daycare]

Im doing Christmas shopping for my own DS (2yrs old) and ALWAYS find its educational. My dcp ask the same thing and I said "well etsy has a lot of nice handmade toys, sensory tubs (or you can make your own), felt boards, seek and find toys etc and amazon has a plethora of Montessori toys/puzzles that Im getting DS".

Not the answer they were looking for I think but then again if they look around the daycare they should see thats all the kids have. Stuff to get them thinking and moving. Today I ordered those big Melissa and Doug cardboard blocks and looked up some felt boards. I always lean towards the educational toys. My sil wanted to know what my ds wanted for xmas and I said "Tinker toys!" .

I have one battery operated toy on his xmas list and its a remote controlled bus.

The only electronic toy I had as a kid was Speak N Say and I survived . To be honest though, I still wish I had that for my DS .