Toys Actually Worth Buying

Today I am participating in two Wednesday carnivals! Both are so fun and both have amazing hosts. Seven Clown Circus hosts Wordful Wednesday and Rocks In My Dryer a fellow Oklahoma blogger hosts Works-For-Me-Wednesday. This week the theme is "Toys Actually Worth Buying".

My favorite toys are those that have a variety of ways to play with them. I really like the Fisher Price Little People toy sets. They are very versatile. I especially like the School Bus and the Playground. The little people are all dressed in different clothing, come in different nationalities and have different objects in their hands. These can be used for following complex commands, "The boy with the backpack wants to slide next." for inferencing, "Do you want the girl holding the toy that cries and wets or the boy with the green amphibian in his pocket?" or for prepositions, "The girl with the balloon is under the slide". The children can swing, ride the merry-go-round, climb the ladder, play in the sandbox, slide down, and play tic-tac-toe. I usually have the little people stand in lines waiting for their friends to take a turn. We talk about the ones that are first, second, third or last in line. Children can learn descriptors for the little people such as hair color, clothing + color, short, long, curly, or straight hair, and with or without a bow or headband.

I like these toys because they can be used with little ones who just want to put the people in and out of the bus (while singing "Wheels on the bus") or at a higher level they can pretend play by having the children play together and create real dialogue. What a wonderful way to act out social conversations that might occur on a real school playground.

I buy many of my toys on ebay. You can buy toys that are no longer the "best sellers" available in the stores. Also, I like to stock up on extra "Little People". You can usually find them in lots separate from the original toy. I have about 30 of the Little People so I can interchange them to keep play interesting. I like that the little people of different nationalities can play together. I usually add other pretend play toys to the mix such as a bowl for a swimming pool, little bits of cloth for the beach towel, a toy crate with a little dog, and some play food, maybe even some velveta. Everyone gets on the bus to ride to the playground. Who will want to play on the merry-go-round, and who will play tic-tac-toe? Who will play together? Who will bring their pet to the park? The play is endless and so different each time you play depending on your props.

If adults play along with their children the vocabulary and complexity of language will soar!!

Abundance is...learning life lessons through pretend play.