Happy 2 Year Old Adah, TOYS!

[douloijohanna]

Adah turned two today, and Jason and Sara invited Isaac to her party.  It was in way South Austin, near where my CSA pickup was last year. I got there a little late, around 4:15, and stayed until 7:30 or so.  We were the only friends invited; everybody else was family.  We felt quite honored. I took mental notes the whole time, since Isaac's first

Comments

lego

[seraphimsigrist]

it seems to me some of the new lego are more
liteal arent they.? made specifically to make
one sort of thing. while the old ones I played
with were just blocks and could be made into
anything at all.

Re: lego

[douloijohanna]

Yes, the new Legos are pretty awful that way. But, my mother-in-law saved a huge tub of the old kind for Steve to use one day. Plus, you can still buy the old-fashioned kind if you want to.

[starfish82]

I don't know, my favorite toys were always my little animal figures (pretty literal). I made up all sorts of stories for them and play with them every day. I think it depends on what kind of imagination the kid has in the first place, and mine was always pretty powerful. I think literal toys can be good ways for kids to learn about the world. I mean, those little doctor's bags are pretty cool, even though they're literal and you can pretty much only play doctor with them. Children also like to play with and care for dolls, which I can't see the harm in. Blocks are awesome though. One of my favorite toys was a set of plain wooden blocks. I think a healthy balance of literal and non-literal toys is good.

[douloijohanna]

Well, one has to work pretty hard to find non-literal toys these days. I think a few well-chosen ones are alright. And, I'd also say there's a difference as kids get older. The older they get, the less enthralling blocks will be. I can see getting an older kid a doctor's bag, or a chemistry set, or those kinds of things. But I think until a kid is school aged, it's better if toys help foster the imagination. This is, afterall, the developmental stage when it's really forming.

[starfish82]

Yeah, that's probably true. I wasn't sure what ages you were referring to.

my boy's favorite toys

[chacogabi]

little hot wheels cars, balloons, bubbles, balls, sticks and legos.

Re: my boy's favorite toys

[chacogabi]

and books, books, more books, and puzzles.

Morphing Toys

[anonymous]

"A toy that is an airplane is only ever an airplane."

Ah...not so! Kids can make anything out of anything. I have seen an elephant become a camel (because Veggie Tales Jonah rides a camel--at the time, a pencil was Jonah and the toy elephant was the camel. When I said, who is riding the elephant, he replied "NO, its a CAMEL!" (And he knows elephants).

But Play doh and leggos are the best, aren't they!

Re: Morphing Toys

[douloijohanna]

Point taken. Perhaps some kids are blessed with zealous imaginations that are able to transform anything into anything. I wasn't one of those kids. I was pretty literal with my literal toys. Oh, I wouldn't have had a problem transforming a pencil into Jonah, but a pencil isn't like a toy car that's decked out with working windows, doors, steering, and wheels. That car is only ever going to be a car. I might be able to make the car fly, but then it's just a flying car. The pencil, on the other hand, could be Jonah, or the Whale, or a tree, or a cat, or a magic wand, or a spaceship, or alien invaders, or, or... (well, you get the idea).

Oops...forgot to sign or log in

[anonymous]

...that last comment was by Gale. Can't remember my password so will have to come back later to read other posts.

Funny...just after I wrote that post I went into the boys room and asked Nathan "Watcha doing?"

"Playing with this" he said, pointing to his toy drill.

"Oh, you're playing with your drill?"

"Noooo, I'm playing with my BOAT!"

*giggle*