What are your LO's top 3 open ended or educational toys? I'm just looking for some new ideas of toys but want them to get lots of use. I was thinking of getting magnatiles, but want to hear some other possible ideas first!
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You know what I love about Magnatiles? They don't just have to be used on a table or the floor. You can take them into the tub, use washable paint with them, do "sink/float" science experiments with them. They're amazing.
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@mediagirl: I never thought of using magnetiles like that, thanks!!! Lo usually plays with them and little plastic animals or cars, making houses or garages or roads
Most of the toys lo plays with are open-ended, but mostly dramatic play related (kitchen/food/utensils/dishes/pots/shopping basket/etc or a doll with accessories/stroller/cradle/etc) or art supplies. Also putting anything in her water/sensory table-- at daycare drop off today, lo was going to town washing plastic baby dolls in the water table with soap, wash clothes and sponges
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Sidewalk chalk, crayons, blocks, cups, and any small things she can put into the cups (dominoes, poker chips, Jenga blocks, checkers).
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I'm a big fan of our play kitchen, does that count as open ended? My big girl also has a set of wooden dominos with animals on them and they get a huge amount of use!
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My daughter got a Bilibo for her birthday and she has played with it constantly since , in so many different ways. It is awesome for kids with an active imagination!
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Other than magnatiles...
Bristle Blocks (B toys makes a set called Stackadoos that my girls love)
Learning Resources plastic animals (they're big, not like the little Safari LTD "Toob" sets - though my girls like those too) - the favorites tend to be Mommy & Baby sets. We have safari animals & dinosaurs
Counter sets - Ours is from Kaplan and features multicolored rubber/plastic insects. Right now the girls mostly like sorting them by type or color, but they sometimes use them as blocks, play with them like dolls, and eventually they'll be able to do the math "flashcards" that come with the set.
ETA: If you don't mind a little junk mail, sign up for the Lakeshore Learning catalog. The items are $$ but provide great inspiration for educational toys - you might be able to repurpose some items you already have.
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I'm shocked no one has mentioned Legos yet!! They were my favorite as a kid and I love seeing my son okay with them for hours too.
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@Mrs. Pen: we have tons of those
our favorite!
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Train tracks and trains
Trucks - they just fill them with dirt, rocks, other cars, sippy cups etc., etc.,
Duplo blocks -
@Charm54: What does she do with it? We have one but it gets no use because we can't figure out what to do with it.
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@erinbaderin: she spins/rocks in it to go to the moon, drives it like a car,uses it to rock her babies, as a cave to hide her toys, steps on it like rocks, puts it on her head to be a monster, plays with it in the bath as a boat...every day she seems to find a new use for it. She has always had a wild imagination though so that stuff is right up her alley.
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Scarves/bandanas/handkerchiefs
Giant cardboard boxes
Buckets
our favorite!
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