There is a emphasis on beauty in Montessori and I like that. I want the things in my house, especially the ones I am exposing to Lucy, to be beautiful. I really like wooden toys and fun fabrics. But sometimes that can mean that the lovely Montessori activities and toys I see are pricier than I can afford.
Yes, it helps that we don’t buy her a lot. I would rather spend my money on a few nice toys than a bunch of plastic cheap ones* – but I would rather not spend at all if I don’t have to! And the truth is, a lot of the time you don’t, you just have to be creative.
Right now, Lucy loves manipulating things, taking things apart and putting them back and putting things into and out of containers, putting lids on jars, etc. A few months ago, I got out her shape sorter. She couldn’t actually sort the shapes of course, but I showed her how to put the blocks into the box and she would do that over and over again but it got to be too easy and she lost interest. She still uses that toy in different ways now (knocks over the stacks of blocks I make, pushes in the shapes if I put them in the right spot) but she needed a slightly more difficult “putting in” tasks.
These are a couple that I came up with. The first is a Kleenex box with these jenga blocks. Actually they are fake jenga blocks we got at Wal-mart for ~$5 a couple years ago. Their shape combined with the box’s opening means that she has to rotate them first and it is just a bit harder for Lucy to get them inside. I gave this to her last month and she loved it. She would sit for 15 minutes putting them all in then hand me the box to empty and repeat. She will still play with it now but I can tell she’s getting ready for something harder. I’ve heard of putting poker chips through a slot but I don’t think she is ready for that yet. I bought a pack of popsicle sticks at the dollar store so maybe I’ll try to find a container with a smaller opening and see if that works.
Another activity she loves is this ball/jar combo. The ball is actually a cat toy. It’s only fitting that she takes the cat’s toy because Zeeba’s favorite toys are the wooden balls from Lucy’s pounding bench. The jar might look familiar to those of you who bake – its an old yeast jar. It is big enough that the ball fits easily inside but she can’t wrap her hold hand around the ball and still be able to remove it like she normally would so it requires her to use her fingers and really concentrate. She loves to take the lid on and off the jar, put the ball in from different angles (sideways is trickiest but she’s figured it out as seen in the second picture) and even shake it around to make noise. Neither the cat toy nor glass are fully baby proof so I always watch her with this one but she it is definitely one of her favorite “toys.”
Another use for the yeast jar is as a cheerio holder. I wanted something that worked her pincher grasp but since I didn’t want to risk her sticking a bean up her nose, I played it safe with cheerios. She loves to drop them in and hear the little “tink.” I wait until after lunch when I know she is pretty full before I give her the cheerios or the game wouldn’t last long.
Actually, now that she knows it is a game, she won’t eat the good ones, only the broken ones - she goes, drop, drop, drop, finds a half cheerios, looks at it a second then pops it in her mouth! I’m not sure what that says about her future chances of OCD but it does make me laugh.
My point is not that you go out and buy yeast for a jar or empty a box of kleenex but that, if you pay attention to what you child likes to do and what you have around, you’ll probably be able to come up with some fun things for free/cheap. I know I’ve got a good one when she is so engrossed, I can take pictures without her paying attention to me. And she can play with the same item for a long time, day after day.
None of this is probably news to you more seasoned moms but if you made it through this post, please share what kinds of non-toys your kids have enjoyed playing with. I’m always on the lookout for ideas.
* I don’t meant to imply that I think all plastic toys are junk. My mom saved all our old legos and duplos because she knew they were classics that will always be loved. We got the duplos out at our last visit and Lucy had a blast with them. I’ve also heard good things about little people toys so I’ll be on the lookout for those at garage sales and thrift stores. And just because a toy is wooden, doesn’t mean it is worthwhile. There are plenty of wooden toys I wouldn’t want Lucy playing with either.
This series is really motivating me to work on weeding and organizing Zuzu's toys. We (Jason, myself, and my family) have been pretty careful about not overdoing it individually, but all together, gifts from five families exceed moderate and reasonable limits. I feel like I'm choosing between family members when I keep one toy and get rid of another, but I know that it has to be done for all of our sanity and our enjoyment of our home. It's especially obvious that she has superfluous toys when she wants to play with my measuring cups and dust pan!
ReplyDeleteThe same thing happens with her clothes, but I don't feel as guilty about putting something on her once, taking pictures, and sending it on to Goodwill. Plus, clothes stay in the closet, so they aren't quite the eyesore toys can become.
The Kleenex box is a great idea. I'm going to save our next one. Unfortunately right now John is most interested in putting things in his mouth not in and out of a box. I've tried to teach him how, but he's not getting it yet. He did pick up making things roll... like a car or ball.
ReplyDeleteI meant to tell you last week, but John still LOVES his little people. We have two play areas (living room and his room) and the little people are in his room. He will go in there (on his own without me) and play with them for quite a while. Steven has them set up like a little city and it's very inviting. However, when Steven gets home from work he often says, "A tornado named John came through Kansas!"
John really likes straws. But I don't know how it develops any part of his brain. He carries them around in his mouth. I don't get it, but it makes him happy.
We mostly get clothes from family members which works well since I like to keep some at my moms. Now that Lucy is getting older, she'll probably get more toys since giving toys is fun so we'll be in the same boat I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteAnd I actually found a little people bus with people at a thrift store yesterday. So far Lucy seems to like it but we are at my mom's so I'm not sure if it will stay here or come home with us. I like to keep toys here too so we can travel light.
Lucy has odd obsessions like John. She really likes this biography of Luther she found, she tries to carry it around and will just sit with it and flip pages. I think I straw would be a better choice, its lighter :-)