Playing and Creating With: Katie

Today, with have with us one of those women who exudes creativity; she makes her own clothes (with her own patterns), whips out adorable outfits for her kids in an afternoon, teaches art classes, did homeschool in a way that made me ask myself if I should homeschool my children since the experiences her kids were having were so amazing, and has most recently been traveling the world with her 3 children.

Exhibit A: Katie's family on their way back from Petra

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Getting Ready for Summer: Adventuring

Sarah shared some of her summer toy essentials last week.  I'm excited to share some of my family's summer favorites this week.  We usually split our time in the summer between California and Colorado, visiting with family and spending as much time outside as we can.

One of my favorite things to do is to with my kids during the summer is go on adventures.  These can be anywhere, on a walk around the block, at the park, at the beach, hiking.  There are things to discover everywhere. As a parent, it's part of my job to help them see the extraordinary in the routine.  It doesn't take much nudging (or often any at all), but here a few of my favorite essentials to help turn that walk around the block into an expedition.

1. This is one of my son's favorite things to tote around on our walks around the park.  Sometimes we decide in advance what we're looking for, a specific type of bug or worm or rock, and he studies the plants and grass through the magnifying glass to find it.

2.  I'm excited to introduce this to my kid's this summer and use it as a way to record and inspire new adventures.

3. My kids love to look at maps and give me directions, wherever we are or wherever we're headed, there's a good chance they have somewhere else in mind and I find the directions they give with a compass in hand have an extra air of authority.

4.  This is just a fun tool for slightly longer hikes or camping.  Compass, whistle, mirror, container, and more all in your hand.  And it's hard to go wrong with a $5 price tag.

5. No matter where you're going, hydration is important, especially in the summer heat.  This is a great pack, the perfect size for little adventurers.

6.  Every kid loves to play with these, they're a great toy at home and even more fun on hiking. It helps my little ones to see beyond where we're at and look at where we're trying to go.

7. National Geographic has some absolutely fantastic books for children.  Their "First Big Books" series is great and this is a great resource to turn to before heading out to catch or study bugs.

8. And why limit your adventures to the day time?  Night hiking or camping, headlamps are essential gear for young ones out past the sun.

Getting Ready for Summer: Summer Toys

Are any of you already thinking ahead to summer time and the lazy days of no school?

Here in Texas, the weather is already getting warm, we've hit the mid to upper 80's this week. The weather combined with the fact that there are only 6 weeks of school left has me thinking about the summer and getting some fun outdoor toys together.

For the bulk of the summer we'll be in a pool or at a splash pad but I always like to have a supply of outdoor things for us to do. These are the basics I like to always have around:

one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight 

Tea Party

My mother was given a demitasse china tea set by her aunt when she was a young girl.  That darling little set lasted for decades. I loved pouring tea and milk, spooning sugar, and drinking from the dainty white and gold cups. Sometimes it was herbal tea, other times lemonade, or hot chocolate (at my grandparent's, right before bed, always with cookies).  I had tea parties with my grandparents, aunts, mother, friends, and siblings. I have three sisters and we all have these same, wonderful memories.

My mother encouraged us to keep this tradition in our own families by passing along heirloom tea sets, owned by our great-great grandmothers and aunts, to each of us. Long before I had children, I had a box in my attic, tightly packed and labeled "Taryn's Tea Set."

Toy Roundup: 15 IKEA Favorites

Have you all been to IKEA lately? We both went this week to scout out some of our favorite things and  we found so much goodness. We've rounded up our 15 favorites from dress ups to toys and furnishings.

Let's start with the dress ups, IKEA has seriously upped its game with this new line, offering a wonderful variety of imaginative hats, and full costume options. These are our favorites:

one / two / three / four / five

Playmobil 1.2.3

Are you familiar with Playmobil? They have the most intricate play worlds with various themes some of my favorites are Western, Fairies, City Action, Pirates.

While these larger Playmobil sets are amazing, having a toddler in the house makes it difficult for me to use them. The tiny pieces that make them lovely for older kids, are not so toddler friendly. I had kind of written Playmobil off for us until our youngest was older, then I discovered the Playmobil 1.2.3 line.

The pieces in the Playmobil 1.2.3 line are chunkier and the parts are limited. Win!

Here are some of our favorites:

one / two / three / four / five / six 

Toys with handles are genius, my toddler loves being able to carry the Take Along Barn around the house and set up shop anywhere. I love the small design details of these toys, like the bins that go with the recycling truck, and the luggage included with the airplane.

How do you feel about Playmobil? Did you grow up with it? Do you buy it for your kids?
I grew up with Playmobil but my husband did not so when my mother gifted us with our first Playmobil set for our oldest he was a little overwhelmed by the set up. Anyone have a similar experience?

Peek Inside a Playroom: Elise

Do you have that friend that you learn a lot from just by watching them parent? The one who is calm, cool and collected in the face of girl drama (she has 3), is always put together, is good at multitasking, is prepared with a capital P, and makes it seem like being outnumbered is totally doable? Did I mention she also runs half marathons, has a resume consulting business, and plans awesome family adventures? Yes, Elise is one of those friends who is inspiring in her ability to accomplish her goals.

Please welcome her and her darling playroom!

Setting Up Your Own Post Office

Every kid loves mail!  And the concept lends itself to so many great activities. If you're looking for an invitation for your kids to get creative we suggest setting up your own mini post office.  We've gathered a few of our favorite postal picks to get you started.

Felt Mailbox Play Set, Postman Costume, Melissa and Doug Alphabet Stamp Set, Toy Mail Truck, Minted Personalized Stationery, Melissa and Doug My Own Mailbox, Stamps, Melissa and Doug Storytelling Paper, Classic #2 Pencil, Magic Rub Erasers (12 pack), Melissa and Doug Sort and Stamp Mailbox

Peek Inside a Playroom: Britney Warner

Do you know the kind of mom who makes all celebrations special? Whether it is through a St. Patricks' Day treasure hunt, or an amazing homemade birthday cake? Britney is that kind of mom. She always has fun and creative ideas for taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary. Her playroom is no exception; we are thrilled she agreed to give us a little peek inside.

Name: Britney
Location: Utah
How many kids to you have and what are their ages? I almost have four kids. Zoey, (she'll be 7 in less than a week), Felix (5), Ezra (3), and Millie (due in 2 weeks!)

Make it a Gift: Musical Toys

While giving books as gifts is one of our favorite things to do, there are times when a standalone book given with a little something extra will truly delight the recipient. This week we've rounded up 10 musical toys to give along with your favorite musical books, and to help get the family band you've always wanted to start off the ground.

Our Favorite Building Toys

Did you know that the basic unit block was developed by an early childhood educator in 1913? The blocks' shapes and sizes were carefully chosen to work together and to further the idea that every young child can learn scientific, artistic, and natural principles through play.

"In fact, multiple studies over several decades back up these claims, with some finding that children who play with blocks significantly outperform those who do not, not just in infancy but over their entire academic careers." -The Economist. 

Pretty interesting, right?

Building toys can also help:

• Develop hand eye coordination
• Teach cooperative play and build social skills through working together
• Lay a foundation for math concepts 
• Teach the nature of gravity (this may be every toddlers favorite lesson)

We have a set of unit blocks that my mom saved and passed on to us and we've added this Melissa and Doug set to our collection as well:

The Amazon reviews on these give them 5 stars and I have to say I have not been disappointed. My kids have enough blocks to build the structures they want and there is a good variety of shapes. My favorite thing about this set may be the storage case which can double as a base for building on and keeps the blocks orderly when they are not being played with.

If you are ready to expand your building toy options these are some other toys we recommend:

1. Magna-Tiles- these are a serious favorite around here and every parent I have ever talked to who owns these agrees that you will get your money out of these in play time. Kids love the rainbow colors as well as the ability to easily build vertical structures. In addition to easy vertical building these offer the possibility for rainbow roads for cars to drive on, a village of triangle houses, teepees, pattern play etc. The possibilities here are really endless and I am always surprised by what my kids build with these on their own (cathedrals, grocery stores, parking garages). My 7 year old and 2.5 year old both want to play with these each day. We recommend starting with the 100 piece set as you have the most building options, and then expanding from there.

2. Legos- I am a big fan of the Classic Legos for my kids because they offer open ended options. While I think a lot of the Lego sets looks really amazing, my kids are young and haven't reached the age where they will keep all the pieces together. I also like the process of creation that happens when you give them pieces without any set plan for them.  The Duplo sets are fabulous for younger children.  They offer the same open ended play, are easy to build with, and don't present a safety hazard.  And there are so many sets to choose from based on your child's interests.

3. MegaBloks- For the younger set (1-3 yrs) MegaBloks are always a hit. Whenever these are around, the toddlers seem to make a beeline for them. They are big enough for them to handle well and once they learn to stack and connect them the option for making more than tower creations is there. While this set doesn't offer the longevity of the others, the price point is hard to beat.

4. Grimm's Blocks- Grimm's blocks are possibly the most beautiful wooden blocks ever. When we got our Grimm's Color Chart set I thought I might be the only one who was excited about the colors, but my kids were equally excited and couldn't wait to break them open. The options for the Color Chart set are really fun since your typical block set does not come with these block sizes. You can do block dominos, build towers using post and lintel construction, use them as fences, or roads and bonus they combine well with the basic unit blocks. We have our eyes on the Romanesque set next.

5. WEDGits-  WEDGits are marketed as an educational toy designed to encourage creativity, stimulate spatial thinking, and teach geometric patterning.  I can't argue.  These blocks are an entirely unique building experience and have challenged my children to think differently about how to balance, connect, and create.  Going well beyond basic building, children stack, nest, and wedge the pieces together.  I recommend starting with the 35 piece Deluxe Toy Set, that's probably the minimum number of pieces you need to have to really get utility out of the set.  There are several ways to expand the set; buying smaller sets of 15 pieces, expansion combo packs, ImagAbility sets that are compatible with the base sets.  Two comments to consider, the set itself may be smaller than you imagine and does include some smaller pieces- a little larger than dice.    This set is best for children aged 3+.

6. Giant Soft Blocks- This toy set hasn't left my playroom since my oldest child was born.  The blocks are colorful, soft, washable, and easy to create with.  Each of my children started playing with them when they were between 6-9 months old and haven't stopped.  Older children that come over to play often gravitate towards the bucket we keep them in and start building tall towers or pathways across the carpet.  My son loves to build cities or ramps to race his cars around in.  The blocks are sturdy and well built so they balance well and build into tall towers quite easily.   They aren't the smallest toy, but they're not the largest either and can be tucked away in a corner or a few smaller bins without too much trouble.

7. Little Tikes Big Waffle Blocks- These blocks are so cool.  I loved them as a kid and it's fun to see the children in my family love them just as much a generation later.   If you have the space to easily accommodate, I highly recommend them.   They are large and strong enough for children to build everything from chairs to sit in, cars to push around, and houses (with doors and windows and roof) to play in.  The manufacturer says that the blocks are for children aged 2+ but children aged 4+ would get the most utility.  Each set is 18 pieces.  There's a lot you can do with 18 pieces but two sets would probably be optimal if you have a home with a lot of playdates.

Have we missed any of your favorites? Let us know in the comments!

Valentine Book + Gift Round Up

I'm not sure how I feel about the origins of Valentine's Day, but I'm always looking for a decent excuse to eat chocolate so I'm totally on board.  Here are a few suggestions that may bring the spirit of St. Valentine into your home this week.

Sarah's Toy Philosophy

When I had my first child I was completely overwhelmed by all of the options and the general sensory assault that toy shopping can be. Hello bright packaging, talking toys, crazy colors and what about the flood of character toys that is ever changing?

I didn't really have a toy philosophy, but soon realized I had strong opinions on toys mainly because I had been working in the design industry before kids and while pregnant. It was really hard for me to spend money on something that I thought was poorly designed, either aesthetically or use wise.

In general, I like to think of our toys as a curated collection and I even follow this line of thought when organizing the toys for my kids to play with. I have found that if the toys are displayed and organized in an appealing way, the kids are more likely to play with them and enjoy spending time in our playroom.

Luckily, as I became more familiar with toy options I realized there are plenty of beautifully designed toys that are wonderful to play with. Here are the criteria I use when picking out toys to add to our collection:

Taryn's Toy Philosophy

Part of me wishes I could tell you that my toy shelves are filled with nothing but European, handmade wooden blocks, dolls knitted with wool from sheep raised on sustainable farms, and absolutely no electronic toys because we all know those toys play themselves and damage our children's imaginations and their souls.  But that part of me is pretty small, a little bit pretentious and usually overruled by the pragmatic side that  believes in moderation in most things- including toy pricing.

                                                       Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, picture by Hilary Knight

By design and necessity, I am selective about toys that I purchase.  I think that most people understand dealing with resource and space limitations and practical concerns about toy creep, when your toy collection creeps beyond the playroom and gradually overtakes every spare inch of closet space.  Here are some guiding principles I use to help control the craziness: