Here are the best products we own to use with Samuel at 1 year old.
1. Toy Chest. I purchased ours from Target. The rule in our house is Samuel can only have as many toys as fit in this toy chest. This really helps to control how much is being bought and how messy the house gets. My friend Sarah also gave me the idea of putting away some toys in a closet and then rotating them in every few months. This is a great way to give your child something “new” w/out having to spend money.
2. Books in a Cardboard Carrier. Samuel received the Old MacDonald Book Set for his first birthday and he absolutely LOVES these things. Then his Uncle Curt bought him a book set for Christmas that he has devoured as well. He loves these little board books and the carriers that they come in.
3. Gymboree Bubble Oodles. I’ve featured these before on my own blog. These bubbles and the bubble blower are superior to anything I’ve seen before. They are SO much fun. I also want to recommend the classes that are available through Gymboree Music & Play. If you have the money to invest in these, they are so great for kids. I took Samuel to a free preview class and he absolutely loved it. Ed and I are seriously considering buying a membership. If you have a Gymboree Music & Play in your area, look into it. If nothing else, at least take advantage of the one free preview class you can take!
4. Sandbox. My parents bought Samuel a sandbox for his first birthday and after a few days of figuring out what in the world it was, he loved it and played in it every day. We put some household items in it (cups, measuring spoons, bowls, etc) for him to play with in there. (Samuel's was a turtle - the link I provided is for a Ladybug from Walmart.)
5. The Beginner’s Bible. We read a little out of this each night before bed. Samuel is still a little more into the pictures than the actual stories, but we feel it’s important to establish a routine with him. AND, as I was looking for a link for this, I found out that there is an entire website devoted to this Bible - check it out.
1. Toy Chest. I purchased ours from Target. The rule in our house is Samuel can only have as many toys as fit in this toy chest. This really helps to control how much is being bought and how messy the house gets. My friend Sarah also gave me the idea of putting away some toys in a closet and then rotating them in every few months. This is a great way to give your child something “new” w/out having to spend money.
2. Books in a Cardboard Carrier. Samuel received the Old MacDonald Book Set for his first birthday and he absolutely LOVES these things. Then his Uncle Curt bought him a book set for Christmas that he has devoured as well. He loves these little board books and the carriers that they come in.
3. Gymboree Bubble Oodles. I’ve featured these before on my own blog. These bubbles and the bubble blower are superior to anything I’ve seen before. They are SO much fun. I also want to recommend the classes that are available through Gymboree Music & Play. If you have the money to invest in these, they are so great for kids. I took Samuel to a free preview class and he absolutely loved it. Ed and I are seriously considering buying a membership. If you have a Gymboree Music & Play in your area, look into it. If nothing else, at least take advantage of the one free preview class you can take!
4. Sandbox. My parents bought Samuel a sandbox for his first birthday and after a few days of figuring out what in the world it was, he loved it and played in it every day. We put some household items in it (cups, measuring spoons, bowls, etc) for him to play with in there. (Samuel's was a turtle - the link I provided is for a Ladybug from Walmart.)
5. The Beginner’s Bible. We read a little out of this each night before bed. Samuel is still a little more into the pictures than the actual stories, but we feel it’s important to establish a routine with him. AND, as I was looking for a link for this, I found out that there is an entire website devoted to this Bible - check it out.
6 comments:
One quick question about the toy box....when baby #2 comes along, do they have to share the number of toys that fit in the toy box, or does baby #2 get their own toy box as well? We used to fit all Mackenzie's toys in a nice 3 drawer container, too until #2 came along. It's all gone downhill from there :)
Ruth - my goal is to keep ALL children limited to this bookshelf. One of the bins is already occupied by baby toys and another bin is still empty. I'm hoping that since the kids will be close in age, they will be playing with similar toys. I guess I'll have to check back in a few months from now and let everyone know if I've kept to my goal or not!
As a "slightly more seasoned" mother who occasional reads your blog... pardon me while I smirk at your goal. Ten years ago, when our oldest was one, all of his toys fit easily into less space than that, but as our family grew and the size of the children, it just doesn't stay that way. It's not because you give up and say, "oh, well". It's because alot of their toys won't fit in there anymore and take up much more space and because you tend to take some things much less seriously than in the beginning of mothering and realize that some things just aren't important.
We go thru all their toys twice a year, and have either packed stuff away for future kids (not anymore, we're done), taken it to Salvation Army, shelters, church, or friends that may want it, or tossed it.
BTW... have you ever seen a Thomas the Tank Engine train table with track and engines.... it would never fit in there :)!
To each his own - er, HER own - I guess. I think you can stick to your goal or modify it. It is a good plan if you ever think you'll move to the mission field or anything like that. We certainly would have to weed out a lot of Maggie's toys if we moved overseas at this point. I have noticed their toys DO get bigger as they get bigger. Thank goodness my husband's Jeff's toys didn't keep growing! :)
I agree with the "seasoned mother" I only have one child as of now (5 yrs old) and while i will admit that he has ENTIRELY too many toys.... even with just ONE CHILD, because their toys do get bigger in size, he could maybe only have 5 or 6 toys to his name if we had to fit them in that bin!!! He has a few toys that alone wouldn't fit! But I do like the bin! Anyway, good luck!
Kate
I tried a similar thing with my 3 kids but it didn't work out either. My two girls are only 21 months apart but completely different kids. One loves dolls, cribs, strollers, dress up and Barbie; while the other loves animals, cars, coloring, and books. My son is quite a bit younger and can't play with some or my oldest daughters toys. So I have to be very careful what is out in where my son can get them. What I have done is put their toys in their own room and when they want a bunch to come out to living room they have a basket they can fit their stuff into and bring downstairs. If they want to change toys, they have to fill their basket back up, put away those toys and then bring their basket back down. It has really helped my keep the clutter to a minimum. They also like that they can fit quite a few toys into their basket and that they can put which ever toys they want in it.
By the way- one of the best toddler toys there is- is a big basket full of your and your husbands old clothes. My kids can spend hours playing with them. I cut up my old prom dresses and some dresses I don't wear. I threw in some of my husbands old work shirts and ties. I also have old snow hats, gloves, purses, and shoes. This basket has been a life saver for me.
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