In this house, there is definitely no shortage of kids' activities! With a December birthday and Christmas, we had a pretty big influx in toys & games over the past couple of few months! It can be tough to decide what activities would be appropriate for the age range we have (1-4 years), but I’ve found that there are quite a few things that all three boys can enjoy! Here are a few of our recent favorite go-to activities:
Play Doh Sets
Growing up, we always were able to play with Play Doh at my grandma’s house and it was our FAVORITE! (I still get nostalgic when I smell it!) The Play doh itself is great entertainment and also great for hand strength and practicing with Play doh scissors. There are also many ways to turn this into an educational activity with practicing making letters, shapes, etc. The older boys have really been enjoying the sets that are available such as the cookie baking set, haircutting set and more. The boys' little imaginations go to work with each of the sets. I even started letting Taso (16 months) start dabbling in it! I mean, he mostly plays with it correctly and keeps it out of his mouth...for awhile at least.
Play Doh Sets
Growing up, we always were able to play with Play Doh at my grandma’s house and it was our FAVORITE! (I still get nostalgic when I smell it!) The Play doh itself is great entertainment and also great for hand strength and practicing with Play doh scissors. There are also many ways to turn this into an educational activity with practicing making letters, shapes, etc. The older boys have really been enjoying the sets that are available such as the cookie baking set, haircutting set and more. The boys' little imaginations go to work with each of the sets. I even started letting Taso (16 months) start dabbling in it! I mean, he mostly plays with it correctly and keeps it out of his mouth...for awhile at least.
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Games
We are getting to the ages with the boys, mainly Leo, where we can sit down and focus on an actual board game! Leo has loved games for awhile, but never really had the attention to do it the right way. We received a few of the classic kid-games for the holidays: Chutes & Ladders, Hi Ho Cherry-O, Hungry Hungry Hippos, etc. We also got a new one called Seek-a-Boo from a local teacher & toy store called Brainstorm that has been a hit! We also love Candy Land and can actually get through the full game on occasion.
Games are a great way to practice taking turns, following simple directions, and learn how to lose. We have been really enjoying this new branch of playtime that makes it a little more interactive with us!
Magnatiles
These toys have single-handedly taken over independent play in this house! Leo and Xander absolutely love building creations on their own and now even creating structures together! Seeing them working together and truly letting their imaginations take over is just incredibly heartwarming! Who knew a toy could bring out all of this joy?!
Magnatiles (or Picasso Tiles is the brand that we have) are perfect for learning shapes and how they fit together. They can also learn a bit about engineering a structure, creating stability and even introducing the idea of how magnets work. While these toys are a bit on the pricey side, they are 100% worth it, and even more so, worth getting more than one set! The possibilities seem endless!
We are getting to the ages with the boys, mainly Leo, where we can sit down and focus on an actual board game! Leo has loved games for awhile, but never really had the attention to do it the right way. We received a few of the classic kid-games for the holidays: Chutes & Ladders, Hi Ho Cherry-O, Hungry Hungry Hippos, etc. We also got a new one called Seek-a-Boo from a local teacher & toy store called Brainstorm that has been a hit! We also love Candy Land and can actually get through the full game on occasion.
Games are a great way to practice taking turns, following simple directions, and learn how to lose. We have been really enjoying this new branch of playtime that makes it a little more interactive with us!
Magnatiles
These toys have single-handedly taken over independent play in this house! Leo and Xander absolutely love building creations on their own and now even creating structures together! Seeing them working together and truly letting their imaginations take over is just incredibly heartwarming! Who knew a toy could bring out all of this joy?!
Magnatiles (or Picasso Tiles is the brand that we have) are perfect for learning shapes and how they fit together. They can also learn a bit about engineering a structure, creating stability and even introducing the idea of how magnets work. While these toys are a bit on the pricey side, they are 100% worth it, and even more so, worth getting more than one set! The possibilities seem endless!
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Costumes
Dress up is some of the boys favorite imaginative play these days! After spending the holidays with their big cousins and putting on a “talent show” while wearing hats and costumes, they have been hooked on putting on some of their own shows for us at home or just simply playing cars while wearing a Batman costume. Pretty normal! It is fun to see all three of the boys interact while they are in costume. Xander is usually the ring leader yelling “let’s go guys!” as they run their laps around the house.
We have also been playing a lot of pretend doctor after the multitude of doctor appointments we’ve had in the last month or so. This is actually very interesting, especially with Leo who tends to get anxiety around doctor visits. He uses much of the same terminology that he hears the doctor and Todd and I using as he pretends, which just show me how closely he is paying attention!
Dress up is some of the boys favorite imaginative play these days! After spending the holidays with their big cousins and putting on a “talent show” while wearing hats and costumes, they have been hooked on putting on some of their own shows for us at home or just simply playing cars while wearing a Batman costume. Pretty normal! It is fun to see all three of the boys interact while they are in costume. Xander is usually the ring leader yelling “let’s go guys!” as they run their laps around the house.
We have also been playing a lot of pretend doctor after the multitude of doctor appointments we’ve had in the last month or so. This is actually very interesting, especially with Leo who tends to get anxiety around doctor visits. He uses much of the same terminology that he hears the doctor and Todd and I using as he pretends, which just show me how closely he is paying attention!
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So those are our current playtime favorites! I hope you explore some of these options if you haven’t yet with your kiddos! What are some of the favorites in your house? Let me know in the comments!
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