[blparent] toys toys toys!

[Brandy W]

OK The toy lady here with what I teach at toy parties. Your child needs a
balanced diet of play. She needs something for each part of her learning
experience, and only a few things for each part of her diet of play.

Examples: Dramatic play: What does she have to pretend? Does she have dress
up things, and play food, and small figures to act out sanarios, puppets,
you get the picture, toys to pretend with. For children who pretend in
preschool are better prepared to write in school when that teacher says tell
me a story of why you would like to be any pet she can. You know the prompt
if you could be animal what would it be and why? The child who has pretended
to be a cat can very easily make up a story about why being a cat would be
fun.

Does your child have toys to play with alone and with friends? Toys at her
current level which she finds easy to play with, and toys she is slightly
challenged and needs help playing with?

Does she have games to play with others to learn how to take turns, win and
lose fairly as these are life skills and 75% of the adults in jails did not
play games as children.

Does she have toys to play with alone for we all need our quite time and
learning to entertain ourselves is an important skill for one day we may be
working in an environment where we must stay on task and get the job done.

Does the child have toys to learn to problem solve? Puzzles and building
toys teach problem solving, open ended thinking, and how to follow
directions because we all need to be able to take a set of directions and do
what we were told whether it is building our first baby's crib, or cooking a
new recipe. The blocks and puzzles without directions teach us to be open
ended thinkers able to problem solve. They prepare us for the I need to
organize this closet and how is it all going to fit? The child who has
played with blocks and puzzles is able to have the special reasoning skills
to fill that closet or freezer and make it all fit. She has the skills to
try again till the job works. She has the communication skills to know when
she needs help and how to ask.


Books. Does your child have books about things she loves, and things she has
never experienced as this teaches to be seekers of knowledge, and how to
find it.

A way to know if you have too much of something is to look and say ok these
4 toys all have the shape sorting capability. Are any of these so unique
that it warnings me keeping all 4, or can I get rid of 2 because they are
the same as the others. I recommend one hard with as many shapes as possible
like the Melissa and Doug cube, and one with 3-5 shapes for the beginner
like the fisher price bucket with plastic shapes.

Games I have 9 that teach alphabet skills. Which ones do we play, and which
ones do we never touch. Do we not touch them because we have too many games
or is it because we have more games than we can actually make time to play?
Then decide which ones are too similar. You don't need 5 lotto games for
letters, but rather 2 or 3 of the ones that the most longevity for play.
This is one of the pros about Discovery Toy games because the game that
teaches alphabet for the 3 year old teaches spelling and upper and lowercase
to the 4-7 year old.

Electronics: How many electronic toys do we have that do the thinking for
the child, or entertain the child. You don't need many of these as your
child isn't learning, but instead zoning out. A few for long car rides, or
times when she must play alone are fine, but you don't need a leapster and a
V smile for they are the same basically, and no child needs to be playing
with media for that long in a stage of the toy.

Now this is a scaled down version of what we go through, but it should be a
place to help you decide where you need to buy next.

Just remember to look at her current stage, and where she is headed and
determine what you have and what you need.

Have fun!

Bran



"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most
accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers."
~Charles W. Eliot, 

Brandy Wojcik  Discovery Toys Educational Consultant and Team leader
(512) 689-5045

Follow me on Face Book at
http://www.facebook.com/PlayToAchieve.DiscoveryToys 

Do you want to: *earn extra income?
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From: blindparenting at googlegroups.com
[mailto:blindparenting at googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Pipi
Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2011 1:28 PM
To: blindparenting at googlegroups.com; blv-moms at googlegroups.com; NFBnet Blind
Parents Mailing List
Subject: blindparenting, toys toys toys!

Hey y'all,
How do you decide what is too much toy wise? How do you decide what to keep,
get rid, of and when to buy more?
I have my days where i want to start a bonfire and toss every toy in the
house into it. There are other days where I feel like Savannah is bored and
needs more. I have a list of toys that I'd like her to have. I've purchased
quite a bit lately, but some are being held back for her birthday and
Christmas.  
I've been blessed with clothes. I haven't had to buy Savannah more than $100
her entire life. I've been given so many nice things clothing wise that I
just can't bring myself to spend the money of needless clothing. It's gotten
to the point, where I've given half her wardrobe away and she still has
plenty. 
I tell you this, because I feel my money is better spent on toys! I'm just
struggling as to what to get rid of, if anything, so that I can purchase
more educational toys for her.  
I know there's no cookie cutter answer as to how much is too much. I'm just
looking for ideas on how others make the decisions?
Pipi
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