what are some age appropriate (2.5 yr.) waldorf toys?

[nycmom18]

just that:) just starting to learn about waldorf and really loving it.  thought I would research some toys before chritsmas.  any thoughts or suggestions?

[jillyofthevalley]

Well, I'll tell you the things my 2.5 year old loves to play with. 

waldorf baby dolls

stacking/nesting toys (we have the rainbow, fire, water, cave and earth ones as well as a set of bowls.)

larger wooden cars

wool felt balls

playsilks

wooden blocks

toy kitchen and accessories

crayons and paper

That's all I can think of off the top of my head.  I did get the kids a wooden dollhouse for Christmas and I'm sure it will be a hit with my toddler.

[Astrid1024]

[Astrid1024]

^^

That's exactly the list I would have created. Those stackers are great and my son loves his wood trucks and tree blocks.

[Astrid1024]

double post - oops...

[nycmom18]

thanks for the suggestions! is there one website that is best for all of this?  best bargain etc.? 

[jillyofthevalley]

I haven't really come across bargains for waldorf toys.  The pricing seems to be similar at all the different shops.  If someone knows of some great deals, etc. please chime in! LOL  I like Nova Natural  and Three Sisters Toys for stores in the US.  Etsy is also a great source for toys.

[LoveLife]

Subbing- I need some ideas too.  Of course getting people to stop buying the plastic stuff is my biggest challenge.

[Astrid1024]

Can you find a group of like-minded mamas that might be interested in co-oping on nice wooden toys? That's how I got all our stackers and our wooden animals at a 30% discount. One mama ran the sale, created a yahoo group where we entered our orders and then she ordered once we'd submitted payment. It's kind of a lot of work for the one mama organizing it, but it's worth it. We've done Grimm, Holztiger, Eeboo sales as well as sales for cloth diapers and clothes.

I like finewoodentoys.com for stackers and padilly.com for Holztiger wooden animals, which I forgot to mention my child plays with every day, multiple times a day.

[dogretro]

Uh, there aren't many "deals" w/ Waldorf toys, but there are often coupon codes for the various stores.  Just do a coupon search for whatever store you want to order from.  There are seriously, like, a billion natural toy stores online.  A few others besides the ones that were mentioned are Palumba (LOVE this one!), Magic Cabin, Rosie Hippo, and Bella Luna Toys.

I am a toy fanatic.  I love toys so much!!  I peruse the catalogs for fun.  Now you know my prejudice :)  I will tell you that you really hardly need any toys at all.  I see so many things that *I* want that I know my kid will not care one lick about.  The best thing about toys and imagination is that anything can be anything.  You can make or purchase a few quality toys and that is truly all that you need.  Over the past two years that I have been hanging out on this forum, so many other Waldorf mamas have said this multiple times & I was all like, BUT IT'S TOYS !@#$!#@!  NEED THEM %!@#!@#  And you know what?  Those other mamas were all right!

My older daughter is 2.5 and here are the things that she enjoys playing with:

Kitchen (fully stocked w/ felt & knitted play food and many dishes, pots, baking pans, etc.  You can find lots of nice kitchen items in the kitchen section of your thrift store.)

Playsilks (11" x 11" and 35" x 35" and one canopy)

Dollhouse

Books

Wooden puzzles

Alphabet flashcards

Musical instruments

Poster paints and crayon rocks w/ easel

Magnadoodle

Stack of family photographs

Sticker collection

Small carved wooden Noah's Ark w/ tiny animals from Malawi, Africa

Sesame Street plush dolls (we have A LOT of these!)

Seasonal items.  Right now it is a basket of fake fall leaves, a basket of acorns, mini gourds, and Indian corn.  We make up all kinds of games about a little stuffed squirrel named Squirrel Nutkin.

When we go outside, we often take her basket of pocket gnomes and some stacking houses to put in our fairy garden to play w/ them.  Inside, the gnomes and houses do not get played w/ much.  She has building blocks and baby dolls that only get played w/ if I initiate and participate.  Also outside we have a killer sandpit edged in river rocks and tree logs, a red wagon, a great swingset, some balls, and a baby doll and stroller that actually do get played with.

I seriously think of all kinds of different toys that I think dd1 would love to have, but I know that she is most likely not going to care about them.  She is just now getting into real imaginative play, so dh and I would like to get her a wooden stable & some more Ostheimer animals plus two fairy dollhouse dolls.  That stuff I do know will get played with.  She also loves jumping on her bed and flinging herself onto our down comforter.  I'd like to get a big cushy pile that is not full of breakable feathers :/  Some sports stuff, too, like a hockey set or tee ball set would get a lot of play here.  Were I you, I would take the time to watch my child and really learn what s/he likes to play with along w/ his/her playing style.  This is going to give you the best ideas of what kinds of toys s/he might enjoy.  And try to control yourself, I know it is hard!  :D