Things to have at home for 3-5 year olds.

[quaz]

There just seems to be soo many things out there that I would think would be nice to have for this age range.. so two questions... what would be your ideal list of things at home for preschoolers and what three things would you have (not counting obvious things like books, dress-up or art supplies)?? We got a bunch of money last Christmas to buy things for the girls, and am hoping we do again and can pick up a few things.

So list of a few things I've thought of so far...(some we have, some we don't). I'm trying to think by groups...

creativity
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Doctor's kit (we are pretending to use a blood-pressure cuff as a stethoscope, since we don't have one... driving me nuts)
Dress-up bin

art
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Stocked art supply tub (paint, playdoh, crayons, papers, glitter, boxes, tp tubes, etc)
white board with markers
clock
calendar

creative building/problemsolving
-------------------------------
megablocks
Nice set of unit blocks
saw some table top set of blocks with different architecture styles
magnetic ball/stick construction sets

math/problemsolving
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nice wood puzzles
cuissenaire
geometric shapes
tiles
dominos

science
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prism
magnifying glass
backpack
flashlight
microscope


language
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books, books, books/library card
magic school bus/cat in the hat learning library
signing time videos

other
-----------------
stuffed animals/puppets/plastic animals for theme work



Books to give me ideas
-----------------------
?????

[Wilhemina]

some of my girls' favorite things (not already on your list):

(homemade) playdough and a tub of "tools"

simple musical instruments

music cds

books on tape

felt board!!!

laundry hamper full of recyclables for building/crafts/???

variety of scarves (we don't have any official playsilks - but that's the idea) and clothespins

office store supplies - tape, hole punch, wrapping ribbon, envelopes, and stickers (return address labels, etc. that come with charitable solicitations)

and they love to cook, but they use the general kitchen stuff for that except for Honest Pretzels, our favorite "kids" cookbook by Mollie Katzen

[wynkenblynken&nod]

Well, we didn't

get things specifically for our kiddos. We just went through our house and said "ya know, this would be neat". My son LOVED to play with ice, so we'd have a bowl with ice in it and lots of cups and bows for him to make them "fly" into. We experimented with lots of things and letting him sit on the (clean) kitchen floor and play with them helped him learn while I got to do other mama things : He also really liked my grandmother's buttons. She had mason jars filled with them and they were just sitting there not getting any use. Soon he was pouring them and digging his hands in them and my personal favorite, dumping them on his head. :LOL

Anything in this world CAN be educational. I am learning that more and more every day. Today the children and I played with an old sheet....just threw it in the air and talked about why it floated just a little bit. We talked about how pretty that was and how it moved. It was so fun to see through their eyes.

Liv

[MilkbarMom]

I think you are on the right track with your list

here is what I think:

we have an EXTENSIVE Dr. kit, they use it with dolls, stuffed animals, the real animals, and on me too!

We have a housekeeping center, with a play kitchen, dishes, play food, and a stocked pantry to "shop" from. They also have a cash register, and play monry to play market. A shopping cart helps with this also.
Part of our "housekeeping room" is the doll nursrey, so they can take care of babies.

Blocks

Playdoh, and stuff to use with it( tools, dishes, etc)

dress up

we also have a train table. and they design and build their own railways and cities, using thier blocks and doll house people.

an art center, paper, paint, crayons, markers, chalk, paintbrushes, scissors, glue, collage materials, etc.

Lots of books.

Sand and water table, for measuring, buiding, etc.


magnet activity center

math manipulatives, counting beads, loose change, buttons, etc.

Magnetic letters on the fridge

[AnnR33]

I agree with the felt board and play silks-those get used a lot at our house.

A basic globe

wooden scale

measuring cups

large tweezers/tongs-great for fine motor skills

good quality watercolor paper! makes a huge difference!

cardboard boxes-seriously! :LOL My kids have more fun and come up with more creative things with boxes than I could ever plan or find in a book!

Sounds like lots of great ideas here!
Ann

[wynkenblynken&nod]

I second that, AnnR

Bryan and I joked around that we were going to go "Box shopping" for christmas....we'd drive around the neighborhood and get really "cool" boxes out of people's trash cans, lol! We never really did this, but I tell you...after spending $80 on some cool toy to have your kids drop the toy IMMEDIATELY and play with the box....well

Bryan's aunt got creative and made a bunch of boxes covered in pretty contact paper. The kids loved them....for the whole month that they lasted :

There's also a TON of things you can do with a paper bag. Besides this one---> : lol

Olivia

[coleslaw]

Originally Posted by Wilhemina

laundry hamper full of recyclables for building/crafts/???

I love that idea! I want to save these things but never have a good place to put them. Thanks!

[quaz]

:-)

Thanks. I like the housekeeping center.
The playsilks... we have some silk curtain sheers and just some white sheer curtains in the dress-up bin. The girls LOVE them.

thx
Tammy

[TanyaMT]

Lately, my scrapbooking punches are his favorite - makes shapes and glues them on his paper.

I give him stickers, purchased and the ones that arrive free in the mail to get you to buy such and such. He loves stickers.

Sand/water table outside with different shapes and sizes of cups and containers.

Lots of books.

Old magazines and scissors.

Legos, K'nex (is that spelled right?), Lincoln logs, wooden blocks, etc.

[feebeeglee]

holding sleeping boy but http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg.../-/B00009ENE6/ has been played with ENDLESSLY.

[alegna]

an easel

a tray with sand to write in

a bin of rice or beans with cups and such to pour back and forth

someplace to play with water (a kiddie pool or water table)

[Amaryllis]

Originally Posted by Wilhemina

felt board!!!

Proclaiming my ignorance: What is a felt board?
Thanks!

[mammastar2]

My house is covered in pipecleaners!!!

Also playdough, beading kits, lots of blank notebooks (little, big, lined, plain)...

Ditto the boxes, of course.

We're getting a lot of mileage out of a stick with a string and a wooden bead at the end - for fishing off the front porch, naturally (she catches fish of all different colours, along with the occasional sea monster or mermaid).

A magnadoodle, and some different shaped magnets to experiment with making patterns.

[jennay]

My boys love wedgits www.wedgits.com and the letter pieces from www.hwtears.com.

Edited to add beanbags and lacing cards.

[meemee]

if u got actual cash and not just gift certificates, i would spend some of that either travelling or going to museums or taking classes ur girl/s is/are interested in weather permitting.

books to give u ideas - that is kinda hard. i go to the library and usually check out everything they have for ideas. i have discovered i found some really interesting ideas from the older books rather than new ones. i discovered by accident that books that talk about frugal living offer a lot of ideas that my daughter enjoys. a couple that i liked too was cutting up tree branches as blocks to involve in block play. and to actually make cardboard blocks myself with different size boxes that my daughter helped me cover with contact paper or wrapping paper.

i have not come across a single book that i particularly liked but found ideas from different books. i think amazon has some great books on begining science thru experiments.

different kinds of musical instruments take a lot of my money. good quality child's size instruments (not toy ones). esp. if ur children are really into music as mine is.

[quaz]

"if u got actual cash and not just gift certificates, i would spend some of that either travelling or going to museums or taking classes ur girl/s is/are interested in weather permitting. "

We did that last year.. at least we spent some Christmas money to get a Museum membership and zoo membership.... I plan on enrolling her in a park/rec class or two in the spring. Right now, she isn't quite 3, so she doesn't qualify for most the park rec class right now.


Mmmm. Frugal living books are a good idea to check out.

Thanks All.. I've been getting some good ideas.
Maybe I'll see if my dad could make a nice block set....

Tammy

[Free Thinker]

I got my felt stuff at www.thestoryteller.com I had a book party, and got lots of stuff for not much $$!

My DD is 2.5, and she likes to play w/ her silks, felts, kitchen items, and art stuff. I don't have anything w/ small pieces b/c of the baby. For Christmas last year we got her a really nice toddler table, and she uses it daily for art projects, a hide out (throw a blanket on top), sets her animals up at it, tea party, you name it! This year I think her "big" gift will be an art easel, and some fun artsy stuff ( and magnets!).

I am trying to build our Non-Fiction book section right now, cause I noticed we don't have many NF books, besides animals. I am also getting her an atlas, and I'd like to get her a neat globe? Age appropriate of course

[Willowrose]

We are a very hands on home and include much of what has been mentioned above. I would advise making your own play-doh rather than buying it, as the little ones get a kick out of helping make it. When we make bread or pizza we always make a bit of extra for the boys.
We have a very extensive art supply stock. I love having watercolors, pastels, fingerpaints, oils, chalk, markers, colored pencils and crayons to choose from. I also have various papers...watercolor, canvas, sketch pads, etc....
My boys like those wax molding strips.
We also have a good globe and a variety of maps.
I have large tubs that I supply with rice, dried beans, uncooked pasta, cornmeal, or whatever else is on hand. My boys like when I hide small toys(shovels, tiny tractors and dump trucks, dinosaurs)and they uncover them.
My boys don't care for blocks, but they do like this wooden marble/block set that they can build structures with.
In summer, I spread butcher paper in the yard and give them water mixed with food coloring in spray bottles and they make neat designs.
My boys each have small tool kits and LOVE hammering nails into blocks of wood(supervised of course)
Some other staples in our house are baskets filled with shiny stones, seashells, pinecones(in season), gemstones, wood pieces, etc....all kind of odds and ends they can use their imagination with.
A large bin of utensils(rolling pins, measuring cups/spoons, pizza cutters, cookie cutters, funnels, cups, etc...)for using with anything from play-doh to rice or dried beans.

[Thursday Girl]

subscribing.

[meemee]

once ur dd's get a little older perhaps (or maybe even now introduce and see how they do) buy old vcrs with manual, telephone, any electronic gaget with the manual so u can open it and study it together to see how it works. an old computer and vcr is a personal fav. in our house mostly because of the movable parts. esp. the little fan in the tower. the manual is for u to really understand what the innards really are. if u need them. i knew nothing so they were a lifesaver for me and actually i learnt a huge amount too.