For Christmas, we bought T Pin-A-Shape, made by Bigjigs toys. This is something I used regularly as a Reception class teacher and it has been on my mental ‘to buy’ list for T for a long time. I just needed to wait until she was old enough to be able to play safely with the […]
Top Toys
Top Toys for 3-7’s this Christmas
It’s so easy to get stuck trying to think of ideas for your children at Christmas. While enjoyment is obviously the key thing I’m looking for when finding gifts for T, I do have a few other criteria… Longevity. Most of the toys T has received since her first birthday are things that will last. […]
Top Toys: Ten Toys for a Three Year Old
Welcome back to my Top Toys series. Here I will be laying out my favourite toys for a three year old, many of which will be on T’s birthday list this year! These are definitely getting a bit harder now. This is probably partly because my daughter is still only two, so I’m having to […]
Top Toys: 10 ways to play with picture tiles
Welcome back to my Top Toys series! Today I’m looking at picture tiles. I love our picture tiles! We found these ones from Hape which T loves. They are ideal from around 18 months onwards – I envision that we will still be using these aged seven and perhaps even beyond! Here are my ten […]
Top Toys: Ten Toys for a Two Year Old
Recently I’ve been writing a few posts on the toys I have chosen for T and the ways we play with them. I wanted to write not just a list of enjoyable toys, but toys which I feel really support early development and which are versatile enough to be played with in a variety of contexts. Today’s […]
Top Toys: 10 ways to play with a farm
Farms sets are a great toy for young children, and it’s really worth investing in a good one as they will be enjoyed for years to come. There are some which are more geared towards toddlers and young children, but we felt this one from John Lewis was suitable for a toddler and would stand the […]
Top Toys: Ten Toys for a One Year Old
Welcome to my first Top Toys post! In these posts I will be sharing my favourite toys, by age, and writing about my reasons for choosing these toys. Since T was born, I’ve always tried to think fairly carefully about which toys she would get the most out of. As a teacher, and a firm advocate of play-based […]