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Play kitchen is a must for all ages boys and girls, and I just saw the most awsome toy for little ones about sitting age to oh I'd say even up to 3 and 4. it's called ballapalooza by Little Tykes I think, Its a little more expensive but looks awsome and am saving up to buy for the kids. about 50 or 60$ (US). check it out, so cool looking! :)
Love the concept of that ball toy. I have the discovery toys castle tower and also a boat and other toy that have the balls you put in and they go down. I find the balls simply get tossed as balls and I am constantly having to find them meaning they are now an only under direct supervision toy and the balls are kept up in a jar. The problem then is unless I lift the toy down off the shelf to play it serves no purpose - except for the 3 year old boy that insists on putting hot wheels cars into any crevice he can find so I also have to constantly dig those out of the tunnels.
Also from a putting things in the mouth the balls are borderline and being smooth can actually almost be put in the mouth by some kids. I switched out the balls in two of the toys with the golf practice balls which are hollow and have holes in them so not as much of a danger.
Having said that still going to go take a look at this toy come Christmas and see what I think. If anyone gets it or sees it in action please let us know what you think.
I looked up the "ballapalooza" on walmarts website, you can see it in many dif views, It's def a nice size so many kids can play at once, has many dif options on where to put the balls and what will happen, some come down tubes other pop out dif areas, so active, it would really make a great investment for my daycare for sure. I run my Daycare from my main living space therefore, rather than having a nice play room for ALL the toys, I interchange then through the week. Seems to keep the kids quite satisfied. :) One week it will start with the play kitchens (I have two, they LOVE these) and will end will a something like the discovery toys "ball toss" (it's like a basketball net with 4 dif holes the ball can drop through then roll back to the childs feet) we have hopscotch up the hall some days. :) I just think if the kids walk in the house in the am to see this "ballapalooza" they will go bananas with excitement. Will def be a great addition to my ever changing living room/play room. :)
I used to have one of those toys where you hammer the balls through the holes and they go down through a little maze and pop out the bottom...the kids loved it, but eventually they jammed all sorts of other toys into the holes and I could not get them out, so it was destroyed. I don't know if the Ballapalooza would be the same, but it's something to look out for! I also find ball toys always lose the balls, so they are kind of like puzzles, only used under supervision.
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Originally Posted by playfelt
I have found with all toys including balls, interaction with the children is def required. However, by interacting along with the child as they play and explore the many options of the toy, they are also learning so much more than just shoving a toy down the hole. For some reason the ball toys really do seem to ignite a whole new world of "cause and effect" and "problem solving" among ;)many other developmental skills, not to mention they really are fun for all. When I get on the floor with the kids and a light weight ball, we go crazy, we roll it, we toss it, sometimes drop it down a shirt or stick it in a pocket...too cute watching them try and figure how to get it out...:) balls are a def must IMO, I know they can put in mouth or throw them, but there just seems to be so much more positive than negative. Wash them with sanitizer at the end of the day and always make sure "ball" play is supervised and done correct.
Not to mention having to wash all those balls!lol
Oh that's a great idea, for using just regular cardboard boxes! What would you cover them with?Quote:
Originally Posted by playfelt
Mactac from the dollar store works fine. You can just use brown paper bag type stuff which you can buy on a roll. Sometimes you can get newspaper end rolls and then just wrap it around several times to cover and use the clear packing tape to secure all edges and seams. Putting tape on all the edges will help protect them and they won't wear out as quickly.
If you look online for places that sell boxes such as www.uline.ca you might find you can get some extra thick but plain boxes. Then all you would have to do is seal them closed. In the long run that might be the cheapest way to go compared to buying the brick blocks. Also by the time you buy the mactac you will have spent a few dollars too.