Foam puzzles are the best puzzles for preschoolers

I just have to give a shout-out to what I think is the coolest toy innovation for kids: foam puzzles. In all fairness, we actually only have one foam puzzle, but it's fantastic!

After our kids graduated from the shape puzzles, where you drop characters into their corresponding shapes, we tried to buy them miniature jigsaw puzzles (the classic cardboard kind). We also purchased wooden puzzles. Neither of the kids liked these. They would try to shove pieces together, and Jo especially would get angry when the puzzle pieces didn't lay flat or got slightly bent.

I was browsing Zulily for Easter gifts this past winter, and they had a Frozen foam puzzle (25-pieces) for almost nothing. Not knowing what to get Jo (and knowing she likes Frozen), I decided to get it for her. It's been a big hit with both kids. Oliver was able to piece it together himself right away, but Jo needed some help. She liked to work on it with me, and we did so regularly. Fast forward a couple months, and she's putting together by herself completely. She puts it together, pulls it apart, and puts it together again.


                       

It's also hard to break. She can pick it up, move it around, and the puzzle isn't falling apart. It saves on tantrums. There are few products I feel are just so great, but this is one of them. I then went online to find a foam puzzle with more pieces. We're now expecting a 98-piece Cinderella puzzle in the mail, ha! But at least it'll be a good challenge for quite a while.

Christmas Tip: Gift Exchange

You might have noticed me briefly bringing up MOMS Club in my blog. I don't think I've ever taken the time to actually share what it is.  MOMS Club is actually an international club, and it stands for "moms offering moms support." It's for moms who don't work or just work part time. They have local chapters all over the world. Let me tell you, I love the ladies at MOMS Club. Those ladies have a unique way of being able to laugh off all the stressful things kids do, like not sleeping. I have never felt judged with them regarding my kids. If Oliver is crabby, well--Sorry! We tried to come to play time, but it's clearly not working, so we're going home now.

At the end of summer, my MOMS Club group hosted a gift exchange. I waited until now to post about it because, really, how many Christmas tips do you need to get from me in September? One was plenty.

The gift exchange was simply for moms to bring in a couple toys their kids have outgrown (or, you know, to get rid of those toys that just drive them up the wall) and get a couple "new" ones.

Like I've said before, my kids don't care if toys are new in package or just new to them. So, I figured I'd go to the exchange and try to pick out a toy or two that I could save for Christmas time. Yes, I'm cheap. Who cares?

Here are the toys I took to the gift exchange:

You might recognize that tractor, which we bought at Costco back when we had our first annual Kid's Day. Oliver kind of liked it for about a week, when he decided it was the scariest thing ever. It shakes and makes loud noises and lights up. Apparently, that's not OK. He's three, and he's still afraid of the thing. I decided that I've hung onto the thing long enough (2 years!). It's time for it to go to a new home.

I also gave away the caterpillar pull toy, which both kids have outgrown, and a Little People ferris wheel set that Oliver had received for his birthday last year. Both kids love that ferris wheel toy, but it lets out noises of creepy child laughter. As my husband put it after the exchange, "I'm glad you were able to get rid of the ferris wheel. The laughter of small children when I accidentally bump that thing in the dark will not be missed."

In return, I selected this basketball toy:

Neat, huh? I think Jo will be the perfect age for it come Christmas time. So, I stuck it up in the closet so it can make its debut under the tree in a couple months.

I understand that not everyone has a group of parents they can just trade toys with. However, if you can find just one neighbor, family member, or friend with a child around your child's age, you can probably swap a toy or two. I'm not very skilled in the art of Craigs List, but I would think you could even post an ad to swap toys of similar value with parents in your city.

Remember, just because your kid didn't take an interest in a toy doesn't mean another child won't. At MOMS Club, a two year old boy got the tractor truck from Oliver, and he loved it. An item that causes fear in the heart of one child can be another child's treasure!

Christmas Tip: Clean Up Old Toys

I like providing a festive, bountiful Christmas for my family, but I do not like going broke over it. While I tend to be a pretty modest person, I want to lay this out here: I'm good at making Christmas cheap.

It's only September, but I want to give you this tip now because, well, you need it now for it to work. If you have older kids, this probably won't work for them. This tip is aimed at children three and under.

If you're a typical parent like me, when a toy runs out of batteries, it takes you months to get around to replacing them. Well, take those toys, clean them up and replace their batteries. Get them looking as good as new. Then, put them out of sight.

If they haven't had batteries in months, and you hide them for a few months, your kids won't even really remember them. They're going to be like brand new toys for them at Christmas time.

So, this week, go out and pick up a few packs of batteries. One evening, when your kids are asleep, spend an hour or two scrubbing toys, replacing batteries, and getting them looking good as new. Stick them up in your closet behind some sweaters or something and know that you have a couple good gifts for Christmas that only cost you some batteries. Don't forget to dig at the bottom of your kids' toy boxes! It's probably been a while since they've seen anything down there ;-)

I cleaned a spinning alphabet wheel that had been Oliver's. That will be a gift for Jo. I replaced the batteries in a mailbox toy that Oliver had gotten for his first Christmas. That will also make a great gift for Jo. Let me just tell you: our baby won't care that Santa gave her hand-me-downs!

Girl Toys? Boy Toys?

Oliver enjoys a lot of so-called "boy" stuff. He loves firetrucks and airplanes. He has a thing for rocks and sticking his hands in mud. Oh, and let's not forget bugs. The boy loves bugs.

He also loves "girl" stuff. Oliver's most favorite thing in the world is to help me in the kitchen. His face lights up when I ask him if he could help me with the mixer. He quickly lays out a plan for us, "OK, first, you put it up on the counter. OK. I get the whisk. We'll turn it on one notch." He plays with small appliances all day, every day. They're his favorite toys.

He gets upset if he catches me cleaning without him. He wants to be the one to spray and wipe the windows. He wants to be the one to start the laundry or the dish machine. He wants to help sweep the floors.

He also loves dolls. He has his "Baby" doll, and he has Monkey (which has always been his favorite). He puts Baby in his toy shopping cart and pushes her around. When she falls out, he kisses her better. Sometimes, he tells me she needs a new diaper, and he grabs a baby wipe and wipes the doll's bum. He shares his food with all of his stuffed animals (Elmo's mouth is stained with yogurt). I think it's so sweet to watch him with his dolls. Currently, he has a checklist of five dolls that he has to sleep with: Monkey, Doggy, Baby, Elmo, and Nanas (another monkey).

Here Oliver is, wrapped up with Monkey in his monkey blanket:

It's too early to tell what Jo's passions really are, but, right now, her favorite activity is playing blocks. She sits and plays blocks with Andrew for half an hour at a time. That's a long time for a baby! Andrew builds towers, and she knocks them over. I'm pretty sure playing blocks with Dad is what makes her happiest.

The other day, I teased Andrew and asked, "So, you don't mind that your son likes dolls and your daughter likes blocks?" He smiled at me and told me he loves what they love.

Andrew swears up and down that he will get into whatever his kids get into. If he needs to buy a mitt or a tutu, if he needs to build a climbing wall or a doll house, he'll do it.

It's true that I love dolling Jo up in little dresses, and I look forward to the day when I can braid her hair and tie it in little piggies. But if the day ever comes that Jo tells me she doesn't want curls and bows, I'll listen. I want to support my children in whatever interests they choose for themselves instead of pushing them into activities that are seen as gender appropriate.

On the other hand, I want my children to be proud of who they are. I'm a woman, and I love being a woman. Not only do I want my son to know it's OK to be a boy, I want him to be proud that he's a boy. I want my daughter to be proud she's a girl. It does no one any good to be ashamed of who they are. It's just my opinion that liking dolls doesn't make my son any less of a boy. It just makes him a boy who likes dolls. I can be proud of that, and so can he.

What do you think? Should little kids be taught what activities and toys are "appropriate" for little girls and little boys, or do you think that holds them back? Would you worry about your child getting picked on if he/she wanted to play with toys typical for the opposite gender?

Toddler in an Airplane

Oliver's going to be on a flight soon, and I've started to get really worried. He's traveled numerous times and has always done well, but now he's at an age where he likes to go, go, go!

I tried to look online for ideas to keep him entertained on the plane. It seemed odd that *none* of the ideas seemed to really suit Oliver. A lot of people mentioned crayons. Oliver thinks crayons are OK, and he'll play with them for about 30 seconds before dismissing them for something else. People also mentioned stickers, which Oliver hates so much. He literally screams if someone puts a sticker on him.

Finally, I decided to go to the Toys R Us website. I browsed pages and pages of toys, knowing Oliver wouldn't like any of them. The boy just doesn't like most toys. Oliver enjoys figuring out how real things work. Currently, he's obsessed with learning how to pour milk from the carton as well as pulling out and reinserting the pegs that hold our screen door together. He definitely needs something new, something that will pique his interest. I know if I can successfully find a toy that will perplex Oliver, he'll play with it nonstop until he masters how it works.

It took a lot of searching, but I finally found something that I think Oliver will like: a tool bench!

Success! I pick it up later today. My plan is to give it to the little man on the plane. As long as it's not too noisy, we'll bring it to the wedding ceremony, too, so he doesn't freak out there.

The $20 Toy

I don't believe in spending a lot of money on toys for Oliver. His favorite "toys" are pots and pans, measuring cups, ,our silicone cupcake holders, and the rice maker. Toys take up space, and he plays with most toys once every few days (with the exception of his stuffed animals).

On Thursday, I took Oliver to Toys 'R Us for two reasons. The first was to buy a bug catcher. We're going camping soon, and I thought it would be a fun activity for him and Andrew. The second reason was to motivate him to walk around the store, since he hates walking in public. It worked! Oliver found all sorts of good stuff, like a giant, stuffed monkey, and a jack-in-the-box (where "Jack" is actually a bear). I popped the bear out for him, wondering if it would scare him. He cracked up laughing! We played with it for five minutes in the store, and he couldn't get enough. I checked the price tag on the bottom. Twenty dollars. What?!

I put the toy back on the shelf. Poor Oliver was so sad. He kept pointing to it and asking me, "More?" I finally decided that it's OK to give in sometimes, and I put the toy in our cart. We bought the $20 "bear-in-the-box." Oliver loves it. Days later, he still plays with it all the time. He doesn't pop the bear out by turning the crank but instead flips the lever on top and squeals in delight when the bear pops out. Worth $20? For this one time, yes.