katie's wish list.

Katie has lots of clothes since she is so blessed with hand-me-downs. While we like to keep the number of toys out at a given time to a dull roar, there are some developmentally-stimulating toys we think she'd benefit from. In general, we like toys that promote creative play (i.e., they can be used in a variety of ways with the child's imagination) and will last for a while as Katie's skills and interests change. Here are some ideas:

Nesting blocks - great as blocks and containers, plus very portable
Push and pull toys like a Kettler push trike (she has a new wagon)
Simple instruments – Katie loves the piano she got for her birthday and she loves music in general. Other simple instruments, like little drums, tamborines, clackers, etc., would be welcome (especially if they’re not battery powered)
Simple puzzles
Bath toys – could use more if they’re a little more interactive than what I have now
Books - Katie is starting to enjoy books with simple story lines and she loves books with large pictures to look at. I'm also fond of books with strong girl characters such as "The Paper Bag Princess", Kevin Henke's character Lilly, Rosemary Wells' characters Ruby and Yoko, and so on. I also recently got a "sing along book" from the library that she's really enthalled with so more like that would be great.

Katie also has an Amazon wishlist with some non-toys on it.

If you're curious, one of the websites I read and liked recently was the TRUCE website (Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children’s Entertainment) and their Infant & Toddler Play, Toys & Media Action Guide PDF. Their perspective and recommendations really resonated with me in terms of the kinds of toys and experiences I have been trying to provide for Katie and want to continue to provide.

Last updated 12.11.09