think or thwim

Until November 26, in North America you can order an XO laptop for your child and one will be given to a child in a developing country. See my earlier post.

Kids play with this for hours. There’s also a Rush Hour Jr., but my son likes the older version.

These are great for learning shapes and basic physics. We have 3 sets of these at our house, and that’s the right number to build anything we want to build.

Combine this with the wood blocks above, and you can build some cool stuff.

Everybody has probably played with these by now. Avoid Magnetix brand. They have weak magnets. (a reader pointed out that if a kid swallows more than one magnet, don’t wait for them to come out. They need to be removed before they get into the intestines - article).

You can never have enough Legos. Not everybody knows that the best deal is to buy them by the pound at Ebay (or better yet - garage sales).

I took this picture of our living room this morning. When we’re not playing with the track it’s stored in the cedar chest we use for a coffee table. Those little train tables are too limiting for me. Most of the normal track and train cars were bought at garage sales. Some of the bridges were bought at discount stores. We spent less for all of this than a Brio Starter set, which is far too expensive for us. The Kidkraft set I linked to is a decent price if you want to buy new. Ebay can be a good source for these too.

We actually have 5 sets of refrigerator magnets. Montessori starts with lower case letters because we use them the most.

This one has paper storage and trays on both sides. Ours doesn’t, and we wish it did. The wife wants to make sure I mention that you should break kid’s pencils in half. The shorter length and lighter weight is easier for kids to manipulate when they are learning to write. It gives them more control. Crayons should be about an inch long to encourage correct grasp.

This is the one thing on this list our son rarely plays with, but if my wife or I played I’m sure he would. It is the real thing, and it’s a good one for the price.

I think the box says it’s for ages 8 and up, but 3 year olds get it and have a lot of fun. We started out with all of our cards face up to help teach him and because he couldn’t hold his cards. It adds a new dimension to the game.

Cards with pictures of real fish would be better, but I didn’t see a set like that.

The board is half the size of a normal board, and the squares are named for carnival rides and games. Our son used an abacas to help him do the math to make change.

Good for learning number recognition and counting.

This is fun for adults. It’s also great for kids to learn about gravity and learn to not be sore losers.

A boy wants pancakes. His mom says she’s busy, but she’ll tell him where to get the ingredients. He cuts wheat and makes flour. Then he gets eggs from a chicken, milks a cow, and makes butter from cream. Eventually, he makes his pancakes. Great for learning where food comes from, and has a simple recipe for pancakes. All kids really like this book.

This book follows a farmer through his year. After the harvest he takes his crops and the other things they’ve made to town and trades them for tools and supplies his family needs. Good for learning about cycles of life, working hard, and not having more than you need.

The story of a kid going owling with his grandfather. Owling is sneaking through the woods in the middle of the night trying to spot an owl.

A boy is very excited to catch fireflies for the first time. He takes his jar of fireflies to bed with him, and watches as they start to fall to bottom of the jar and stop lighting up. He has an internal conflict because he doesn’t want to hurt them, but the doesn’t want to let go of his fireflies. Finally, he releases them and watches them light up again.

Classic story of two travelers entering a village and asking for food. They are turned away by everyone, so since there is no food in the village, they make their own magic soup out of stones to help. One by one, the villagers volunteer to add vegetables, meat, etc to it, and everyone ends up with a delicious soup.

The title is self explanatory. Teaches the benefits of trees and nature.

The life cycle of an oak tree. Teaches the importance of trees, respect for life, and just the shear wonder that a huge tree comes from such a small beginning.

Great for beginning readers. A kid can read the first two books knowing four sounds: s, m, a, and t. The text follows the illustrations closely, and the stories are as amusing as they can be with four letters.

Any of Peter and Connie Roop’s books. They are interesting stories written at a level a kid can understand, but an adult doesn’t find mind numbing either.

Kid sized. We had a hard time finding 1/2 size tools at stores like Home Depot, but the link goes to a decent set.

It has an adjustable height floor (better than a chair) to get kids up to counter level to help in the kitchen. It also has a railing and enough room for two kids at once. My son only almost fell out head first once. This is one of the best things we ever bought for my son, but it might be a challenge to find a home for it in a small kitchen.

Does not spill or leak. Keeps things cold forever. Durable.

This is great for little hands, but it’s pretty cool for adults too. The screw gives a kid plenty of power to crack any nut that will fit in the hole, and let’s them do it on their own. The hole is large enough for an average walnut.

Kid’s love this thing. We pull the kitchen table apart like we’re going to insert another leaf. Then we insert the coffee grinder, and close the table on it to hold it securely. My wife also made a little sign with an arrow that shows which direction to turn it. Whenever I get this out, my son says “I need my sign.”

Little cutting boards that kids can carry and wash themselves.

The serrated edge lets them cut just about anything. The blunt tip keeps anybody from getting hurt.

Brooms, mops, dust pans

Kids like to help their parents. Especially if they have their own tools. My kid’s favorite toy was a broom for at least a year. His friends love to use it too.

Hours of fun. If you have more than one kid, you should probably get more than one of these.

Everybody loves tongs.

Kid sized.

Look for metal gears. A lot of the new ones have plastic and are hard to turn, so it’s not much fun for a kid. A good one will turn easily.