Here are some of our favorites.
- Corduroy by Don Freeman
- Blueberries for Sal
by Robert McCloskey
- Make Way for Ducklings
- Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
- Caps for Sale
- Story of Ferdinand
- The Snowy Day
- It Looked Like Spilt Milk
- Billy and Blaze
- A Tree is Nice
- Frog and Toad
- Little Bear
- Green Eggs and Ham
- Big Dog Little Dog
- Madeline
- Bread and Jam Francis
- A New Coat for Anna
- Amelia Bedelia
- If You Give a Moose a Muffin
Tall Stacker Pegs Building Set
Shape and Color Sorter Set
Teddy Bear Counters
Giant Pegboard
Playful Patterns
Jumbo Magneatos
Melissa & Doug Deluxe 24-Piece Princess Elise Magnetic Dress-Up
International Playthings Imaginetics Thomas at the Railyard
Melissa & Doug Farm Cube Puzzle
FeltTales Busy Day on the Farm Storyboard
Disney Princess Stamper stationery (12 pcs assorted stampers set)
Disney movie Cars 24pcs Stamp Art Set
Gears
Lacing and Tracing
Previous Got Preschoolers? Posts
The preschool toys I will never, ever give away are:
Brio railroad set;
Duplo blocks;
Fisher-Price toy castle;
Wooden blocks (can be combined with Brio trains, Jenga blocks, etc. to build a fantastic city!)
Felt boards
I used to buy newsprint by the ream from Dick Blick online and carry folders of newsprint and a container of crayons to restaurants…my preschoolers didn’t just draw (although they drew a lot) – we used the waiting-for-food time to practice writing the alphabet, sounding out simple words, etc. Frugal fun!
Don’t forget to read poetry (the sillier, the better) to your young children. My own personal favorite is “The Owl and the Pussycat,” which I can recite at will. Poetry doesn’t have to be dumbed down to be enjoyable…if your child asks what a “runcible spoon” is, tell him/her it’s a two-bowled spoon…
Children love the rhymes and rhythms of poetry. If you can find a poem set to music, so much the better. (Who didn’t love “Schoolhouse Rock”?)
Great post, Toni!
Great post!
We love train sets, wooden blocks and lincoln logs.
We also love to use Crayola Color Wonder items when traveling in the car.
As for books, any of the Dr. Suess books like ABCs and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. We also like Peter Rabbit and Winnie the Pooh. My kids also loved Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books. The Very Hungry Caterpiller is a fun book to read too.
LOVE this post!! We have a lot of those toys already but I’m always looking for more. Thanks for the tips!
Oh and please let me know what you think of the nuggets when you make them
We have many of those same Lauri activities that I’ve used for my preschoolers during school time. I’ll definitely have to look for the farm cube puzzle – it would be a hit! I posted today on making preschool activity bags if you have a chance to stop by!
Great ideas!! Corduroy is one of my FAVORITE books. (And I think my boys like it too!)
Great list. Many familar favorities here.
And I bet my girls would love the stamps and the cube puzzle- I will have the look for them.
Thanks for all the great suggestions.
Great list of books! We read many of these at home. I’ll have to check out many of these toys too! My little guy loves both Thomas and Cars! He would love either of those toys! Thanks for sharing! I’ll be back to check out the rest of your series!
Green Eggs and Ham???? The words are embedded on my brain! I actually thought when my children grew up I would never have to read that book again!! But quess what… I’m am still reading it and I kinda like it! Kids love the quiet and cuddly time of reading.. and so do I!! I keep those self inked stamps in a chest home so when “little people” come to visit they can stamp on paper or themselves. The grandparents love it! Although they sometimes go home covered with blue dragons up and down their arms.
great post – thanks so much for all the great sugestions…our little guy is 21 mos, so a lot of these toys look like they would be right up his alley! We’re trying to stay away from all the singing-light-up-drive-you-crazy toys, but these look like some great alternatives! Thank you!!
Great post!
I agree with you…especially with how things are today, it is important to let kids be kids while they can. Seems like everyone is always rushing to have their kids be older, more independent, more athletic, more scheduled, more involved.
And I love a lot of the toys you included. I am saddened by how few toys at toy stores do not run off batteries and light up and sing and talk and move.
I like to shop at teacher supply stores to get simpler toys and the old classics.
I am happy to say I have all but about 3 of those toys. Funny how you accumulate stuff over the years. Great ideas!
Teacher supply stores can be rather pricey. My preschool has begun ordering many items from Discount Supply and has saved on items we would have typically bought from our local teachers’ store. The web site is http://www.discountschoolsupply.com/default.aspx.
Our neighborhood has plan a few months back a sort of garage sale/swap meet and this has given us the opportunity to swap or trade in kids toys that are no longer being used by our children.
Love your list of books and toys! We are fortunate to have another chance for pre-school books and Toys. We are blessed. It seems like it was just yesterday I read the “Caps for Sale” to my third baby and now he is 11! I am looking forward to reading the story again with Peter (our fourth blessing)!
I’m an early childhood teacher and have 3 kids and another on the way. While I’m not saying these are all junk, my kids have never had ANY of these toys and even in the day care centres I have worked in have had none or few of these. I don’t think any of these are essentials.
I agree, I don’t think any toy is essential, but as a mom of 7 some of these toys have helped to keep my preschoolers occupied while I am homeschooling the others. They are also good quality, have held up through several kids, and reinforce creative play.