Hi there! Welcome to my guide on buying toys and educational activities for kids.

Having had an in home daycare for the better part of 11 years, it has been my experience that toys can be addictive and much too expensive. Plus, kids may not like what is presented to them for more than 5 or 10 minutes.

What then, if one must spend money, are some of the things to keep in mind when purchasing?

AGE OF THE CHILD:

If the child you are purchasing toys for is under the age of 3, it is obviously important to consider the safety factor of small pieces. While many parents, grandparents, and caregivers get a kick out of giving little boys Hot Wheels and little girls Barbies, it may not be such a good idea if the child is one who craves things in his or her mouth. If an item can fit inside a 35 mm film cannister, it is probably better safe than sorry to avoid giving the item to a young child under the age of 3. Stacking nesting toys are great for the older infant/young toddler, blocks of any kind for the older toddler clear up through early elementary, and magnets fascinate the older preschooler.

ABILITY OF THE CHILD:

Children all develop at different rates. Some 2 year olds are ready for coloring with markers and doing 30 piece puzzles. This, however, is rare, and needs to be taken into consideration when purchasing toys for kids. If a child is able to do puzzles, then consider different levels like Melissa & Doug make. Retail stores even have great wood puzzles with knobs that withstand rough play. I have gotten some great puzzles right here on ebay. 

If your child is an aspiring artist, make sure he/she has plenty of age appropriate art supplies on hand, including crayons, blank paper, markers, non-toxic paints, chalk, glitter, pompoms, pipe cleaners or chenille stems, paper plates and lunch sacks, wiggly eyes, conctruction paper, scissors, tape, glue, and whatever else grabs their eye at being something that could help them create that perfect masterpiece. A point to remember, it's the process of getting to the end product that is important in the art projects, not the end product itself.

If your child excels in music, make sure to have plenty of CD's and musical instruments around for your child. Little Tikes and Fisher Price make some really cute toy instruments, retail stores have cheaper and less quality musical instuments, and there are much more expensive toy guitars, drums, keyboards, and others on the market.  Make sure to provide opportunity for the child to listen to all types of music so as to develop a real knowledge and appreciation for it. There is a great selection of children's music right here on ebay.  One of my daycare kids' favorites is Greg and Steve, who have many easy, active songs, and some in Spanish, which the kids love!

INTEREST OF THE CHILD:

Children are just miniature adults, and have specific interests like we adults do.  Know what your child likes to do, and encourage it.

 Do blocks and pegs fascinate your child?  There are all styles of blocks, from Legos to foam, wood to cardboard, water to beaded, magnetic to who knows what else. Almost all kids of all ages enjoy blocks in some form or another. We combine blocks of all sizes to make some fascinating creations in my daycare. I have gotten the foam blocks right here on ebay.

Is dress up and pretend play exciting for your child? Costumes for both boys and girls, like postal worker, policeman,  fireman, chef, princess, animals, grandma and grandpa, storybook characters, and anything else are a must for many children.  Some simple items you might consider having readily available are boots, gloves, scarves or bandanas, and hats.  These have been items my daycare kids have used over and over with total enjoyment. Don't forget the kitchen items, food and dishes, along with cameras and telephones. Dolls and accessories are a must, too. If space allows, a tool bench, shopping cart, and cash register would be great in a pretend play area for your child! There is yet another area that lots of fun items can be found on ebay!

Are cars and vehicles the only thing your child will play with? That one is so simple, but keep in mind that there are many other things that can be incorporated with cars and trucks.  Lanaguage skills with a book, math skills with vehicle counters, art skills with coloring and activity pages, and so on. Of course, if your child likes the vehicles, then he/she must have the tools to work on them!

Does your child need challenges with language skills? Talk to your child, keep up with their language skills. Read to him/her frequently, tell them what you see, what you are doing.  Talk about textures, colors, names, actions, noises, anything their senses can pick up. Puppets and flannel stories, magnetic scenes, spelling puzzles, there is a lot of fun stuff to keep your child interested in learning. Get CD's with lots of songs your child can sing along with, and perhaps stories on tape your child can listen to. One of my dacare kids' favorite books on tape is Duck in the Truck (stuck in the muck). They also like Baby Beluga. If your child is up to it, check into teaching him/her a foreign language such as Spanish, French, or German. There is a good selection of books and CD's on ebay to help with language skills.

Does your child have a problem with attention span?  Well, join thousands and thousands of other parents who are in the same boat!  You might consider having a BUSY BOX.  We put age appropriate items in a pencil box, or something of similar size, and have the kids get those out when they are bored, having trouble getting along, or just want to play with them.  Items included might be play doh, markers, paper and scissors, miniature toys like a dollar type of store might have, post it notepads, Silly Putty, jacks, yo yos, electronic games like Game Boy, and other items that will help you keep your sanity during those busy times you need to be left alone.

Does your child need challenges with math or science skills?  Pets are a great way to introduce your child to science! If you are able, consider getting a rabbit, guinea pig, hamster, fish, turtle, or other pet. My daycare kids love the miniature petting zoo we have here, with a rabbit, chinchilla, turtle, cockatiel, guinea pig, and several cats. Not only does it help with science, but it helps kids learn to be gentle with other living things. Math and science skills can be easily brought up with a calendar and weather chart, scales, magnetic toys, pegboards, sorting toys, and many others. Some of my favorite items have come from Lakeshore and  Childcraft. There is also a super selection if educational toys and activities right here on ebay! 

Does your child need lots of active play time? Balls, tunnels, slides, hoola hoops,  scooters, riding toys, and other similar items are super to help keep your child healthy and fit. There are lots of great active play toys availabe right here on ebay, too.

Even if your child does not excel in an area, he/she needs to be encouraged to develop skills through fun play. If your child is having trouble with small motor skills, you might try pegboards, large knobbed puzzles, or large blocks.  If your child is having problems with large motor skills, take him/her out to the park or the pool and let him/her get lots of extra use of those muscles that sometimes refuse to cooperate with the little one. Also, dancing with scarves and ribbons and other musical activities might help your child with some motor skill issues.

This is a lot to absorb in one sitting, so please feel free to come back and check it out again. I would also love to hear from you via contact member. Thank you again for dropping, and please vote positive for the helpfulness of this guide. Have a great day!

 Sky