The Best Baby And Toddler Toys

How engaging do the above photos look? Do you spot any toys from home that your children love? It was such a joy setting up these play environments as a RIE practicum student. My mentor is a RIE associate and Montessori teacher, and these are her popular Discover Your Baby and Toddler classes which I was part of as part of my certification.

I would love to ask you: as a child, how often did YOU enjoy play with simple things - like boxes, blocks, and balls - and what memories do you have playing with them? Do you remember how you felt? 

My husband admitted that his favorite activity was digging holes in the backyard with a stick, even though he had the coolest toys in his room. This makes me laugh every time I hear it, and it makes perfect sense. 

It's the simple and open-ended toys (even from your kitchen!) that can truly cultivate the most discovery and learning. They can be re-imagined and played with in a zillion different ways. The trick here is to wait, and watch the magic happen. 

Did you notice that none of the toys in the above photos are battery operated? That is totally intentional. The reason behind this is that research shows that simple toys create active children who are exploring and moving and learning. Active toys (battery operated) create passive children that aren't doing nearly as much.

You may need to observe this yourself to feel the truth behind this.

Today's goal: Look around your playroom and simply notice which toys are battery operated, and which are simple and open-ended. This isn't about purging all your toys and feeling guilt. This is about noticing how your children interact differently with each kind of toy, and gaining a little bit more insight. 
Lots of love, Jesse

Ways we can connect: 

I offer Private Coaching sessions here.

Wonder Wednesdays LIVE at 10am on Instagram

A free, made for you mini-series full of rich independent play ideas. You will receive a series of emails with delightful practices here.