Good educational toys for a 3-4 year old

Our daughter will be 3 this coming February, so I would like some info on good educational toys for a child in that age range and a bit older (since by next Christmas, she'll be almost 4)

We got her her first Leap Pad last year. She seems to like it for a few minutes, but then loses interest.

I don't want anything too girlish, or girl specific, like Barbie dolls.

had them. They can become anything! Also, I recommend the book, "The Paper Bag Princess"--wonderful! If you don't mind messes--get finger paints, as long as she knows not to eat them, of course! Be sure to get the slippery paper and wet it a little first--very fun!

I am sure I can think of more--but so will others. Best wishes!

Oh yeah--lots of costume pieces and colorful, natural fabrics--they can become anything too!

my wife's company makes a TON of children's products.

niece loves them (she's 3)

they are Groovy Girls:

http://www.geniusbabies.com/groovy-girls.html

Like barbie, only they are soft, not glamorous, and come in all different shapes and colors. Think ragdoll. A better alternative to the barbie craze, but still works with a little girl's love of roll playing with dolls and doing dress up. Check them out. :hi: And they also have boys...not just Ken

my daughter was little. :hi:

at least they're not built like Barbie.

:hi:

She loves trains so maybe a train set - those come in a pretty wide price range but can get pricy.

Puzzles.

Puppets and a puppet theater. My daughter *loves* putting on puppet shows.

Dolls are really a good learning toy because they are good for pretend play, which is very educational. They're considered girl-specific but they're good for boys too. Same thing for doll houses.

Things with batteries seem from my experience to be "watch" toys rather than "play" toys, if you know what I mean. I find my daughter likes toys she plays with more than those she watches do something. And most play is educational at that age.

we just got him the battery operated engine. :hi:

well I think it was partially for my husband :D

:hi:

thanks

A Boss Who's Less Competent than Johnny and is Afraid of Him"

That's a pretty good education.

A copse of trees, a little creek, a meadow.

A box of dress-up stuff, play cookwear, stuff like that's good for that age. So are trains and cars. Playcloths, which are just big squares of broadcloth in different colors, get a lot of use around here too.

A good place to look for ideas would be a catalog of Waldorf toys. I don't entirely agree with thier philosophy but the idea that toys should be open-ended and astheticly pleasing appeals to me. Ikea has nice toys too, stuff like trains and cookwear and art supplies, good classic toys for kids.

I really like this article in Mothering about toys:

http://www.mothering.com/articles/growing_child/consumerism/junk_toys.html There was a sidebar of suggestions by age in the print version I think, if I find it I'll edit it in.

My children (ages 3 and 5) love puzzles!

my daughter likes puzzles.

is in Enfield, CT... right up the road from us.

be sure to visit legoland, best theme park anywhere imho.

As a side trip from a grandparent-sponsored trip to Disneyland. My kids LOVED it. My son preferred it to Disneyland, and couldn't get enough of the miniature lego cities. He still talks about the mini New York and the mini San Francisco, etc.

I was adopted, and didn't have a book of my own until I was six years old. This stuff makes all the difference in the world.

My wife's company makes a ton of that stuff for kids - non toxic paints, markers, etc.

Playdoh or clay is great for kids that age because it helps build fine motor skills to prepare them for learning how to write in the next couple of years. Dress up play is also fun. After Halloween, buy some clearance costumes and let her keep a box with dress-up clothes. It doesn't have to be just "girly". Keep a firefighter costume, a doctor costume, or ones that are less gender specific. Things to draw or or do crafts in great. If she wants to get "girly", jewelry set with larges beads are great. They also help build fine motor skills. Kitchen sets, doctor sets, or any other dramatic play type stuff is always fun.

Good luck in your quest. :)

If I didn't know better, I'd say you have experience as a parent! ;)

She already has playdoh & likes it. Doctor play sets sounds good, too. She is already saying that she wants to be a heart doctor when she grows up (my wife has a friend that is a cardiologist, and the friend has a son a few months younger than our daughter.)

worms, dirt, sticks... Any of it is the best education for a child. Toys are just analogs for nature.

and I'm heading down to Ft. La-La Dale this week armed with coloring and sticker books. My wonderful concern is that they are in a "gifted" aka, premium priced, Day Care, and I just want my girlies to have fun! Does your baby have a Big Wheel ? Probably too young for Leap Pad .... this age needs hugs from mommy/daddy/significant others, and much, much, much hands on hugs and other legal touching....don't make them grow up too fast, this is the best years of their lives !

for quiet time with all her toys. There is no such thing as an educational toy. Educational parents are the best nurturing tool for children, period. I hate to be grumpus here, but after wasting gazillions of dollars on my kid, the simplest items and talking to her like an adult were the most educational think we did. She has high honors to prove it.

They bought my brother & I some nice toys when we were very young, and sometimes we were more interested in the box the toy came in than the toy itself.

other good things for your young toddler, provided you supervise and play with them, home made play dough (ask and I'll drop my secret recipe on you), big colored buttons to sort, small pots and pans (My son still plays with these and he's 4.5), thick crayons and paper, sidewalk chalk (and a sidewalk, obviously).

...to toss into a basket or something. Fun stuff!! I'm in my 40s and still play with them. (joke)

My son will be 4 in Feb. For his 3rd b-day, one of his gifts was a rubber made container filled with different types of paint (tempera, water color, finger), crayons, washable markers, glue sticks, safety scissors, and lots of different color paper. He loves it!

He has a V-smile system that plugs into the tv. There are great educational games that go along with it. He likes this and plays with it more than he did with the leap pad.

Legos.

Lincoln Logs.

The wooden train tracks and trains--you can set the tracks up in all sorts of paths and push the trains on (Brio makes these, but we have the Target brand and they're great).

Blocks.

The big cardboard bricks. They're super light weight, but sturdy enough that kids can stand on them. They're fun to build with.

Dress Up clothes--fancy dresses, fireman uniforms, police uniforms, doctors coats, etc. Great for the imagination.

maybe a drill too :)