Crocodile Dentist

I bought 2 and sent 1 to my grandson.  We took turns pushing the teeth down to see which crocodile would bite first.  I think we played this over 20 times that day!  Chase loved it and he had an opportunity to interact with his great-grandparents and my sister.  Fun for everyone.

 

Suspend Game - Great for all ages!!

I found another great Melissa & Doug game this week.  The game has wire pieces to balance as you build the structure.  At only $16.99, it will be fun for all ages.  For those living close to Longmont, Colorado, you must go to the PostalAnnex for the best selection of Melissa & Doug toys I have ever seen.  They are located next to the Safeway store at 1610 Pace Street.  Louise Gee is the owner and a delight.  Be sure to tell her I sent you.

Good Toys to Bring on Your Next Visit

Some general suggestions:

Have batteries loaded.  Some toys need screw drivers to open the compartment.

Read instructions ahead of time.  I found a couple were a bit complicated at first.

If the instructions don't make sense to you, see if there is a video on YouTube.

Make sure you have all supplies ready (scissors, tape, etc)

You might have some of the time-consuming steps done ahead of time.

I was so excited to find lacing cards with a boy theme.

The rockets were the #1 hit.  We wore them out.  With 2 rockets, Chase would share 1 with another child on the playground.  One evening, a shy child was intimidated by the rockets.  Chase literally chased him around the playground to insist he take his turn.  Hilarious!!

I have found these at Tuesday Morning and Big Lots for around $4.  Their inventories are hit and miss, so you might prefer Amazon or eBay.  They run around $11 on those sites.

Chase had fun with this one too.  To play, put the ball in the shooter and stomp it with your foot.  The goal is to get all 4 teeth knocked back.  Resetting the teeth didn't work very well, but I could usually get it to hold the teeth after several attempts.

Chase loved this one.  We created new designs on the special paper over and over.  I liked that the paper was recycled when the design faded.  Some might be disappointed to not save a special picture, but I liked it that way.

This was another find at Tuesday Morning!

Art See Studio: This is great.  The iPad fits in the frame.  You will need to download the free app.  The games and backgrounds for the pictures were fun.  This could also be used without the frame if you are away from home and want to entertain your toddler.  I needed to watch videos on YouTube to get the full benefit how to use this.  Once Chase knew how to do a couple of things, he resisted letting me show him new things. He was more receptive to watching the YouTube videos and then would try the new ideas.

I found this at Tuesday Morning for around $7.

Magnetic dress up doll for boys made out of wood.  This is a great toy (as are all Melissa & Doug toys).  I tried to get Chase to mix and match the outfits, but he goes by the rules.  Maybe I will get him to put superhero pants with the pirate shirt the next time I go visit.

Tuesday Morning had a girls' version for around $8.  Other locations might have a boys' version.

The battery operated bubble gun is a great outdoor toy.  If you plan to buy this, bring extras for other kids at the playground to eliminate a sharing problem.

The rules for this game were a little complicated for Chase, but we were able to adapt it to rules he enjoyed.  I suggest you read the instructions ahead of time.

This is great over Skype/Facetime too (see earlier post).

These were fun but took a lot of time to make.  The book has 60 airplanes and cost $20.  I would rather have fewer plane designs and cost less.  The cutting required with the scissors took too long.  I wonder why the pages weren't perforated.  We went through all the straws fairly quickly and had to use regular straws.  Chase had a lot of fun blowing through the straw.

Stupid game.  I thought the talking chicken would be funny, but it was just annoying.  It didn't hold Chase's interest very long either.  I was also concerned with the plastic discs, because they would be easily swallowed by EJ.  It went to the second-hand store right after I left.

I have a new surprise!!  Just like we do on our Facetime calls, Chase finds the surprises on his bed.  It was a fun way to introduce new toys.  Some days there would only be 1.  On a day we were home the whole time, there might be several surprises.

Hippie Sticks

Great Grandma and Chase both have Hippie Sticks in this video.  We needed Lindsay to show Chase how to roll the wand in his hands to create "bubbles".  Once he got the hang of it, he loved it.  In case you are wondering what he says at the end, they are going to get "chicken fries" at a restaurant after the call.  The web site for the Hippie Sticks has more ideas on creating different shapes, but for our first time, we were happy he was able to get the concept of rolling the stick to make it spin.  Check out www.hippie-sticks.com for where to purchase and more ideas on creating additional designs.

Valentine's Craft

Crafts are a fun activity on Skype/Facetime.  Chase and I did this for Valentine’s Day.  I set it up with Lindsay to have paper, glue and marshmallows ready.  We started with the Stuffy (see my first post)and I had every pocket filled with fun toys he knows (Elmo, Nemo, a frog, a truck and a Valentine’s pig).  The last one was a bag of marshmallows in Stuffy’s mouth.  Lindsay had placed Chase’s bag of marshmallows on his bed (our normal place when I have a surprise for him).  She drew the heart ahead of time so he just had to follow the shape.  Make the heart smaller for the younger kids so it doesn’t take too long.  You may need to put the heart away until the glue dries.  You don’t want to have to do this again if your grandchild picks up the paper too soon.  We ended with eating the left-over marshmallows.  This was easy to set up and Chase stayed engaged the whole time.  Win!!