favorite 15+ month toys?

Hi-

My girls seem to be getting bored of all the toys they have in their playroom. I am in the process of buying some outdoor toys and wondered what everyone recommended for ages 15 months and up?
I HATE all the small pieces they keep losing from their current toys b/c they get lost...anyone have a solution for mixing things up with their current ones and keeping them organized? Also, what are your twins favorite things to do at this stage? All mine really want to do is climb the furniture and get into everything it seems like ! thanks

Kate

 

I have found that having bins of some sort and labelling the bins. then once per week I empty all the bins and wipe everything down and clean it all up and reorganize. and sometimes I will rotate toys from hour to hour other toys I will rotate week to week or monthly.

1. Play kitchen with all the food, dishes, utensils. Tea sets.
2. Baby doll gear: baby, bottles, beds, highchairs, strollers, 1-2 outfits, bibs, blankets. strollers are good for outside
3. animal hospital which can double as a basic doctor kit.
4. puzzle books - but alot of pieces.
5. play phones
6. sand toys, garden toys. we keep these in a rubbermaid bin next to the sand box or in the storage shed in the winter.
7. lots of different sized balls.
8. I have a bin with cars and trains in it.


For climbing, set up couch cushions on the floor in a pyramid shape and they will climb for hours on that. or use an old mattress.

 

Kate, I have that issue with the parts and pieces too!! That's why I put a "ban" on the little stuff for their 2nd bday. Makes me crazy. What I finally did was got out some Gallon Ziplocs and went around the house collecting pieces for ONE THING (so I could focus ) and then once I had all of those I zipped and put it up high. Then did another and another and now I am rotating those 3-4 things. So I collect all the pieces to the one that's "in play" and then put it up and get out another. (That's how it's supposed to work, we'll see how well I do!) I'm not nearly as organized as Heather sounds!!

Balls and anything with wheels do my just fine. He doesn't want much else in his life. DD is more scattered. She goes from one thing to the next. They don't really play with their little people that well (all my small pieces so it's hard to get into that!

I have blocks that they now will build with and I just got a "rollercoaster" bead thingy at the MOMS SALE. It's AWESOME! They FLIPPIN' LOVE THIS THING!!! Let me see if I can find a link for you!

Like this only BIGGER! I bought it for 6.50 at the sale - so see if you can find one at your 2nd hand store!! This thing is priceless!

WOW! I guess I really had something to say huh?! Or did I?

 

Mine also had one of those mini rollercoster things (although I can honestly say I didn't know that's what they were called). They used it a lot. They also loved their Little People (including the farm, playhouse, minivan etc). They used their kitchen every day. We had a rocking horse that they used to ride daily. Books, books and more books. Leap Frog Letter Ball and Speak and Say...

As far as organizing, I tried to keep toy pieces together in separate bins. All Little People together, All puzzles together, crayons etc etc. I still do this today. They have a drawer just for their My Little Ponies, several for dress up clothes, one for games, crayons, baby doll stuff.... It works for the most part. Things sometimes get mixed together but at least I know that everything has a home and even if it doesn't get into it's proper home today it will by the weekend. This has also been my way to know when to get rid of some toys. If there is a bin overflowing then I reassess and get rid of some of it. This is especially true of stuffed toys.

 

The rollercoaster bead thingies are called "bead mazes." (I found that out when I was putting them on Amy & Sarah's 1st b'day wish list.)

One of their favorite toys right now is the Leap Frog Fridge Farm. They are also finally getting into balls. And they like a yellow school bus that plays various verses of "The Wheels on the Bus" when you push different parts of it. But mostly it seems like they like to play with their shoes, pull all the tupperware out of the cupboard, look out the window, and push an empty wastebasket around the house. (Why do I have all these toys?)

 

We have a whole room full of toys! Right now how I organize them is in those zippered netted laundry bags. (they use them for socks and little pieces of laundry) We seperate what goes where, and the only time we play with those toys, is when we have playtime together. The rest of the time, they play with other toys, books, balls, riding toys, their playhut tunnels, and their all time favorite is the Bounce and spin Zebra. I tried organizing in little snap top containers...it took them all of 2 hours to figure out how to open them and take everything out. They don't know how to unzip yet, so far it seems to be working!

 

I have always had good luck with the Discovery Toys from my oldest 13 to my youngest the Boys now 4. They are really durable and if they break then they will replace it for free, no questions asked. I cant get that guarantee from Walmart. It is so hard to buy everything in double for the boys because they cant get the concept of sharing they to together.

Joy

 

The zippered laundry bag is a nice idea, but mine can zip and unzip each other's coats and help each other out of their coats now at 22 months. Stuff with pieces at my house is like Dianne's. It's in storage to rotate in/out or it's up high and one thing comes out once everything else in sight has been put away. I try to have a daily clean up time at 430ish before DH comes home btwn 5-530.

 

At 15 months, mine loved their Laugh and Learn House, their ride on toys, sorting/stacking toys, and all of our outdoor stuff (playhouse, climber, water/sand table).

For toys, we have two of these storage bins from Target. I love them, although others here have not had as much luck with them. I have them labeled and the kids even know now what goes where! The little people toys all go in a toy box, and the little pieces/people themselves all go in a rubbermaid tub with a lid that also fits in the toy box. We also have bookshelves in each of their rooms, and on the shelves are lots of other toys in bins (art supplies, playdough, etc.) which keeps things nice and organized. Lastly, we have a few of these storage bins from Ikea. These fit under their crib and hold larger toys (blocks, trucks, etc.).