A while ago Shannon at Rocks in my dryer announced a themed edition of her popular Works-for-me Wednesday Blog Carnival , and I have been planning to write a long, detailed review of the best children’s toys for it. I was all set to write it for next week but just realized that I got my dates mixed up and that it is already this week - oops.
But I am nothing if not flexible (right), so I will just use this opportunity to introduce the MOST FAVORITE TOY at our house (I will still write the long, detailed review of various great toys during the next week or so - stay tuned if you are looking for more Christmas gift ideas).
Let me start out by saying that we have many toys, almost all of them good quality, pedagogically worthwhile stuff. However, my kids (especially J.) really aren’t that much into toys. But there is one item that both boys love and that also consistently gets used when other kids come over to play.
In case you are wondering what I am talking about, it is Big Blocks .

Our set is a bit smaller (just eleven pieces) and not exactly the same but I think it is close enough.

I know these blocks are VERY expensive (though after hearing about the $85 baked potato nothing should shock you any more) and they do take up a bit of space. But these are really the best toys we have ever had! My kids use them in a hundred different ways. Over the last couple of years they have built ox carts, castles, tractors, horses, tents, ships, and many other vehicles with them. We use them to play store or set up a puppet theater. They are used for obstacle courses and as weapons (unfortunately). These are truly the only toys that my kids play with constantly.

If loving grandparents, aunts, uncles etc. keep asking you what to get for the youngest member of your family and you just don’t know what to say because the play room is already bursting with Legos, Playmobil and Barbies that older siblings have accumulated over the years, then this is your answer. These blocks are great for everyone: toddlers crawl over them, little ones use it vor pretend play and they can be used to sit/lie on for older kids (I actually got them instead of a small couch for the playroom).

I can honestly say that for us they were worth every penny (which is more than I can say for some of the stuff we have). Big Blocks really work for us!