Best Toy Buy-Magformers

My sister-in-law bought a set of Magformers Rainbow 30 Piece Set years ago for my nephews, so when my kids were a bit older, I eagerly bought our first set. They were such a hit that our first set quickly grew into quite a collection. Every child loves these things, from the oldest child to the youngest. There's no small pieces in most of the basic sets so there's no choking hazards to worry about. Older kids love to build 3D space ships, houses, and buildings. Toddlers tend to lay them out flat, click the sides together, and build a grid-like thing (although they claim it's a house). Babies stare in wonder as they learn to click the sides together....and the smooth sides make an awesome chew toy when teething.

This is the third year in a row that Santa will be adding more Magformers to the kid's collection since they have been one of the more popular toys the kids play with daily.

Here are a few of our favorite sets (a few are also on the Hot Toy List for Christmas so be sure to buy your's early!):

   

Week In Review: October 20 - October 24

We had a short daycare week since I took a day off to spend with the minis who didn't have school. The week seemed short and we didn't get to half of the activities I had planned--someone planned out five days worth of activities instead of only four. Ooops. Here's a brief look at our week (brief because I failed to take pictures as I usually do):

 Lil Miss E had a tough week sending her brother's off to school.

 The kids painted with pine cones and then they painted the pine cones with their fingers. A couple of kids loved it, most kids did not.

 We broke out the Halloween stampers. A few of the kids had never used stamps before, so they thought these were "sooo cool!"

 Pumpkin slime.

 Harrison has been "reading" to the kids and has convinced them all that he can, in fact, read. The kid's newest favorite place to play is in Elizabeth's room. They drag as many toys as they can in her room and play. They even chose not to go outside two afternoons in a row because they wanted to play in there!

 We played a few games this week. The first was learning games with the Shapes Bean Bags. This is a definite buy for anyone with toddlers learning colors and shapes. Read my review here: http://ashlen-kidspert.blogspot.com/2014/10/best-toy-buy-shapes-bean-bags.html
The kids also played Hungry Hungry Hippos and we played a few pumpkin counting games (I failed to get pictures of either activity).

 Harrison picked out a Fizzing Egg from the Blank Park Zoo last weeked (more on that here: http://ashlen-kidspert.blogspot.com/2014/10/night-eyes.html). The kids loved watching the egg fizz and were shocked to see that the animal inside of the egg was an elephant.

 The kid's imaginations were in full drive this week and they created scenarios such as: camping, zoo people, and pet owners (in this scenario half of the kids were puppies, the other half owners. Things got very loud with the "puppies" barking and the "owners" yelling at them).

 Reading books.

 I made Pumpkin Moon Sand one afternoon for a sensory activity. It did not go over well. Read more on that here: http://ashlen-kidspert.blogspot.com/2014/10/sensory-activity-gone-wrong.html

 We did a partial toy rotation. The kids were thrilled to have the Wheelie mat back on the floor.

 Lots of crafting. Using (or learning to use) glue and scissors has been a highlight for the kids lately.

 We finally got around to making our leaf collages. This was the first time we've made them with glue and construction paper (in the past we used clear contact paper) and they turned out great!

Friday was my first day off since Labor Day. Read about our day exploring: http://ashlen-kidspert.blogspot.com/2014/10/a-day-off-to-play.html

Next week will be another short week (that I will plan accordingly for this time so it doesn't throw everyone off!) that will include: Halloween cupcake day, two Halloween parties, reading our Halloween books, watching a few Halloween movies, and getting out the dress up clothes and costumes for a day of pretending.