Encouraging Imaginative Play

Have you ever heard that suddenly when you become a parent your whole world revolves around your child? Well, it is true.  When they are first born it is because they need you every second, for months Lily and I did not even realize that she and I were different people.  And now?  Mark and I want to spend every second with her, especially as Monday to Friday she only spends a few hours with us.  And I think she likes spending time with us too. As I’ve shared in Lily’s monthly updates she loves singing, dancing, reading and playing with us.  Over the past few months I have realized just how many different ways there are to play with kids, and we have been embracing many of the Montessori principles.  Two of the core ones I especially love are the prepared environment and the absorbent mind.

Lily may only be seven months old but we are fans toys with no or minimal electronics to let her mind run wild.  Thus we were very excited to partner with the incredibly popular online retailer Very and received a big order of toys  to inspire Lily’s imaginative play.  While Lily is close to crawling it will definitely be well into 2024 before she can play outside, but as soon as she can you better believe we will have her on her very own set of wheels and how cute are these bikes?!?  I am sure we will go from training wheels to a balance bike to a “big girl” bike before we know it.  But until then, Lily and her new toys:

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AURORA Stick Man Plush 13-inch Plush    |    “I’m Stick Man, I’m Stick Man,. I’M STICK MAN, that’s me! And I’m sticking right here in the family tree!”  Mark reads Lily at least a three books every day and one of his favorites is Stickman. If you haven’t read it and you have a little one, make sure to get on it – it was our nephew, Milo’s favorite book when he was a toddler.  Lily has started to love chewing on board books, so it’s great to hand her the this cotton StickMan toy as we’re reading the book. A much better option to put in her mouth.

Mamas & Papas Welcome to the World Travel Spiral Baby Toy    |    I may sound like a broken record but Lily loves playing and chewing on things when in the pram.  For the past few months she has had a rainbow caterpillar wrapped around the bumper bar of her stroller and it is looking … very loved.  Thus I was very excited to switch it out for this spiral toy, and while it is bit vain I love that is is much more color coordinated with her blankets and winter attire.

Lamaze Freddie the Firefly Table Top Highchair Toy    |    As soon as she’s in her high chair my big girl wants something to eat.  Thus for the past week while Mark and I finish getting food ready this firefly toy has been great for her to play with especially as it suctions to the tray and she hasn’t yet knocked it over or throw it on the floor.

Sophie La Giraffe (Il était Une Fois Gift Box)    |    We love Sophie in our house. I counted and she’s been mentioned in four posts already but it has been only the teething one so this is an upgrade!  Now Lily is able to chew on big Sophie and she loves that it makes a squeaky noise. I couldn’t help but take these pictures with Lily and her new Sophie la Giraffe outfit from their collaboration with H&M.

Fisher-Price Leaping Leopard Jumperoo Activity Center    |     Every day I turn to Mark and say, “look how big she is” but it is true. Lily is nowhere near standing yet; crawling will be the next milestone, but she has started to put weight on her legs.  Of all of her new toys this jumperoo was one of her favorites, and even though we didn’t put batteries in it yet it’s still quite entertaining.  And as a recommendation, it helps to read the user manual to make sure not only you put it together safely, but Mark knew that the seat turned so Lily can play with all of the toys surrounding her 360°. It’s really important to make sure the height is correct and the baby is on their tiptoes not flat footed.

BAMBINO BY JULIANA® Wooden Elephant Xylophone     |    After her first day at nursery Lily’s teachers told us she enjoyed playing with the xylophone … so now we have a xylophone. The box says she isn’t quite old enough for this yet, but looking into it, that is when using it unaccompanied. Mark and Lily have had some great playtime with this musical instrument so if you’re little one under 12 months, be careful with the wooden mallets.

Cotton Ball Pit Grey and Stars in Light Pink with 200 Balls     |      Another toy Lily has loved playing with at nursery is a ball pit.   Her teachers have put her in it a few times to help build her core strength so she will be able to sit unaided for longer periods of time.   It’s an added bonus that Lily does not really understand that is why we are putting her in it, she is just fascinated with all of the balls and tries very hard to fit each one into her mouth.

If you were going to order toys to spark imaginative play which would you choose from these thousands of toys?