Tabrett Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 My ds is turning 4 tomorrow and family will be giving him money. I'm tired of junkie toys and was wondering.... What are you favorite pre-k 4 games, manipulatives, books, workbooks, curriculums, ect.... I already have a lot of thing (he is my 3rd dc). I have SL P3/4 and 4/5. All of MFW prek toys and LHTH. I bought him a set of Wedgits for his birthday. Any other suggestions? What are you favorites or "must-haves" for a 4yo boy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 We like the Rod and Staff ABC series of workbooks. My 4 yr old started them this year and will finish up during K. But it sounds like you have a ton of curric already :) We also like Bob books for beginning reading, but it depends on how close he is to reading.. My 4 yr old is just now starting them and is almost 5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Laurie Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 This Haba toy has been a long time favorite here. It's great for fine motor skills and is kind of like pattern blocks but better. I consider it more than just a toy. A basic set of wooden blocks is great too. The Uncle Wiggly game is cute, it has little rhymes for beginning readers. Jim Weiss audiobooks and other books on cd are great. My 4 yr old loves his Jim Weiss cds, especially Tell Me a Story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 Mighty Mind might be good, we have the magnetic set and it is good for car trips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabrett Posted April 29, 2009 Author Share Posted April 29, 2009 This Haba toy has been a long time favorite here. It's great for fine motor skills and is kind of like pattern blocks but better. I consider it more than just a toy. A basic set of wooden blocks is great too. The Uncle Wiggly game is cute, it has little rhymes for beginning readers. Jim Weiss audiobooks and other books on cd are great. My 4 yr old loves his Jim Weiss cds, especially Tell Me a Story. Has your dc ever hurt themselves with the Haba? I've see something like this before, but was afraid that my dc would get hurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayne J Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 We love the young kids version K'nex--they are bigger and made of a more flexible plastic than the standard K'nex sets. They are played with daily a year and a half later by both my ds6 and dd4. Also, if you have access to a cd burner, buy some blanks and head over to StoryNory.com to burn some great stories. They have free online stories for kids--classic stuff like the Brothers Grimm, and even a verison of the Illiad and Odyssey. The reader is great and we listen to these constantly, especially in the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbajgrow Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 Kids K'nex are fun. My son loves them. They are bigger than the regular k'nex so their little hands can put them together. They have animal versions, robots, and sea creatures. They might have more. The little maps are easy enough for them to look at themselves and put things together. I believe each set is only $10. Have fun. Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabrett Posted April 29, 2009 Author Share Posted April 29, 2009 Oh 2 more toys came to mind that we have. (I guess we have too many!) Cardboard blocks. My son LOVES LOVES LOVES these. He plays with them almost everyday. And, these: http://www.magnatiles.com/ OOOOO- AAAAHHHH The magnatiles look awesome! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom4him Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 My ds is turning 4 tomorrow and family will be giving him money. I'm tired of junkie toys and was wondering.... What are you favorite pre-k 4 games, manipulatives, books, workbooks, curriculums, ect.... I already have a lot of thing (he is my 3rd dc). I have SL P3/4 and 4/5. All of MFW prek toys and LHTH. I bought him a set of Wedgits for his birthday. Any other suggestions? What are you favorites or "must-haves" for a 4yo boy? We started our son with a Thomas set when he was about 3. He played with it daily for several years. Yes, daily, sometimes it was the only toy he played with. He is 8 1/2 and he still drags it out every 6 wks or so and builds a 'new' design for his trains and then puts it back until the next time. It has probably been just the last yr or so that he didn't have it out almost constantly. It is great for creative, constructive, critical thinking play. We had to play with him for a while until he got how it all went together and how he could change it up but once he did that it was, mom, I think I can do it by my self now. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elw_miller Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 My dd just turned 4 in February. We got her a small Lego fireman set. She had some assistance putting it together. She loves playing them. The set says for 5+, but my dd seemed ready. She also got some puzzles: 35 pcs, 60 pcs, and a 100 pc. She can do the 35 pc ones by herself, the 60 pc ones with minimal assistance, and the 100 pc one with a little guidance, too. Ravensburger has some excellent puzzles for little people. She has one with chameleons, elephants, a jungle scene, and an African savannah scene. One by Abeka(sp?) depicts a British farmers market (the items in the market have the British pound instead of the dollar sign) with all the letters of the alphabet and corresponding pictures across the top and bottom. The alphabet pictures are intermixed into the scene for the kids to find. I really like this 100 pc puzzle because it is easy to put together even for a 4-year-old. The scene is in layers--top layer is part of the alphabet, next layer down is a row of houses and businesses, then a street, then the market, then the bottom layer is the rest of the alphabet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloha2U Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 LEGOS ...with all the extras! My ds was given a big box of legos when he was 3 and didn't show much interest until he turned 4. Now he absolutely loves them! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in KS Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Geotrax (so, so cool and everyone in the family loves them) and wooden blocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emilylou Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 I 2nd the suggestion for the wooden Thomas trains... my son is 6 and has also played with these daily since he was 2 1/2-3 years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Laurie Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Has your dc ever hurt themselves with the Haba? I've see something like this before, but was afraid that my dc would get hurt. No, and my little ds got this when he was 3. The little nails have blunted ends and the hammer is wooden but not heavy. I wouldn't get it if I had a kid who would put the nails in his/her mouth though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzannah Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 I third(?) the Thomas train suggestion. Older DS got his first wooden train set (another brand) for his first birthday. It was just an engine, a few cars and a small circular track. Since then it has been added to continually over the years. It falls in and out of favor, but we have more than gotten our money's worth. DS is now 11.5 and (while he wouldn't like to admit it) still plays with it when the younger kiddos have it out. All three of mine have loved it. And if it seems to not be loved, I put the box away and wait for one of them to spot a set-up at the bookstore or toys store where I have to drag them away. Then I say "We have a train set too. Why don't we get it out when we get home?" Incidentally, the play tables are great, but if you don't want to spend the money and aren't handy enough to make it, Ikea has a coffee table that's almost exactly the same size for about $40-50. They also have a couple of narrow coffee tables which are about the same size when pushed together (makes it easier to rearrange if you need to). And I bet four of those little square end tables would be about the same size too if you really wanted versatility. Aside from that, the toys we've gotten the most use out of are Legos, Playmobil and bicycles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laylamcb Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Maze books! I think Kumon has one, and I have gotten a couple good ones from Mindware, too. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 A 155 piece set of non-linking plastic Cuisenaire Rods (about $18) turned out to be the best single thing I've ever purchased for my son. By far. These made numerical valuables tangible and in combination with Miquon and EB got my son off to a wonderful start with math. It would not be an exaggeration that this decision has changed both our lives. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geniva Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 My son turned 5 on Sunday, and he received a Discovery Kids Scanopeda from my mother. My son, his 2yo sister and his 7yo sister have been playing with that toy non-stop. lol. It's a scanner that you use to scan plastic animals. It then tells you facts about the animals (what they eat, where they live, etc.). It also gives you a true or false quiz at the end. Super-cute. It's almost like an animal encyclopedia. It's certainly been a hit here, but my kids are a little animal crazy. lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rene Austen Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 A marble run! My son's absolute favorite toy at that age, and he still builds with it even now. (We actually have three sets, so the jillion pieces combine to make some truly monstrous marble runs.) And every child who comes over to play instantly gravitates toward it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 For my guy, LEGOs for sure! Also, games by ThinkFun (he especially likes Zingo - we've got the bilingual version). Also, Tangrams and puzzles. Dot to dots and mazes are also favorites (we've used Kumon as well as others). Magnifying glass or loupe. My ds has started a collection of nature items, and I am thinking that a collection box would be really nice. I really want to get this, called the Touch Game. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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