Two to Three Years
Abilities and Interests Older toddlers love testing their physical skills -- jumping, climbing and throwing -- and enjoy toys for active play. This age group also possesses good hand and finger coordination and enjoys putting these skills to work with basic arts and crafts, puppets, blocks and simple puzzles. Imaginative play also begins in the third year.
Toy Suggestions
- Balls (1 3/4 inches and larger)
- Backyard gym equipment (swing, small slide, small climbing apparatus)
- Building blocks and building systems
- Blocks with letters and numbers
- Wading pool/water toys
- Puzzles with knobs (whole-object pieces that fit into simple scenes)
- Dolls that can be bathed, fed and diapered
- Dress-up clothes and accessories
- Hand- and finger-puppets
- Kitchen equipment and gadgets
- Play household items (telephone, lawn mower, workbench, shopping cart)
- Non-toxic art supplies (crayons and coloring books, clay, finger-paints, sidewalk chalk)
- Child-sized table and chairs
- Play scenes (e.g., farm, airport) with figures and accessories
- Sandbox/sand toys
- Tricycle and helmet
- Play vehicles
- Wagon
- Shape sorters
- Playhouse
- Storybooks
- Stuffed animals
Three to Six Years Old
"Making believe and pretending are among the wonders of the
experience of being human."
-- Dorothy G. Singer, Ed.D., authority on early childhood
education
Abilities and Interests
After the age of three, children begin to play actively with
each other. Preschoolers and kindergartners are masters of
make-believe. They like to act out grown-up roles and enjoy
costumes and props to help them bring their imaginations to
life. It is quite common for children this age to develop
strong attachments to favorite toys, expressing feelings to a
special doll or teddy bear. Materials for arts and crafts are
also popular with this age group, which enjoys creating things
with their hands.
Toy Suggestions
- Tricycle and helmet
- Bicycle and helmet
- Backyard gym equipment
- Construction toys
- Lacing and threading sets
- Puzzles (10-20 pieces)
- Stuffed animals
- Dolls and doll clothes
- Dress-up clothes and accessories
- Props for make-believe play
- Play vehicles
- Hand- and finger-puppets
- Play scenes with figures and accessories
- Tape player and tapes
- Non-toxic art supplies (safety scissors, construction paper, crayons)
- Simple board games; word and matching games
- Storybooks
Six to Nine Years Old
Abilities and Interests
School-age children enjoy play that requires strategy and
skill. Board games, tabletop sports and classic toys like
marbles and kites are favorites. Grade-schoolers also enjoy
exploring different kinds of grown-up worlds and like fashion
and career dolls and action figures. Children this age seek out
new information and experiences through play and enjoy science,
craft and magic kits. In addition, this age group possesses the
physical skills and coordination to enjoy junior versions of
adult sporting equipment.
Toy Suggestions
- Complex gym equipment
- Bicycle and helmet
- Ice or roller skates/roller blades and protective gear
- Sporting equipment (baseball glove, hockey stick, tennis racket) and protective gear
- Simple swimming equipment
- Stilts
- Pogo sticks
- Jump ropes
- Construction toys
- Jigsaw puzzles, including three-dimensional puzzles
- Fashion/career dolls
- Puppets, marionettes and theaters
- Doll houses and furnishings
- Action figures
- Paper dolls
- Science sets
- Model kits
- Craft kits
- Magic sets
- Art supplies
- Tabletop sports
- Video games
- Electronic games
- Board games
- Tape player and tapes
- Books (children's classics, fairytales)
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