Play Time
Gibbs Smith Book Un Elefante: Numbers/Numeros
$10.00A Lil' Libros Bilingual Counting Book Inspired by one of the most beloved nursery rhymes in Latin America, “Un Elefante se Balanceaba,” is a traditional children's song in Spanish that...
Gibbs Smith Book Black and White/Blanco y Negro
$10.00The colors black and white paint a fun story in this bilingual Spanish/English board book. Did you know that colors can tell stories? The illustrations in this charming board book...
Gibbs Smith Book Green/Verde
$10.00Did you know that colors can tell stories? The illustrations in this charming board book introduce your brilliant baby to all kinds of things that are green, including yummy spinach,...
Gibbs Smith Book Red/Rojo
$10.00Did you know that colors can tell stories? The illustrations in this charming board book introduce your brilliant baby to all kinds of things that are red, including a clanging...
Gibbs Smith Book Blue/Azul
$10.00Did you know that colors can tell stories? The illustrations in this charming board book introduce your brilliant baby to all kinds of things that are blue, including finny fish...
Gibbs Smith Book Yellow/Amarillo
$10.00Did you know that colors can tell stories? The illustrations in this clever board book introduce your brilliant baby to all kinds of things that are yellow, including tall giraffes...
Gibbs Smith Book Christmas Carol: A BabyLit Color...
$10.00This series celebrates the tradition of literary naturalists—writers who embrace the natural world as the setting for some of our most euphoric and serious experiences. These books map the intimate...
Gibbs Smith Book Vamonos a Bogota
$10.00Teach your little reader about the magical capital of Columbia through illustrations and words that will teach them about the world in English and Spanish. Introduce your little readers to...
Gibbs Smith Book Vamonos a Lima
$10.00Teach your baby about Lima in the country of Peru, one of the largest cities in South America, through illustrations and words that will teach them about the world in...
Gibbs Smith Book The Life of La Vida de Pele
$10.00Known to the world as the greatest soccer player of all time, Pelé's career started at age 15. He soon helped the Brazilian national team to three world championships. Your...
Gibbs Smith Book Vamonos a Antigua
$10.00Teach your baby about a small city surrounded by big forested hills and volcanoes through illustrations and words that will teach them about the world in English and Spanish. Introduce...
Gibbs Smith Book Vamonos a Panama City
$10.00Teach your little reader about the captivating capital of Panama through illustrations and words that will teach them about the world in English and Spanish. Introduce your little readers to...
Gibbs Smith Book Where is?/Dónde Está? El Chavo
$10.00Inspired by the internationally acclaimed sitcom "El Chavo Del Ocho," this book will introduce little ones to their first English and Spanish words as they explore La Vecindad in search of the...
Gibbs Smith Book Around The World With Alrededor ...
$10.00A Bilingual Geography Book Inspired by one of the world’s most iconic comedians, Mario Moreno (better known as the inquisitive Cantinflas), this book will take little ones around the world...
Land of Dough Natural Dough Glitter Cup Space Galaxy
$10.00These cups feature multilayered dough colors, fun surprises, and charming patterns that are sure to delight. Let them hold the galaxy in the palm of their little hands. A backdrop...
Land of Dough Natural Dough Glitter Cup Mermaid Lagoon
$10.00On an enchanted island in the sparkling sea, there’s a mystical lagoon where the mermaids swim. Shimmering purple tails sparkle through the aqua water, while pink sand shimmers all around....
Land of Dough Natural Dough Glitter Cup Princess Pink
$10.00Pretty in pink. Shades of blush, rose, and magenta topped with sparkling pixie dust create a fairytale world where any little dreamer can be a princess for a day. Product...
Land of Dough Natural Dough Glitter Cup Unicorn Dream
$10.00These cups feature multilayered dough colors, fun surprises, and charming patterns that are sure to delight. Make unicorn dreams come true! Perfect for imaginative play, mythical magic comes alive in...
Penguin Where's the Fire Truck Book
$10.00Five stylishly illustrated spreads show a series of friendly characters hiding behind bright felt flaps. A mirror on the final spread makes for a satisfying ending to the book’s search-and-find inquiries. (Where...
Gibbs Smith Book Zoolympics
$10.00See who finished first, second, third, and more in the Zoolympics while learning both cardinal and ordinal numbers. This fun board book teaches toddlers both cardinal and ordinal numbers as...
Gibbs Smith Book Little Poet William Shakespeare:...
$10.00Introduce clever babies to classic poets with Gibbs Smith’s new Little Poet series. “I do love nothing in the world so well as you.” Little Poet William Shakespeare: I Love You pairs...
Penguin Welcome to Florida Book
$10.99Welcome to Florida! We’re glad you’re here! Introducing a new series of picture books about each US state.Children from Florida and those who’d like to visit Florida one day will...
Abrams Appleseed Book Montessori: Number Work
$10.99Learn numbers the Montessori way! Based on the proven Montessori teaching method, Montessori: Number Work introduces young readers to numbers first as quantities to count before showing them as numerals. Brightly stylized...
Abrams Appleseed Book Montessori: Letter Work
$10.99Learn letters the Montessori way! Based on the proven Montessori teaching method, Montessori: Letter Work introduces readers to letters by their sounds and shapes first! Featuring textures for readers to touch and...
Play is essential for children because it contributes to their intellectual, physical, emotional and social development. When children play, they exercise their creativity, develop their imagination, master their dexterity, improve their cognitive ability and build physical strength. Experts agree that the best kinds of play allow kids to set their own goals, negotiate challenges, develop and share ideas, and make their own rules.
But how can we make sure our kids are getting enough healthy, unstructured play time when they’re growing up in an overscheduled and stressful environment, when parents are overly focused on producing high academic achievers, and safety concerns prevent us from letting our kids roam around freely and unsupervised? Perhaps the best thing we can do for our kids is to make sure they have the right kinds of toys at home to make play time most rewarding.
First and foremost is safety. Safe toys for young children are sturdy, without sharp parts or splinters, free of pinching hazards, and easy to clean. If the toy will be used by an infant, it’s important that parts aren’t small enough to become a choking hazard.
Toys must be made from non-toxic materials and coated with lead-free paints. You should steer clear of antique toys, second-hand toys and homemade toys that have not been tested and approved by a certified testing lab, or may have been produced before the current regulations governing toy manufacturing were in effect.
In addition to being safe, a good toy will match the child’s appropriate stage of development and abilities.
The best baby activity toys for infants between 0-6 months are things they can reach, grasp, suck on, shake, and make noise with. Some age-appropriate toys for little babies are squeeze toys, teething toys, soft dolls, textured balls, and board books.
Infants between 6-12 months are starting to crawl, sit up and pull themselves to a standing position. They are capable putting things in and out of containers and placing objects on top of each other. Some of the best baby activity toys for this age group are dolls, vehicles with wheels, bath toys, large beads, nesting toys, large soft blocks, wooden blocks, and push & pull toys.
As your child continues to grow, look for toys that will encourage them to explore, create, pretend, imagine, and learn from trial and error.