Back to the Basics for Babies

With Christmas just around the corner I've been thinking about the babies in my Baby Storytime and wondered what they might be getting for Christmas.  There are so many "educational" toys being produced and marketed to parents.  Many light up and make sounds.  But are these the best toys for babies?

Maybe to select the best toys  for babies we need to go "Back to the Basics".  And many of these basics start with the letter B (which I thought was cute!)  And the great thing is that these B "toys" are very inexpensive (or free), can keep the child occupied for long periods of time, and babies learn so much from playing with and exploring these "toys".

Back to the Basics for Babies

(all items are from Lakeshore Learning unless noted)

Board Books

Balls

Blocks

Bath/water Toys

**some items in this set are a choking hazard, however, many are suitable for babies

Buckets

Store of Knowledge

Bags

Made of cloth. Bags are similar to the bucket babies can put things in and then take things out!

Boxes

Similar to buckets and bags babies love to put things into a box and then take things out again!

Bubbles

We use Gymboree Bubbles at storytime

Most of these "B" toys can be found at discount stores, such as Wal-mart. They do not need to come from expensive, educational stores.