KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid!)

The other day my sweet Avery was playing with some toys I got at a garage sale a couple of years ago.  It has a little crane with a strong magnet on the end of a string, then a truck pulls a trailer that holds a bunch of blocks with large, strong magnets on one side.  Avery had a good time connecting the magnets, then pulling them apart.  He also enjoyed putting the little blocks into the trailer, then dumping them out.  Repeat.

I love classic toys that allow kids to learn and be creative.  Toys have become too darn electronic if you ask me.  Although I am not yet disciplined in keeping the many, many low-quality toys out of my house I believe it's wiser to give kids fewer toys, and make sure the ones they have are worthwhile and foster creativity. Seeing my angel playing so well with this simple toy encourages me to dejunk our toy collections!

After repeatedly insisting, Avery finally flashed me this (below) "smile" - he didn't want to stop his playing to smile for his nagging mother.

I love the post by The Lazy Organizer, entitled What Kind Of Toys Do Children Need?.  

A while back The Lazy Organizer took away more and more of her daughter's toys because she couldn't keep her room tidy.  Eventually she took away almost all of the toys. And her daughter didn't seem to mind one bit.  She just used her imagination and was probably happier because she didn't have so much STUFF to keep track of and put away.  This is a good lesson for most of us!  The story is told in her more detailed words here: Getting Rid of the Clutter.