On a trip to the farm, Husband and I got the opportunity to rummage through the barn attic on his grandma's farm. Part time capsule, part storage shed, it's obvious these people never threw anything away. From retro, dare I say antique, photos and furniture to toys abandoned long ago, this place was a treasure chest. Among our finds was an old playset of Tinker Toys. With permission, we took them home for the kids.
Daughter was relatively indifferent to the new toy. Not quite "getting it" and less interested in trying to figure it out. After all, these were wooden dowels and knobs with nary a color or noise making feature. She quickly discarded them to the bowels of her closet.
Flash forward about 3 months. Based on Son's tinkering nature, I thought I'd dig them out and give him a spin. He's a natural boy, always intense on things that fit into one another, move, rotate, spin, you catch my drift. He took to these like a kid to candy. It was an instant hit. Even more surprisingly was how interested my daughter immediately became. The 4 of us sat down on the carpet with a big pile of Tinker Toys between us and blissfully, sincerely, played. There was no whining. No crying. And no fighting. Did you catch that? No fighting.
With enough pieces to go around and never ending possibilities of things to create, the kids were busy for nearly an hour. Thinking this might have been a one time thing, we tried it again the following day. Same result. We tried again a few days later, sure our good luck had run out. Nope, same result. Over the past couple of weeks, the kids continue to unite and play, nicely, with these basic toys.
I still can't believe it and wonder how long it will last, but I'm not going to over think it. I don't want to jinx it. For the first time, I can sit with them while they play and not wear my referee uniform. I might even be able to relax.
My boys LOVE their tinker toys! We started out with a wooden set from Pottery Barn, but as cool as the wooden ones are, they aren't too sturdy and eventually all broke beyond use. We now have the giant 300 piece tub from Toys R Us, and much to my dismay, they are now all plastic. Not as vintage cool as wood, but we've yet to have one break. I guess it's a trade off! You should try Kid K'nex next. Those are my boys' other faves.
ReplyDeleteChelsea received some Tinker Toys for her birthday. We were so jazzed because these are very reminiscent of wonderful childhood memories for my hubby and me.
ReplyDeleteDid you also enjoy Lincoln Logs growing up?