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Compassion

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Play with Me ~ Stacking Pegs

For our very first Play with Me toy we are featuring one of my all time favorite open ended toys, which comes in 2 different versions. We had this version for years, image before adding this version to our collection. image If you can afford the bigger set, just skip the smaller set. If money is tight, get the smaller set, which comes with one board and a set of pegs, it is definitely enough! You’ll see both products featured here in this post, but mainly just the smaller set. You can get both sets on Amazon, by clicking on the images above. Amazon does have the best price that I have found!

Here’s a few play ideas using this great toy. Remember with young tots, EXPOSURE is the key word, not MASTRY. Don’t feel like you need to drill facts into your little one, just have fun exploring together!

The most obvious way to play, is to let your tot freely explore how the pegs fit into the holes…IMG_0600 copy

Popping the pegs back out from the other side is something your tot might enjoy, although you might have to show him/her the first time!IMG_8973 copy

Encourage your tot to build them as high as s/he can! Use language like tall, big, high, top, etc while building. Some tots will get very upset when it falls, this is a good lesson in “try-try-again”! IMG_4637 copy

Sorting by color is a wonderful activity, although some tots who are younger will reject sorting until they are truly ready. This was the case with Krash, I tried many times with him before he would gladly sort ;-).IMG_0606 copy

Making stairs and bringing in another toy (we used Little People) is fun. Expose vocabulary, counting, colors and more!

  • “The man is going up, up, up, down, down, down..”
  • “The man is standing on the green tower, can you put him on the yellow tower?”
  • “Oooh the man is on the shortest tower, can you move him to the tallest tower?”
  • “Let’s count with the man, 1-2-3-4-5…” (as he moves up and down the stairs).
IMG_8966 copy

Make a mini zoo, with cages for animals…IMG_8967 copy

Investigate the tiny circles when you flip the board over. Have your tot find different colors!IMG_8970 copy

Make a car garage out of the bigger set…IMG_4557 copy

Practice shapes using the bigger set…IMG_0895 copy

A lesson in perseverance and patience will happen as your young tot works to fill in the entire board on either the small set or the big set (especially the big one!) IMG_0906

See if your tot can balance on the board with all of the pegs in it (be close by just in case!!!)…IMG_3049 copy

One of the boys’ favorite activities is to make a birthday cake out of it, with candles that are taller. Then they take the “cake” to the birthday boy/girl and sing Happy Birthday and have him/her blow out the candles! IMG_9290

Make patterns with the different colored pegs. Either on the board, or simply on the floor.IMG_9255IMG_9249

Add some straws, or stirring sticks to the mix and challenge your tot to place them in the tiny holes in the tops of the pegs. Here is matching the specific colors too!IMG_9262

Sort the shape pieces that come with the bigger set… IMG_9242

An idea straight from Krash-make a trampoline! IMG_9246 Other ideas…

  • Show your tot how to put the pegs onto his/her fingers.
  • Lay the pegs in a straight line and practice counting.
  • Make different letters using the pegs laid out on the floor.

The opportunities are truly endless and this is by far one of the most popular toys we have in our home. Krash is now almost 4 and has loved this toy since he was 2. My oldest son is almost 8 and still LOVES to play with it.

Happy Playing!

Signature button Carisa



You can see this and other toys we feature here on our website all on one page. We will add all of the toys we feature with links back to the blog posts!

10 comments:

Debbie said...

This is on my wish list for when we go back to America...I've searched all over on the internet, and I cannot find one of these in England!

Kaitlin L. said...

We bought a big set of these from someone locally, just because we'd seen them on your site! My kiddos (5 & 3) really love playing different games with the pieces - thanks for all of the new ideas!

Anonymous said...

Great ideas for how to use the pegs!! I love it. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

You found so many ways to use the pegs! Awesome!

Jolanthe said...

Great job, girl. :) I love the stirring sticks.

Lynn said...

These look great. Honestly, I would have thought they were for kids younger than my son (2), so I was happy to see your review. I think we'll get a set!

Jolene said...

I just love those pegs. They are on my wishlist too. If only I could find a supplier here in South Africa

L2L said...

I've been on the fence about getting these and well you just helped me make up my mind... now I have to decide about the trays... oh decisions, decisions

Elf said...

In the picture where it is sorting by color, where did you get the colored boxes?

Also, thank you for these wonderful ideas. I'm a think-inside-the-box and it is so awesome to get ideas from someone who thinks outside the box. :)

Carisa said...

Elf-those colored boxes came from a used book sale, so I have no clue! Amazon sells counting bears that come with colored cups that are similar ;-).