Here is our last Gift Idea list for the season!

I love imaginative toys–the more open ended the better. Play stands and kitchens and dollhouses are all classic, wonderful toys and we get many hours of play a day from ours. (I didn’t have the means to purchase all a play stand and a wooden kitchen so we have a waldorf play stand with a simple wooden grill top and baskets of wooden play food stored beneath, we tuck the kitchen things away when we want to use the play stand for other things).  Now for a few ideas!

IMAGINATIVE PLAY

Tree Fort from Magic Cabin. This complete set comes with everything pictured. If you want to get creative you can order the bare stand and then you and your child can whittle some furniture, paint peg dolls, find little baskets on sale at Michaels, etc. I know my son will likely prefer to fill this tree house with his own handmade creations.

Another great option is a fort or castle. This is another toy you can purchase separate figurines for or make your own by whittling them or painting peg dolls. (Hope also has a set of Castle figures that work nicely!) We like Nova Natural’s Castle Stronghold OR this newly debuted  Wooden Castle you can build and play with, made by one of my favorite Etsy Mamas! And speaking of From Jennifer, these are such a fantastic option:

Wooden swords, crossbows, shields, etc. Our boys play with these sorts of items for hours and hours in the back hollow or up in trees. Speaking of trees! 

Ladders, block and tackle or a Funicular Cable Car Kit for all those tree dwellers looking to send secret messages or small items back and forth. Nova also sells a cute basket cable car kit as well.

Looking for creative dress up accessories? Check out these Unicorn Magic Wands!

Or if you want to start collecting dress ups check out Bella Luna Toys or Nova Naturals! I love this Captain costume.

Or some fanciful wings from Magic Cabin.

We also adore finding play silks on etsy for our play stand and to use as capes or backgrounds for playing with our wooden animals.

I know everyone has their preferred wooden animal toymaker for many different reasons. We love the Holtziger brand. Its the perfect size for my guy and he loves turning them into puzzles and/or stacking them. We get ours at Padilly.

There is a lot to be said for a plain, small, sea worthy vessel to adventure with down a creek. Dilly Dally kids has a great collection!

Lastly, one of our favorite imaginative toys comes in the way of TOOLS and Art Supplies.
But that is something to share on the second half of this post, Homeschool Gift Ideas. For now, I will share something wonderful for the little to enjoy. This simple Drawing Board House from Little Cottonwood.  The wee shape puzzle on the bottom and tiny abacus at the top just thrill me.

HOMESCHOOL FAVORITES

Supply Goods/Art Supplies

Crayons. I don’t mess with Crayola anymore. Yes, they are cheap, but at our house this means a SHORT season filled with tons of broken crayon pieces and bit of wrappers everywhere. I might as well shred $6 and toss bits of dollar bill confetti around the floor. We buy stockmar crayons now. I buy them once a year and they last all year long (sometimes even longer) The colors are brilliant and beautiful and oh the joy of finding a Stockmar tin in a Christmas Stocking! We store ours in these gorgeous crayon holders made by Jennifer.
Notebooks. The two shops we frequent most for graph paper notebooks, nature notebooks, blank books, etc. are Miller Pads and Paper and Paper, Scissors, Stone.
Pencils. Ticonderoga. New case in the stocking. I never ever ever buy any other kind of pencil cuz just like Crayola, Mama don’t mess!
Binder Clips. I use them for everything. I used to use black ones. Then I insta-met a gal named Jennifer Naraki and now I only use the gold ones. There is no reasoning for this other than they are gold and that makes me smile. 
Beeswax. I still make homemade playdoh now and then. (The Homegrown Preschooler’s recipe is just too good to pass up). But these days we are using lots of Stockmar beeswax. We love the way it smells, feels and shapes. The colors are beautiful and brilliant and best of all, it never goes bad.
Brushes with grips. So much easier for the kiddos to use.
Bookstand. Actually its a “recipe holder.” But it folds down and its cost effective and its a bookstand and an easel and a display and the kids can set it up by themselves and we have four of them! We use it every single day. Thank you, Amazon.
Watercolors. Again, we use the Stockmar watercolors and dilute a tiny drop in some water. My kids may graduate before these bottles run out. However, for a fun array of colors with good quality, my boys love Artist’s Loft Fundamentals (PS You can get this for 1/2 the price from Michaels with one of their coupons).

Visuals
Cavallini Gift Wrap from Paper Source. 99% of the posters in our home cost about $3 a piece.
Anatomy Cards and Posters from the only and only TangleWood Hollow. I’ve been eyeing this Forest Floor set for awhile!

Mirus Toys also has lovely nature alphabet cards available!

Pin it! Maps This is a great time of year to ask for these maps. We own and use them all. In fact, we use them every single day and it has really helped to enrich our learning. These maps are great for everyone but I have found them to be one extra blessing and fantastic resource for my visually disorganized/Dyslexic son.

Magnifying
Our FAVORITE microscope of all time was our favorite Christmas gift last year. The magiscope is used widely in children’s museums because it so easy to use (No knobs!) The magnification is excellent and its extremely well made and sturdy. I highly recommend!

If you want to start off with something smaller this simple microscope is lovely.

Tools

Our favorite REAL tool set for beginners is from the company For Small Hands. They have lots of wonderful things, but the tool set is our favorite.
JMCremps also has a great set. Check their site for lots of other woodworking tools. Our boys are receiving new whittling knives, thumb guards and woodcarving tools this year.

I hope our list was helpful!

Guess What?

I am making one more list. Because I am crazy and because I love my readers…next week we will release our last Gift Ideas list. Games, Books and Curriculum. Yup. Its gonna be a long one. See you then!