Moving On

As our move towards a more healthy way of living continues, different areas of our lives keep coming under scrutiny. I don't think you could ever categorize us as people who live carelessly, but I am always looking for ways to live cheaper, healthier, and more earth-friendly (hence the gDiaper switch, which is working out awesomely, by the way!). To be completely honest, however, if there is a cheaper, but not-as-earth-friendly option available, more than likely I will go with the cheaper option. I want to be a good steward of the earth God gave us, but money is a big consideration. Anyway, all that to say that I am going to be transitioning most, if not all, of Micah's toys to wooden ones. For lots of different reasons, not one in particular:

* If you've spent any sort of time with our little man (a nanosecond...), you'd know that he doesn't like toys much anyway. He'd rather be playing with what you have or some real life utensil, which I really like. Kids learn through play and if they're surrounded by a bunch of plastic-y, no imagination needed, how-fast-can-I-lose-interest-in-this-type-of-toy, they're probably not learning much. This was a big issue with me when I was teaching. I always wanted to be able to connect what was happening in our nothing-like-the-real-world classroom to what was really going on outside. Hence the innumerable amount of field trips we went on :). The point of parenting and teaching is to get your kids ready for life and, in my opinion, you can never start too early!

* Batteries. By the time you buy a pack of batteries, you can buy these cool wooden blocks that'll last much longer and be less likely to seep out in the landfill and end up in your drinking water or the soil your food is grown in!

* The making-of-plastic process includes lots of toxins. And they don't just magically disappear when you buy the end product at the store. And plastics take petroleum to make. I don't think the Middle Eastern oil-rich countries need any more money. Certainly not my money....

* I was reading somewhere that toys made for one purpose easily bore children because they don't take imagination to use. So then you have to get more boring toys to hold children's interest for a bit longer and, well, you can see a cycle beginning to form. If you get more open-end toys that can be used for a variety of things, then you have a ten-in-one type of toy that will hold interest and spark imagination.

* When I took M to the library yesterday, they had a variety of toys, both wooden and plastic. He took out a red plastic Lego car and drove that around (making vroom-ing noise and all!) for a few seconds. Until he discovered this:
He played with this until we left.

I've found a few wooden toys at Once Upon A Child for a great price. AC Moore has some and with their weekly 50% and 40% off coupons, I'll be getting some there. Many of these toys are made by Melissa and Doug. They have a bunch of clever little toy ideas that have made it one my List of Wooden Toys to Buy. The good thing about these is that they aren't one-and-done toys like most of the ones Micah has now. I'll have to store a lot of these baby toys, but these wooden ones can be used now and when I start homeschooling. Trick is to just rotate so they'll be new every few months ;). I'm looking into a Montessori-based way of learning and teaching (for years down the road...), at least for M because he likes to discover things on his own, and these are perfect for that. At the rate Micah learns, I need fun and engaging toys that'll hold his interest...and I think I've found them. Yay!