lost highway Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 I was playing with my 2 1/2 year old daughter last night and thinking about the difference between the toys we think are cool, but never play with, and the ones that are an endless source of enjoyment. I remember being a kid and having a closet full of crap that looked flashy in the store, or in a commercial, but got boring really quick. This brings in the elite class of toys that aren't actually a waste of space. I'm wondering what yours are from your childhood, or for the parents on here, the ones that are worth the material they're made of. Right now ours are: Anything crayolaPlay-doughWood blocksDuplos (big legos for small people)Hot Wheels carsBrio wooden trainsFloor puzzlesLittle plastic animals I could probably give away the rest and we'd all be better for it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lammycat Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 G.I. Joe was always a keeper. It was easy enough to differentiate from a few of them if you played with them in the bath tub, too (the hair on the red-head and the blonde guy could be rubbed off). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
calvino Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 My 7 year old daughter loves playing with those magnetic tiles. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 I used to love Stompers. Do they still make those? There was a dirt patch in my yard where my dad had to get our septic tank dug up, and that was the perfect place to build all sortf of obstacles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEkKJCvibdA Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lost highway Posted January 24, 2019 Author Share Posted January 24, 2019 I used to love Stompers. Do they still make those? There was a dirt patch in my yard where my dad had to get our septic tank dug up, and that was the perfect place to build all sortf of obstacles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEkKJCvibdA Those look awesome. I'm not sure if they're still made, but there's probably something similar. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Winston Legthigh Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 I was playing with my 2 1/2 year old daughter last night and thinking about the difference between the toys we think are cool, but never play with, and the ones that are an endless source of enjoyment. I remember being a kid and having a closet full of crap that looked flashy in the store, or in a commercial, but got boring really quick. Play-dough Man, play-dough can fuck right the hell off. I'm sick of finding little dried out bits of it everywhere I look. Lego, on the other hand, is the all time best toy ever made. While my kids' lego collection is continually expanding, I bought myself the Saturn V kit for Xmas, and put it together with my 5 year old's assistance. That was a blast. Then we took it all apart and put it away carefully, saving it for the next rainy day to do it all over again. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lammycat Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 I'd rather step on Play-Doh barefoot than Lego, though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 Lego, on the other hand, is the all time best toy ever made. I wish I could somehow get an accounting of how many of my Sunday afternoons as a kid were spent playing with Legos and listening to Caey Casem's American Top 40. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lost highway Posted January 25, 2019 Author Share Posted January 25, 2019 Man, play-dough can fuck right the hell off. I'm sick of finding little dried out bits of it everywhere I look. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sonicshoulder Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 A baseball glove, a rubber ball and a brick wall. I spent entire summers in the alley behind my house. You could throw yourself a grounder, a short hopper, a pop up or line drive. Can't really think of the last time I saw a kid doing that....it my be gone forever. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
calvino Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 I created a whole game using the above, but I used our wooden shed. We had boundaries that indicated singles, doubles, triples, and home runs. The 'batter' would throw it and the fielder would try to prevent it from getting past him. Either getting onto the back porch roof or getting the ball to the back fence was homer. I also remember wadding up pieces of bread and putting it in my mouth to pretend I had chewing tobacco while playing it... I do see kids bounce balls up at the school near my house from time to time. They have 4-square areas there, too - another great game of my youth. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lost highway Posted January 28, 2019 Author Share Posted January 28, 2019 I do see kids bounce balls up at the school near my house from time to time. They have 4-square areas there, too - another great game of my youth. I'm proud to report 4 square is one of the most popular sports at the elementary school I teach at. As for variations of wall ball- this is a perfect example of what seems consistent in most of these favorite toys: the simplicity of the toy enables the complexity and depth of play. It's why legos always beat out those battery powered flipping dogs in the mall in the 90's. All of that technology allows the toy to do one thing, the simplified technology of the lego allows it to do a million things. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uncool2pillow Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 I'm proud to report 4 square is one of the most popular sports at the elementary school I teach at.It's also popular at my middle school, though cheating leading to fights (mostly verbal) is pretty rampant. I always enjoyed a good game of tetherball. I had my downward swing to force the ball up on the other side down just right. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
calvino Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 I remember tetherball getting pretty tense - so much so that my grade school took it down. The pole just stood for couple of years, until they finally took it down and replaced it with another slide or swing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lammycat Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 Tetherball is popular at the elementary school I teach at. No one plays 4-Square here. When I taught P.E. 20 years ago, I used to love playing 4-Square with the students. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lost highway Posted January 29, 2019 Author Share Posted January 29, 2019 I dislocated my shoulder for the second time (first time was on a half pipe) playing tether ball against a student when I was a student teacher years ago. Not my proudest moment. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kidsmoke Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 K'nex sets are terrific. Stomp rockets are a ton of fun. Oh and those super long rocket balloons from Hearthsong.Also those sinuous zip-tracks are surprisingly sturdy and really entertaining for kids. My 3 all loved them.One more: domino sets. Not even to play dominoes, although that's fun too...but to make domino runs to knock down. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uncool2pillow Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 Tetherball is popular at the elementary school I teach at. No one plays 4-Square here. When I taught P.E. 20 years ago, I used to love playing 4-Square with the students.Probably an altitude thing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 I was watching We Bare Bears last night, and I kept seeing a commercial for Butt Heads (Jingle: "Butt-Heads, their heads are butts"). Id this a real thing, or does Cartoon Network run fake ads? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lammycat Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 Probably an altitude thing.Pretty sure lost highway teaches ion Denver, too..... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lost highway Posted January 31, 2019 Author Share Posted January 31, 2019 Oh yeah. DPS, red for ed! But are we going on strike? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lammycat Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 Oh yeah. DPS, red for ed! But are we going on strike?I don't know but I got an email for "Absence Created" with "Reason- TEACHER Strike" (for Monday-Wed next week) sent to me at 6:44 last night (same time DCTA halted bargaining talks). I did not create the absence.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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