educational toys for bright preschooler

[mamatilly]

does anyone have any ideas for a bright 3 year old? he is advanced in literacy, numeracy, language, conceptual understanding etc.. don't want to overload him but do want to meet him/ stretch him so that he doesn't get bored or go stir crazy with lego and train sets

any ideas/resources please... thankyou.

Can you get stir crazy with Lego?

IMO the best you can do for him is offer him a variety of materials/toys, esp a variety of construction toys, but also for imaginative play, take him out to explore nature as much as possible, do lots of craft, do cooking - talk about measurements etc...

the possibilities are endless without "educational" toys

This website is great

It has lots of interesting toys and games that you don't find in your average high street toy shop. I wish I'd discovered it sooner for DS!

I tend to opt for things areas I'm keen on myself although I try to pick up on cues. We got dd (3) a telescope as she's intersted in the stars, moon and planets. I don't know what she understands exactly but she understands enough to be interested in looking at the sky and sky maps.

Maps and map making - and then stories about the maps and places.

Does he gravitate towards anything in particular? Dd loves stuff about how the body works which we have done a lot (I'm a biologist too so I am endless asked to draw the digestive system, skeleton etc). Are there areas of knowledge you can exploit in yourself to do drawings and narratives?

Spring is coming - growing seeds, flowers and veg and all that stuff.

Making little books - just a few pictures and words and staple the pages together.

Dd is fascinated by calenders at the moment - you could make one together with pictures.

I'll be looking at other suggestions here with interest (especially the cheaper ones )

mamtilly, I was to suggest lego and train sets .

No seriously, a bright child is going to get a lot further with the sort of toys that encourage his own thinking- i.e. lego, construction sets, playmobil, a sandpit, a chance to help in the kitchen, pen and paper, LOTS of books- than with the supposedly educational toys, that usually teach a very limited set of skills.

Let him make cakes, grow flowers, build advanced worlds with lego, draw and paint. Leonardo da Vinci was able to keep himself entertained for quite a long time with pen and paper...

You don't need toys-cardboard boxes, sellotape, paint etc are much better-anything to use the imagination. The best toy my DSs ever had was a huge cardboard roll from the inside of our new carpet. A clothes horse and an old sheet. Cooking, gardening. Join the library.

I don't know how anyone can go stir crazy with lego!

Agree with Piscesmoon. Thought Lego is exactly the sort of thing a very bright 3 year old would like.

My ds (4) built a cargo ship out of lego last week complete with an accommodation section and a pretend crane. He even built it on a lego frame so it didn't fall over. He likes train sets too. Apparently he is very bright. He does all the sort of things that cory describes plus playing the piano and his electric guitar.

I dunno mine are both a bit thick - can you recoomed some toys for them? [wink}

LOL smallorange. Mine isn't G&T so I shouldn't be posting here either!

thankyou for all your suggestions

mmm maybe its me going stir crazy - will try out a lego cargo ship tomorrow.

x

Observe dead and alive insects + Open dead insects
Observe flowers
Make books
Dry plants (write day you picked it, look for name of the plant, seeds, roots, etc)
Grow your plants
Question/answers about life/death - earth/universe - why I was born? - Who am I - How did life appear on Earth?
Imagine the world in 10-20 years (new inventions)
Imagine you are someone else (if I am my cousin, you are my antie, my brother is my cousin, etc...)
Have fun!

another bright 3yo he can interact with to make that train set a launch pad for ideas that would never have crossed your mind or mine

(but grit your teeth against mess and bits all over the house - oh lor, i'm glad mine are older now!!)

and yes - a bright 3yo will send any mum stir crazy cos they're so darned active, demanding, ott etc