I feel ridiculously excited that Ds2 10 (AS) built something out of Playmobil today!

[swanthingafteranother]

Will it last? He just doesn't do imaginative play atm with toys at all. Except Formula 1 car reenactment.

Could this be a new thing to encourage...constructing things. He says Lego is boring, and he doesn't want to do it any more.

What can I interest him in next? He just doesn't have any hobbies except football and Formula 1..Lost interest in trains long ago, and even Scalextrix gets short shrift.

What hobbies can I encourage? He hates stamp collecting, football cards, Lego, Star Wars now... I just want him to find something that is totally absorbing and satisfying and isn't a computer game!

Well if he likes it I'd encourage it!

well today he has ignored it! It was a false dawn.
Maybe he has just grown up... no more toys...

What about science subjects/kits

ie build a potato clock, make a light work, science experiments etc, microscope, ant farm, worm farm?

We're going down the road coff33pot has suggested and have bought DS (7) a few science toys for Christmas as he doesn't play with imaginative or creative toys at all. We've bought him a Gross Science kit, some walkie talkies and a solar system mobile kit that he'll hopefully enjoy helping put together.

I was as excited as you when DS expressed an interest in joining the after school Lego club, until I turned up 5 minutes early to collect him and found him holding a Lego policeman aloft, swooshing it around in the air whilst making raspberry noises. Not much building seems to go on, but he enjoys being there so I'm happy enough with that

It's strange I was just thinking about Lego Club at school. Ds2 loved it, but he still didn't want to do lego at home. Anymore. He used to do it with his Dad, and then stopped caring. Dh was left building elaborate models by himself And maybe it was because he actually was using it as a social communication activity, rather than doing it for it's own sake, and just needed someone a bit younger to do lego with him.
In other words, I have been missing the point.
He wants to play with someone, not by himself! doh.

Which is good, but the "playing with someone" is the difficulty, not finding the perfect toy. So he needs more visitors, not more toys. Which is hard work, but that is the real issue I need to tackle.

And he loves science kits, but again he wants someone to share it with. He has a twin sister, which is good, so maybe I need to work on activities they both enjoy together; at the moment few and far between.

a while ago I bought some "dig your own" kits, gemstones, fossils, dinosaur, and crystals. They have about 4 or 5 pieces in them hidden in a block of limestone with a tool (you need a makeup brush to sweep off) for DS and DD. She did the gemstones, crystals whilst DS did the other 2 either end of the table. They both enjoyed it and then reading up about them and putting them in treasure boxes.

Bendaroos are good too that they both could do.

I am currently hunting down a Coin Construction kit where you have a few hundred links and can build models with any coins. A way of saving and fun for both of them :)

The playmobil farm is going down very well! Ds2 is especially enjoying the Silo with red lentils, and putting together the agricultural buildings with his Dad. He never really cared about the flights of fancy Playmobil/ knights and castles which we tried when he was younger, so this is new to me, his interest in it.He is enjoying following the instructions, and lists.

coff33 dd who is NT enjoyed the crystal digging a while back, but for some reason ds2 is not into classification or treasures atm. Maybe some time in future.