I Like It!
Saturday, November 6, 2010 at 10:57PM For her birthday this year, Eliana received a gift card for The Learning Express from her Grandpa and Ms. Susie. I told her we could go to the store and she could help pick out something to buy with "her money". She was very excited about that!
The first couple of things she picked out were a bit over the top, and might have been influenced by a certain big sister. A stuffed giraffe that is about the size of an actual baby giraffe, and costs $100 did not seem reasonable to me.
So, we moved along through the store.
Eliana squealed when we got to the small book section, which also has coloring and activity books. She cried out,"It's Buddy!"
For anyone who doesn't know, Buddy is a dinosaur. My daughter loves dinosaurs. And she really loves a little show called The Dinosaur Train. Buddy is a Tyrannosaurus Rex whose egg ended up in a Pteranodon's nest. He is adopted into their family and they ride on the Dinosaur Train and visit different time periods and dinos throughout the whole Mesozoic Era. (Thank you, Wikipedia.)
Back to the store...she had spotted a Dinosaur Train coloring book. It was a must-have! And then came another squeal! She also saw a Diego activity book...this also would have to come home with us!
We wandered around the store, and checked out all the different activity sets and pretend play things. There are a lot of cool things in there, and fun games. But nothing was catching my fancy, nothing shouted out,"I'm a great choice!" We headed back towards the front of the store to pay for our amazing finds.
While I went to get in line Michaela saw a little table set up with four miniature sandboxes laid out on top. They each had a theme. One was Garbage Works, another was Doggie Camp, there was a Dino Land, and a Big Builder set. They were so cute! Michaela and Eliana both spent a little while playing with the small sandbox toys that came with the tiny sets. I asked them to choose one that they liked.
Michaela looked on the back of a couple of the boxes and saw that there were different ones other than what they had on display. I asked behind the counter if they had others, and they told me they could order the one the girls liked, and they did. I went back to get our Mermaid Sandbox play set, and ended up with a Fairy Garden set as well.
I love these little sandboxes! Aside from the fact that no animals can come along and use them as personal potties, they are quite entertaining. And not just for Eliana. All three of my kids have spent a long time playing in these mini sandy conatiners.
When they play with them, I set a towel down on the floor and then put the box in the center, hopefully so that most of the sand that escapes (because it will escape) ends up not scattered across the entire house. (I'm like the Princess and the Pea with my feet...I hate stepping on any kind of crumb, be it as tiny as a, well, grain of sand.) This part of our dining room is right next to where I sew, which is where I have spent a lot of time lately, so it worked out really well as a play spot.
It just so happens to be a great dirty clothes spot, too. Please ignore that part.
Michaela has had just as much fun as Eliana with these sandboxes; she spends a very long time setting everything up just right, paying a great deal of attention to the tiniest of details. And believe me, there are some tiny details!
We live a little dangerously around here. She put the giant rock out of the Mermaid Sandbox upside down in the Fairy Garden Sandbox in order to make a pool for the fairies. Blue sand in the green sand sandbox? It's too much for this obsessive-compulsive mama. I just kept taking pictures. It helped the control freak in me stay sane.
Ha! Did you hear me make a joke? I said,"...stay sane." I know you're laughing, too!
They really have had a lot of fun, hours worth of fun, with these toys. I am so glad I bought them. I recommend them for your home, or as a present for someone you know. They were a little pricier than I would normally buy, so I was glad for the gift card, but I think they are a great idea. (Amazon is cheaper than the store I went to.)
I don't have a picture of this, but one of my favorite moments was when Christian and Michaela ran to get our box of plastic animals (we have about 500) and then went about getting them all involved in the Mermaid Sandbox. There were elephants and knights, even. And Mike thought we should get rid of those little plastic nuisances toys! Little did he know how very useful they still are!
I just really like these sandboxes...no one paid me to say it, and the folks who make and distribute and sell these toys have no idea who I am or that I exist, Amazon being just one of the sellers. It was just easy to link there.
Reader Comments (6)
John was given one of those sets over a year ago and I've never opened it, partly because I was afraid of the sand in the house idea and partly because I was not thrilled with the Pirate theme of his box. But given your glowing review maybe I'll be brave and let him/them get into it.
Great!!! I'm needing ideas for Anna's birthday. I think she will LOVE this.
That is the cutest thing EVER. I think my 4 year old niece needs one for Christmas. The bonus is that my sister is more than a tad OCD and the sand will make her nuts. :)
once upon a time there was a mom, her name was mrs. pteranadon...
;)
What a great find! And I loved the show you described. My kids would love these.
Those sandboxes seem like so much fun!
And I have to admit... I'm super intrigued by that show - I would totally watch it!