10 Boy Toys that Ignite the Imagination

The imagination is such a powerful tool.  A child at play is a beauty to behold.  What looks like mere child’s play is actually learning at work.  Because imaginative play is so important, I love to select toys that encourage this kind of play, this solidification of learning…  So today, I want to share with you 10 toys that my boys have loved and have encouraged their imaginative play.  I selected these toys because they are typically used in open-ended ways which make the possibilities in playtime simply endless.

1. Play Silks ~ I’ve written about these beauties so many times.  They are the ultimate open-ended, imaginative play inspiring toy in my opinion.  If we had to up and move and could take only one toy, these would be it!

2. Cowboy Boots ~ With three boys in the house, our cowboy boots have been well used and not just for cowboy play.  A good pair of boots can ‘make’ just about any costume – soldier (every era), farmer, explorer, etc…  With luck, you might find a pair at a thrift store.   We’ve completely worn out our smallest pair which went through nearly daily use for each of our boys.  They make a great birthday or Christmas gift, so even if you can’t thrift a pair, I think they are well worth the price to add them to the pretend play arsenal!  They also look nice for regular wear too.

3. Costume Jackets ~ We are huge fans of costumes over here.  I hit the jackpot a few years ago when I found two Captain Hook costumes at our homeschool support group clothing exchange.  These red jackets get worn at least weekly and came in handy when we were studying the Revolutionary War last year.  Patrick Henry made his favorite speech in this jacket and there were many a battle between the patriots and the redcoats…  Again, I check thrift stores and keep an eye out during the fall for sales on costumes that I think would make a good addition to our costume bins.  It doesn’t even have to be something complicated.  One of my Oma’s old cardigans and a police shirt stand in for patriot coats!

4. Hats, Hats, Hats!  Hats go a long way to light up the imagination.  I’ve found that my boys will get quite creative and use hats for a variety of different imaginative play situations and have grown to think of hats as so critical that they’ll make up their own in a pinch.  We own two different kinds of Tri-corner colonial hats the fancy one I just linked to and an ordinary ‘work-horse’ one here that has been stomped on and get used for Revolutionary War era play and pirate play.  Cowboys hats are worn frequently.   The Newsboy cap I found when Xander was in the Cheaper by the Dozen play has seen a lot of use too! Again, thrift stores are a great place to find hats and occasionally I’ve found some good ones at Oriental Trading Company.

5. Stick Horses ~ These wood stick horses are played with every day because everyone needs a horse, right?  We had fabric ones before that the boys wore out.  A few years ago, my parents bought the boys each one of these wooden ones.  I was initially a little worried about them possibly being used as a weapon against each other, but they’ve all had a decent amount of respect for their ‘horses’ and each other and haven’t hurt anyone. 🙂

6. Swords, Guns and Arrows oh My…  For some reason, I had an idea that I was going to limit weapons in my home.  When my oldest was merely two years old, he caught a glimpse of an old b&w World War 1 movie that my Opa was watching.  Just a quick glimpse resulted in him converting his powder blue teddy into a machine gun…  I quickly realized that even if I didn’t supply them with toy weapons, they would make them one way or another.  We’ve allowed toy weapons and have talked about chivalry, proper use of toys and such…  We are constantly picking up foam swords from the Target $ bins when I see them and this plastic armor set has been used when learning about the middle ages, as Roman soldiers when acting out Bible stories and put to use when we were learning about spiritual armor.  Duct Tape and hot glue are our very best friends in elongating the life of these beloved toys. Pop guns are another FAVORITE.  We got a screamin’ deal on them one year and bought one for each boy in our family. We’ve loved ours and again, they are simple and open-ended enough that they get used in all kinds of settings.  And of course our bow & {suction-cup} arrow sets have been used until they fall apart too!  This company has great customer service and has sent out replacement arrows when the boys have broken theirs.

7. X-Drum ~ Now this is a toy that surprised me.  A few years ago, the boys received a rhythm kit that contained this drum.  They enjoyed making music, but the design of this drum has lent itself to countless open-ended play uses.  The boys love to slip a playsilk or belt through the handles and strap it to their waist.  They’ve played marching band many a time after seeing The Music Man.  They’ve also used it to be drummer boys going into battle and have used it as a Viking and knight shield.

8. Colored Wood Stacking Bowls.  I love Waldorf-inspired wood toys and these gorgeous bowls top the list.  My babies and toddlers love to stack them and find hidden ‘treasures’ that we’ll place under some of them.  My preschoolers have played lots of sorting games and they have come in handy as my boys have played all kinds of imaginary games – including ‘house’.  For all of their macho, rough and tumble tendencies, they also love family and play ‘house’ with surprising frequency.  If bright primary color aren’t quite your thing they come in natural stain, cool or warm colors.

9. PVC Pipes.  These aren’t necessarily toys and I’m not even sure how we acquired them, but we have a couple of PVC pipes of varying lengths and diameter.  The boys LOVE these and use them for spears, cannons, a looking glass and a telescope!  If you don’t have any, you could try the dumpster at a construction site or buy a piece at Lowe’s.

10. Wood Blocks.  And finally wood blocks!  They enrich all kinds of pretend playtime!  We love our basic big blocks and our citi-blocs.

These are the primary creativity, imagination boosting toys we love over here. 

What delights your children and fosters their imagination?