The Piggy Bank and The Box

What kinds of toys do kids need? Simple ones. My kids find the greatest joy in the simplest of toys. Just recently we had some wonderful toys handed down to us from another family. One of the toys that was handed down was a piggy bank. It has large plastic coins, and it counts them as you put them in the slot. Then you can open the piggy, retrieve the coins, and start again! Sounds simple, right? Samantha loves it! It has quickly become a favorite toy, and I could swear she's beginning to count with it. She's at least trying to sound out the numbers...even if they do sound like, "uh, oo, ee."

James, however, is my box boy. It's not that he doesn't love his toys....he does....but add a box into the mix and suddenly all of his toys are better if they're IN the box. We got this box with our new printer for Christmas. So, we let James play with it for a couple days. No need to hurry throwing such things away....I let him draw on it, watch movies in it, hide in it....hours of fun disguised as a cardboard box.

Daddy helps me put in the coins.

"Hey look, it actually went in"

"I'm going to get this"

Hiding in the box

Watching movies in the box

(and if you're wondering what he's watching...it's the behind the scenes recording of the voices for one of his cartoon movies...what can I say? He is his father's child.)