Your top toys for grandchildren

I am a teacher and in my class we have Golden Time every Friday from 2:30 till 3:15. Children in my class just love it when I play games with them. Many of them do not know how to play games like Draughs, Snakes and Ladders, Dominoes, Stack 'Em, Ludo etc because either their parents don't have the time to play games or they don't know how to play.
My grand children love to play any games that involve the whole family from Supermarkets, Board Games, Card Games and anything that involves all of us parents and grand parents getting down on the floor or at the table and playing together and showing the children how to follow the rules of each game.
Sadly now a days I find that parents either don't have the time or they would rather watch TV or play computer games. Our children are raising children who are losing out on the skills to play games we took for granted and learned how to follow the rules of play. E.G. Taking turns.

For under twos: ELC First Shape Sorter ( I buy this for all new babies as a gift) and V-Tech Musical Tambourine. my 11 month old GD takes this everywhere( except bed).
I find baking is a great activity for developing skills and getting quality time with the older ones. It's amazing what they tell you while they are sitting at the kitchen table and they don't realise they are learning because they are having fun.
The Lego and duplo bricks are always being called into action - it has to be THE toy.

Lego and Playmobil, endless fun for boys and girls.

Lego is the tops, followed by a wooden trainset we have with a London scene in the middle. Both of my DD's children have always loved jig saw puzzles.

The wooden train sets are made by BigJigs...sorry, got the name wrong.
anma and so does the wee man.

Girl 29 months boy 17 months both like dusting and little dustpans and brushes

Our wee man is totally besotted with BigWigs wooden train track and all the bits and bobs that can be added a little at a time. He never seems to tire of shunting trains around...and one is operated by a small battery. Lovely!

If it's for all ages then it has to be the Wii....we all play on it, from my 85 year old mum down to my youngest DGS aged 12....haven't included my littlest DGD(1 and a bit) as she is not allowed to visit us. BUT if when she is allowed I'm sure she'll enjoy joining in the fun.

3 year olds currently loving Toy Story DVDs, games and the figures like Buzz Lightyear and Woody.

Mike the Knight is grandson's request for his 4th birthday. There's a castle and several figures, a Viking longboat and other bits and pieces - great for imaginative play.

Don't know if still available but my children (over 40 yrs ago) had a duffle bag of
plain unpainted wooden blocks in assorted shapes,sizes.
I think it was from Galt toys (are they still in business?)They gave great scope for imagination,were indestructible .I believe one of GC still has them.

lego, jigsaws and cars/garage for our 3yr old

Top Trumps is a good stocking filler once they can read. Aquadoodle goes down well from about 2 upwards.
www.elc.co.uk/Aquadoodle-mats-pens/5582,default,sc.html

We could be married to the same man artygran

I'll second that, Jam; we have a huge bag of "stuff" in the garage. DH wants to know when I'm actually going to throw something away instead of saying "oh, that might come in useful!"

A collection of empty boxes. With small ones, a good sellotape dispenser so that they can create 'models'.

Huge big ones (eg from new fridge freezer etc), take outside in the garden and provide big felt tips so they can be decorated. We've had a boat, a space ship, a bus - the play value is endless.

Lego, lego and more lego for our little lad (5). Mostly character lego like Batman and Star Wars, but lego Duplo keeps coming out for making Bat caves and space ships. We have a lot of Playmobil but it seems to have taken a back seat at present (shame; I love it!). We also like games like tumbling monkeys, shopping list, guess who, bus stop, card games like Donkey and Happy Familiies; and a big box of play food for playing shops and restaurants!

Tea sets, pots and pans, toy food etc is great for the two to four year olds. They will have all sorts of imaginative games - parties, cafes, etc etc which can last for a long time.

Trolley with blocks, battery powered car they can sit on and steer [kills your paintwork!], lego for various ages, trampoline [is that a toy?], cards - usual or picture ones, a tower comprising different shaped and coloured rings and cylinders on a dowel rod that can be dismantled and rebuilt into a variety of ways, play doh, pasta + spoon + lidded saucepan, indoor tent..........

Boys 4 & 6. Cars, dinosaurs but mostly make believe games.

Lego, Playmobil, Zhu Zhu.

snap vampire Shopping is a favourite game here too as is our Bagatelle (as made for George V the label states!) and the Silver Cross dolls pram which DH says has sides thicker than our car's!! Both geners like all the activities 6, 4 and 2. Oh and Marble run for two older boys - GD not old enough not to try to eat the marbles, though she is good watching the Bagatelle.

Well they're two girls, 6 and 3 and a boy, 4. All play with everything so no gender differences.

Barbie, Thomas, a dolls house, bikes and a shopping game are the favourites atm.