1. Zing Air Huntress Z Bow (shown above) — New for 2013! Emily was thrilled to see this bow and arrow kit designed for girls! The Air Huntress comes with a z-curved bow and 3 foam dart (arrows). It’s capable of shooting arrows 125 feet, and is recommended for ages 8 and up. Perfect for the aspiring archer!

2. Kids Only 9″ My First Big Wheel for Girls — Made in the USA, this model is perfect for the little ones and  is designed for kids ages 18 months to 4 years. Such a classic outdoor Summer toy!

3. SkyTrix — New for 2013 is SkyTrix. It’s part kite, part boomerang, and lots of fun right out of the box! Recommended for kids ages 8 and up. Emily absolutely loved this one! If you live near a big open field, this would be a fantastic toy to have!

4. and 5. Melissa and Doug Mollie Bubble Buddy and/or Melissa and Doug Mombo Snake Bubble Buddy — We’ve tried lots of different bubble blowers over the years, but these ones from Melissa & Doug are our absolute favorites!! They are very simple for kids ages 3 and up to use, they don’t require batteries, and there are no moving fans (which my kids seem to always get their hair caught up in). Lots and lots of good ol’ fashioned bubble fun!!

6. “The Original Big Wheel” – 16″ Big Wheel Racer – Red — For ages 3-8 yrs, Big Wheel is such a classic outdoor Summer toy! This one is made in the USA, has a weight limit of 70 pounds, and features an adjustable seat to grow with your child. Highly recommend!

7. Ball Bounce And Sport Toys Hydro Stick 2-Pack — New for 2013! ages 3 -15 yrs. My kids love that this is part Lacrosse stick and part water blaster! Place the stick in water, and pull on the handle to suck up water. Then water blast your opponent!! Great for the backyard, beach, or pool!

8. Hop! Ball (18″ Yellow) — Hoppers are great for ages 3 and up to develop balance and coordination while getting a great workout! This one is 18″ in diameter, and ships un-inflated. It is made from soft, super-strong, latex free and phthalate free vinyl. Keeps the kids entertained for long periods of time!

9. Melissa and Doug Seaside Sidekicks Brick Building Sand Toy — New for 2013! For ages 2 – 7 yrs, I love this brick maker and trowel set from Melissa & Doug because it makes it so easy for even very young kids to build impressive sand structures!! The kids can spend lots of time building and rebuilding various sand castles and other buildings with this set. The trowel snaps onto the top of the brick maker for easy storage, and it is super cute too! Great for the sandbox or beach.

10. Crayola 48 Count Sidewalk Chalk — New for 2013! My kids were incredibly excited to see that Crayola has finally come out with brightly colored sidewalk chalk!! For years we’ve used chalk pastels instead, and those are more expensive and not nearly as washable. LOVE these and highly recommend them for hours of outdoor playtime fun!!

Any great outdoor Summer toys you would add to this list? Leave a comment and share your ideas with us!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are my own. Full disclosure policy here.

Wishing all the amazing dads out there a wonderful Father’s Day!!

We started with a simple elevated garden bed kit found at a local hardware store (around $45). I have not been able to find a link online to the exact one we bought, but this raised planter from Amazon is sort of similar. Another suggestion would be to re-purpose an old water table, or perhaps a series of containers or pots. I did like the height on this one as it accommodates both my (almost) 5 yr old and 9 yr old very nicely! And yes, even though Emily is nine, she could not resist playing with this cute fairy garden table for long stretches of time!!

Some of our fairy accessories were free or very low-cost: a toadstool table and chairs made from a champagne cork, a bunting made with string and colored electrical tape, the girls painted wooden birdhouses (around $1) to look like fairy houses using outdoor patio acrylic paint. The herbs were re-purposed from this container herb garden project, and we transplanted some flowers and moss from other parts of the yard. The pathways were made using leftover aquarium pebbles. You may remember this post outlining some of the ways we built fairy houses or furniture using painted bark, twigs, sea shells, stones, or small wooden birdhouses.

The other adorable accessories are part of this Fairy Garden Starter Accessory Kit that was an early birthday gift for Clara. It includes a tiny bench, arbor, fence, bird bath, fairy statue, welcome sign, and watering can — all for about $25. They are available at Home Depot, Target, and Amazon, and while they are totally optional, I can tell you that my girls were completely delighted with every piece from this set!

There seems to be a bit of a debate as to whether or not to include actual fairy figurines in your fairy garden or not. My kids opted to include them, since they already had the Safari Ltd LTD Fairy Fantasies TOOB® which includes six beautiful fairy figurines.

I love that my herbs have a place to grow, and the kids can spend hours and hours playing here! It doesn’t take them long before they are completely immersed in their own world of pretend play, and imaginative story telling.

Both of the kids have been actively creating this fairy village together, with very little help from me. And they have been hard at work. Even earlier this afternoon when the weather was dreary and rainy outside, they were busy painting up tiny birdhouses or toadstool figurines, and wondering if the fairies would find these homes suitable.

And when the weather does cooperate, it isn’t unusual to find this little one has pulled up a chair, made herself comfortable, and has made plans to play until the sun goes down…..

…. which made me think of a few glow-in-the-dark surprises, but that’s a whole other post, isn’t it?

Have fun!!

It doesn’t hurt to plan ahead either, and here are some of our favorite Screen-Free Boredom Busters, Activities for Quiet Time, and 20 Must-Do Favorite Summer Activities for Kids (all of which are completely screen-free).

You may also be interested in learning more about Michael’s Passport to Imagination program! Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10am-noon June 17-August 2nd, Michael’s craft stores will have in-store events for kids ages 5 and up to participate in a 2 hour crafting session for just $2.

My kids cannot wait to craft their way around the world!! Every week features countries from a different continent, and the projects are really adorable. We’re planning to combine these outings with a trip to the library to learn more about these countries, and if the weather is nice, visit a local park for a picnic lunch afterwards. You can learn more about the Passport to Imagination program here.

A BIG thank you to Michaels® for providing me with plenty of art and craft supplies, and for inviting me to participate in the Unplugged Summer Challenge challenge! All opinions are my own.

For Babies & Toddlers (Recommended for ages 0-2)

In seems that the younger the child, the larger the toys, but fortunately these toys for babies and toddlers nest, stack, or fold for easy storage!

1. Melissa and Doug Alphabet Nesting and Stacking Blocks — made of high quality cardboard, these alphabet nesting blocks are lots of fun for little ones to stack, knock over, and stack again. I was most impressed with how much use the kids got out of these. They are definitely made to last!

2. Melissa & Doug Deluxe Three Little Pigs Play Set Soft Baby Toy — One of Emily’s very first baby toys, this Three Little Pigs Play Set became an instant favorite and was eventually passed down to her younger sister! Even now, almost 9 years later, it is still regularly played with when we host play dates with smaller children. Preschoolers will enjoy the storytelling aspect of this toy, and babies seem to love hiding the pigs and wolf in the houses, and taking them out again.

3. Melissa & Doug Happy Giddy Tunnel — I love that this bright and cheerful tunnel can be used indoors or out, and it folds up completely flat for super easy storage. Another toy that has been very well-loved around here for plenty of active play time fun!

For Preschoolers (Recommended for ages 3-5)

1. Guidecraft Hideaway Country Kitchen — For those of you who like the idea of a play kitchen set, but don’t want it to take over the house when its not in use, the Guidecraft Hideaway Country Kitchen is a nice option. This kitchen set is well-designed, and can completely fold up to store easily in a closet or under a bed when not in use.

2. Melissa & Doug Deluxe Standing Easel — If there is one toy I wish every child could have, it is an easel. However, easels are notorious for taking up lots of room. This easel from Melissa & Doug folds flat, is double-sided, and it adjusts to grow with your child providing years of creative fun! There is a chalkboard surface on one side, and a wipe-off surface on the other. Well-made, sturdy, and at a reasonable price. Don’t have room for the full easel? The Melissa & Doug Wooden Tabletop Easel is another great space-saver version as well.

3. Janod Story Box Circus — All of the elements of this beautiful circus storytelling play set store nicely inside the adorable circus tent box — which doubles as a piece of the play set! This 19-piece wooden play set is perfect for ages 3-8 yrs of age, great for preschool and school-aged kids to enjoy together. Really simple toy that is sure to spark the imagination and keep little ones happily occupied for long stretches of time!

4. Unpainted Blank Russian Nesting Doll 5pc./6″ — Once while I was on a trip to NYC, I stopped at a street vendor to purchase a small set of Russian nesting dolls for my kids. They have been played with ever since, and Emily is currently hard at work painting up a set of her own! These unpainted Russian nesting dolls can be painted up by the kids however they’d like and then played with and nested inside one another for super easy storage. They can even be packed in a purse for lots of play time fun on-the-go!

5. Magnetibook Vehicles — This adorable magnetic play set is great for at-home or on-the-go play. The pieces fit nicely inside a box that is cleverly designed to look just like a book, and can be stored easily on a bookshelf! There are 18 different backgrounds and 50 different magnetic play pieces for kids to explore. The magnets seem strong and very well-made to last for several play sessions! Similar to tangrams, kids can select a vehicle they want to make from the cards, then build the vehicle to match using the magnetic pieces. The inside cover of the box has a magnetic surface, so play is contained to the box itself.

For School-Aged Kids (Recommended for ages 5 and up)

1. Makedo FreePlay Kit For One — If you’ve ever watched a young child play with a cardboard box, you will adore this Makedo FreePlay Kit. Makedo is a system of reusable connectors and hinges for cardboard that allows kids ages 5 and over to create amazing toys and play spaces! There is even a safe-saw included so even school-aged children can cut through thick pieces of cardboard safely. We have found this to be one of the best toys for fostering imagination and creative play because the possibilities are virtually endless, and very eco-friendly too! Pieces store easily inside the provided canister, and Makedo would be a fantastic addition to any classroom as well!

2. Goodluck Mini Fun Pack — If you were to go through the contents of my purse, you are sure to find at least a few of these adorable Good Luck Minis in there because they are just the right size for keeping the kids occupied while in a waiting room or at a restaurant. Each piece is about the size of a quarter, and they have been meticulously painted by hand. There are 8 different creatures in each pack, and they are made to be phthalate and lead-free. These adorable minis have kept my kids happily occupied for long amounts of time!

3. MoMA Modern House (MoMA Modern Kids) — You won’t believe how many rooms and furniture can fit inside this super modern and sleek doll house. Kids can put together the cardboard furniture, then arrange the nested boxes however they would like to form the play space. This set comes with reusable (and re-positionable) decals too. It’s the perfect size for wooden peg dolls, or the MoMA Modern Play Family that is sold separately. One of the easiest to store doll houses ever!

4. Djeco / Pop to Play Medieval Castle — This play cardboard castle is a lot of fun to build, and even more fun for the kids to play with! It can be taken apart and stores easily inside a very flat box. The cardboard is very thick and the pieces are very well-made. You may also want to check out the Safari Ltd. Knights and Dragon Toob to go along with this — it is a great combination!

5. Fat Brain Toys Dado Planks — This set of 106 building planks doesn’t take up a lot of room, but let’s kids build large, complex, and intricate structures just the same. This set of Dado planks weighs just 3.3 pounds, and the colors are so bright and cheery! Terrific toy for developing fine-motor and early problem-solving skills, and really fun to play! For an even more storage-friendly version of these, check out Fat Brain Dado Squares Original which can be taken apart and laid completely flat.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. (Full disclosure policy here.) All opinions are my own.

Do you have a small or easy to store toy that is a favorite in your household? We would love to hear about it! Leave a comment and share your ideas with us!!

This is one of Emily’s favorite activities for a rainy day, or anytime she just feels like doodling. She even has her own comic blog (Treehouse City). Have you seen it? For her newest comic book creation, she’s working on The Adventures of Super Snail. Can’t wait to see what exciting things are in store for our new snail hero!

Click here to download the .pdf file. You may want to print the first page out on cardstock, then print pages 2-3 double-sided, and pages 4-5 also double-sided. Fold down the middle of each sheet, stack them in order, then staple down the center to bind them together. Repeat as needed.

Have fun!!