As far as toys are concerned, our home has been 'plastic- free' for the past four years. We made this choice because we feel that toys made from natural materials are healthier to play with and if made from wood, wool or cloth are warmer to the touch compared to cold, hard plastic.
I'm such a purist about the type of the toys in our home that I found it quite difficult to introduce to Lego into the play area, especially seeing as we have been so careful to stay plastic- free. Although I personally found it hard to let go of my ideals about what are the 'best' toys for K and L, I knew I needed to think about what the children will have joy playing with. So I thought about the plus points of Lego:
: : It's open-ended and encourages creative play. I looked at the toy as a whole rather than at what it was made from. I wasn't not going to buy Lego just because it is made from plastic. But that doesn't mean I am opening the flood gates to plastic toys in our home.
: : It's BPA free.
: : Lego is a Waldorf 'equaliser'/'normaliser' for our home for when the chidren have friends over from non-Waldorf families as they get older. They don't attend a Waldorf school but a regular state primary school. Our play area is beautiful, but it does not have mainstream toys that six year olds expect to find.
: : Lego creates easy play opportunities between the girls and their Daddy. It looks like he will always be ready to help them build their creations or search for a specific brick.
We are keeping away from the media themed sets completely and decided to stick with the buckets of brightly coloured bricks as I wanted them to appeal to my 'girly' girls. Because of this we chose the My First Lego Town and the two starter boxes of Large Pink Bricks Box and the Small Lego Pink Bricks Box which contained pretty, brighty coloured Lego bricks. I am not sure how I feel about the new 'Lego Friends' sets, aimed specifically at girls through their design, not just from the colour of the bricks. I was shocked to see the new mini-figures, they seem to be a cross between Playmobil and Polly Pocket. I personally love how the tradtional mini-figures look! If I gave a box of the 'Lego Friends' to K and L though, I am sure they would love it.
I have a feeling that the Lego is going to get daily play! Miss K and Little L have already spent several hours playing with it today. We love our Lego here!
Are you a Waldorf/Waldorf-inspired/plastic- free family? Do you have Lego?
