Tiny Tree Toys - Educational Toy Heaven
I’m always on the hunt for open-ended and educational toys that are still exciting and fun! Children these days are spoiled with toys that do everything for them. Technology is all around us and it consumes everything, even the toys our children play with. Sometimes, even I am awed by all of the incredible tech toys being released these days, and I can’t blame the children for wanting the latest new robot toy, or techno skateboard, because all of the features, light and sounds truly are magnificent. Although these kinds of toys bring a lot of excitement into their little worlds there are 3 things that I know 1. They come with a hefty price tag, 2. The excitement only last but a little while and pretty soon that R3000 hoverboard ends up collecting dust in the garage or that moving robot’s batteries run out and next Christmas you’ll find it hidden in a drawer ready to be donated, and last but not least 3. These kinds of toys cause more harm than good. Did you know that tech toys impact kids’ developing brains in ways that may not be beneficial for them ? In December of 2018, the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics published an article titled, “Selecting Appropriate Toys for Young Children in the Digital Era.” This article uses research to explain that our human brains are not built for all the over-stimulation that tech toys and gadgets provide for kids. I am not going to go into so much detail about this right now, but will do a separate blogpost on this. Please note: I am also not saying you shouldn’t buy your child ANY tech toys, as parents we love to spoil our kids every now and then, but balance is important.
So, what kinds of toys do I buy A then?
I love open-ended toys that are 1. Great for his development, 2. That can grow with him and serves multiple purposes and last but not least 3. Encourages him to use his imagination!
What is an open-ended toy?
An open ended toy is a toy that can be played with in many different ways, and that aren’t bound to one form of play, for example legos, building blocks and dress up costumes. An open ended toy can be used to suit your child’s imagination and grows with your child’s imagination. This nurtures not only their creativity, but also their developing skills.
Aren’t Open ended toys expensive?
They can be, but I promise you they will never be as expensive as that new tech toy that your child will forget about in a few days. The great thing about open ended toys are that just like everything else, it has also evolved and you can now get a ton of beautiful open ended toys locally, and my favourite place to shop for these are definitely Tiny Tree Toys! Tiny Tree Toys is a South African small business with one of the biggest ranges of open ended toys that I know of, and they are incredibly affordable as well!
About Tiny Tree Toys
Tiny Tree Toys specialises in a variety of children’s toys, games and educational material with a high quality and exceptional educational value. As a mother and an Occupational Therapist Ezette is aware of the milestones children have to achieve and therefore she is always on the lookout for toys and games that support these developmental milestones. Each product is carefully selected and this makes the range unique in its own way.
Tiny Tree Toys started in 2017 with a stall at a kids and baby market. It developed through hard work into a magnificent online toy heaven.
What you can expect to find in the Tiny Tree Toys Online shop
Tiny Tree stocks a wide variety of educational toys, games and materials for all ages. If you are looking for toys that are open ended, fun, exciting and great for your child’s development I can guarantee you will find it on their site! You can shop for wooden toys, travel toys, learning resources, Montessori inspired toys, construction toys, sensory play toys, puzzles, toys for the outdoors, pretend play toys, crafts and stationery and even books or bath toys all in one place!
I simply cannot wait to start doing some Christmas shopping for A, because this will definitely be my one-stop shop to go to!
What we love about Tiny Tree Toys:
- It’s a one-stop shop!
When it comes to toys or educational and learning resources I can trust to find it all in the Tiny Tree Toys Shop! It stocks something for every single age starting with babies. I even bought some fun erasers there for my grade 2 class. If you’ve ever wanted options that you can trust, then Tiny Tree Toys is the place for you, and it’s just a click away.
- Shopping made easy
Have you ever walked through a mall in search of a birthday or Christmas gift with no idea where to start? I’ve done that many times. Every Christmas shopping turns into a nightmare, because I don’t want to just buy rubbish, but I also don’t want to spend thousands of Rands. I never quite know what to get for all the kiddies, and shopping for different ages can become a challenge. This is why I loved my shopping experience with Tiny Tree Toys, they simplify it and make it easy for me to find the right toy for each age. You can choose to either shop by category or by age and this is a huge help! The fun thing about open-ended toys are also that the toy becomes whatever the specific child imagines it to be, so it can easily be played with by a 3 year old and a 7 year old in different ways!
- Their sales
I love that Tiny Tree Toys are affordable, even if the products aren’t on sale, but I can never resist a sale anyways! I love their clearance sale category and you can find some gems there for a steal!
- Value for money
Before I buy any toys for A, I always determine whether I’m getting value for my money. In order to do this I weigh up the cost of the toy with how diverse it is , how long it will be beneficial for him and the quality of that toy. A is a very rough and tough boy and I definitely won’t invest in a toy that’s going to break into pieces the first time it falls. The toys you’ll find at Tiny Tree Toys are just that – value for money! The quality is impeccable, and their wooden toy range is just everything a mom (and littles) can dream about!
- Customer service
I love buying from small businesses, because they always treat you as a person and not just a number. Ezette from Tiny Tree Toys is no different. She was so friendly and helpful and I were kept up to date on my order the whole time! 10/10 for customer service.
- They are always doing research on the toys that they stock
Tiny Tree Toys do quality control using kids to ensure that the toys do what they are meant to do. Ezette approached us to review a specific toy, but unlike a lot of other places she actually followed up on what we thought about the toy and whether or not we thought the toy was age-appropriate, of good quality, and whether or not it does what it is purposed to do. I loved this, because she actually took in what we said. This proved to me that a great deal of research and attention to detail is taken into account when she decides which toys stay,, which toys go and which are welcomed in! The toys they stock are approved by moms and kids!
Our top 3 finds in the Tiny Tree Toys Store:
- Their wooden toy range
I could not just pick one toy here, because honestly the whole range is so beautiful and timeless. Wooden toys have always been a favourite in my books, and takes up a large portion of A’s toy collection. I love how these toys are always so simple, yet so versatile. Wooden toys remind me of the saying less is more. You don’t need flashy lights or loud noises to capture a child’s attention, their imaginations are so much bigger than that. I also love that wooden toys make for beautiful room décor as well. It’s something you want to put on display.
- Their Role Play Range
A is very much in the role-playing stage and you can almost always find him dressed up as some imaginary character, whether it’s a super chef, or some kind of mechanic or superhero, he just loves role-playing. I love how even their role playing range is majorly made out of wood. We invested in a wooden play kitchen for A’s 2nd birthday and it’s the one gift that he still loves and plays with every day, but it was expensive! When I saw the prices for their wooden role play toys I have to say I was pleasantly surprised! They are gorgeous and super affordable! They have little cash registers, ice cream counters, carpenter sets, barbeque sets, pizza counter sets, tea time sets, kitchen sets and so much more for under R1000!
- Their little creators range
I just love how they used basic items like elastics, rocks, and blocks and turned them into something fun, colourful and educational! I love how these products allow children to develop not only their fine motor and problem-solving skills but also their mathematical skills through play!
A Short Review of the 44 piece marble run:
A was asked to review Tiny Tree Toys’s 44 piece marble run.
What we loved about the product:
1. It is made out of wood! I love products that are made out of wood, because they are timeless and just lasts longer than your average plastic toys.
2. It is colourful
A loved that the blocks and marbles are so colourful! He calls it his rainbow marble run.
3. It develops logical thinking
A had to build some parts, and had to figure out ways to assemble the parts to make the marble run work effectively. A loved using his little tools (included) to build the various parts and make them work.
4. It’s an interesting and educational balance scale kid’s toy
A had to learn how to pack the blocks and balance them perfectly on top of each other to keep the marble run in it’s position. If the blocks are not perfectly balanced the marble run does not work or will easily collapse.
5. It helps kids understand Physics basics
6. It stimulates creativity and imagination
I love how they can use their own imagination to assemble different tracks for their marbles to run on. The possibilities are endless. A even used some boxes to make bridges for his little marbles.
7. It is suitable for a wide age range
What we didn’t like as much:
1. Assembling the track for the marbles to run on is TRICKY! A could not assemble the track by himself and needed quite a lot of assistance with it. I would definitely say that assembling the track would be easier for a child of around 8/9 years old.
2. It is very sensitive, so your child would have to play carefully – sudden movements or bumps could make the whole track collapse.
Although we had some challenges with the assembling, once it was up and running A had a ball! He loved watching the cause and effect of the marble running down the track and what caused it to stop, run faster or go slower. He also enjoyed changing the track by adding or removing blocks. It is excellent for mathematical and logical thinking skills, and I would definitely recommend it for older children.
In Conclusion
Play is a child’s favourite way of learning and Tiny Tree Toys get that, support that and motivates it! After all, their slogan is “Grow through Play”! So, this year when you start doing your Christmas shopping, invest in some timeless, open ended toys and support a local small business while you are at it (if you are able too off course!). And lets also be mindful of the toys that we buy our kids, because remember toys are our children’s words and play is their language!
To shop Tiny Tree Toys just tap on the link – https://tinytreetoys.co.za
Lots of Love,
~ A and Mommy ~
