Christmas Presents for the Kids

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Tue Dec 31, 2013 6:49 am

I was just wondering. Do kids anywhere these days get Christmas presents (or gifts of any kind) that are comparable to toys like Erector Sets (with a real motor and gears that bite), or Chemistry Sets (with chemicals that stink or go boom), or Lincoln Logs that can be used to construct all sorts of buildings.

I did not see any. Are these sorts of toys a thing of the past? Do they have no educational purpose in today's world?

ipbarnard · Post by **ipbarnard** » Tue Dec 31, 2013 7:47 am

Today kids have K'nexs: http://www.knex.com

And Legos - Especially the Mindstorm robotics: http://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms?ic ... Mindstorms

Thanks,
Foster From Flint

sawmill · Post by **sawmill** » Tue Dec 31, 2013 8:40 am

I have made a set of lincoln logs using a pattern from ShopSmith for all of my grandsons and they love them. This year we gave the oldest grandson an erector set and he couldn't wait to use it. We have a toy shop in a town close by that has many of the older toys in it. I got a lot of ideas for next year after a visit there. There is also an amish hardware store about 30 miles away and all the toys in it are made of wood. I have bought a few to borrow their plans

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Tue Dec 31, 2013 9:11 am

Notched wood, nuts and screws etc. are too 'crude' and 'inexpensive' for todays parents.

Weird plastic shapes, unique($) plastic parts are the 'stuff' of today.

Then there are the 'educational' electronic games!:D

I always wanted a chemistry set. My objective was not especially educationally motivated.

cincinnati · Post by **cincinnati** » Tue Dec 31, 2013 8:10 pm

LEGO's are like the number one toy sold today.

joshh · Post by **joshh** » Tue Dec 31, 2013 8:33 pm

Lincoln logs aren't even made of WOOD anymore

Those (the real ones) were one of my favorite toys. Build a building, smash a toy car into it...repeat

joedw00 · Post by **joedw00** » Tue Dec 31, 2013 8:56 pm

My son loves to put logos together. It took him about 6 hours to put this one together.

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[ATTACH]23610[/ATTACH]

damagi · Post by **damagi** » Tue Dec 31, 2013 10:07 pm

Specifically referring to your questions about those toys being things of the past...I think in general the DIY attitude had faded, but is seeing a resurgence.

Lego certainly spans the range (duplo for the little ones, then regular lego in various themes, lego friends specifically marketed towards girls, technic for the older kids, and mindstorms for your budding engineer)

Goldiblocks is a great series of books targeted at engineering for young girls. http://www.goldieblox.com/

Lots of folks in the tech world are starting to do electronics kits focused around the Arduino platform. Its a nice mix of hardware and software that gives you neat physical objects that you can bring smarts to. http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... d=12353398, http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... cale=en_US, etc. The neat thing here is that there is a lot of crossover with various crafting communities (ie: people making their own clothes and then having an LED light show).

Lincoln logs are still around, as are standard wood blocks (or rubber, or foam) for building.

One thing to note is that if you have a higher quality toy store nearby or a teaching supply store you might be better off. I have one close called "lakeshore learning" which has an excellent selection of educational toys. Its also a great source for inspiration for simple woodworking projects, since many of the toys are wood since they are designed to last through children being very hard on them. http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/, http://products.lakeshorelearning.com/s ... wse&cnt=96