I have to say that I'm a bit of an educational toy snob. Being a teacher, I am particularly choosy about what toys Little One plays with.  I'm not a big fan of loud, noisy toys with flashy lights. They give me a headache and I purposefully seemingly manage to always misplace the batteries for said toys.

Little One prefers creative play toys anyway. She loves puzzles, toy food, and even just a pad of paper and a bunch of markers! I'm telling you, she spends hours doodling and drawing pictures. She spends hours "cutting" up her fruits and veggies. She also enjoys "baking" brownies and then serving them to her stuffed animals for tea time.

Thankfully for us, there's a company that makes all of Little One's favourite things! Have you guessed yet? It's Melissa & Doug!

A friend of mine introduced us to Melissa & Doug on Little One's first birthday. She gave Little One the

Melissa & Doug Spill and Fill Purse.
Little One loves that purse. She totes it around, counts the coins (which she calls "money"), looks at herself in the compact, talks on her cell phone, etc. That was the start of Little One's Melissa and Doug collection.







Bollie Kickball - Little One received this as an Easter present last year. Bollie is a really cute ladybug ball that is great for outdoor and even indoor play. Bollie is made of durable rubber and is still soft enough that if Little One accidentally gets bonked on the head, it doesn't hurt so much. Ummm...not that Mommy has ever accidentally bonked her toddler on the head. No. Never!
Wooden Puzzles - She has tons of wooden puzzles that are all age appropriate. She is only 2 years old, so the puzzles she has don't have too many pieces. She loves them though. The puzzles teach her shape recognition and she gets to practice her fine motor, hand-eye coordination, and memory skills. This peg puzzle with the cats and dogs is her favourite puzzle at the moment.

Bake and Serve Brownies - Excellent for teaching shapes, counting, problem solving...and just so much fun! Little One loves this so much that we got her cousins a set and one of her friends a set too! We cleaned the store out of these brownie sets! LOVE THEM!

Playtime Produce Farm Fresh Fruit - I was given a gift certificate for one of the freelance gigs I had and I used it to get Little One her first set of play fruit. This was one of the best play sets I could have given her. We were teaching her the names of fruits and vegetables, but these durable plastic fruits were instrumental in Little One learning the names of fruit and learning how to count. She learned her colours from the fruit as well! These are fantastic for grocery and kitchen play.

Little One loves the toys, but Mommy loves the quality! Oh, okay. I love playing with Little One's Melissa & Doug toys too! Melissa & Doug makes thousands of educational toys for tiny tots to school-aged kids. They make classic toys, musical toys, outdoor toys, magnetic activities, puzzles, arts and crafts items, classroom supplies, learning mats, and a whole lot more! If you're a parent, grandparent, daycare operator, babysitter, or even if you just have a special kid in your life, check out Melissa & Doug.

Visit the Melissa & Doug website to see all the products they sell. Also find them on Twitter and Facebook!