New Melissa & Doug's Wooden Clock! - Learning Time, Shapes, And Colors!

There are a couple of (or more :>) things on our list of things we want to get Nui Nui. She doesn't have a lot of toys but we're not interested in getting her junk to just fill the toy box either. It's funny yet typical but we actually put a decent amount of thought into each toy we get her [there hasn't been many :>]. Our criteria includes:

1. Must be educational. This is an absolute must. Or, at least, semi-absolute anyway. I guess everything is somewhat educational. Playing devil's advocate, I suppose even Barbie can be if she fuels imagination. Whatever, though. By educational, I mean in the traditional academic sense. [I went to the Dollar Tree this weekend and ate up the Pre-K/K workbooks and teachers' decorating section :> [Dollar Tree haul to come! :> :>]
2. Must be affordable. It's the main reason I put so much thought into the purchase, or any purchase for that matter. Our money doesn't grow on trees. At least not non-technically :>
3. Must hold her attention more than once. You never know with this one. One way to try to measure it, though, is to let her hold the toy while walking through the store. If she throws it away after 10-15 minutes, it might not be worth buying.
4. Must fit into our small apartment. Not every toy or kids item, even if educational, is appropriate for small apartments. Same with food and cleaning supplies, you really do have to limit the amounts and sizes of the things you get. Fake Christmas trees and anything from Costco are prime examples. We just don't have the room to have too many large items or space eaters.

If money weren't an issue, I'd probably throw all of the above out the window. But isn't it interesting? Like food, can the toys you select for your child shape the way they think, act, and/or become? Munching on my own food for thought...

Anyway, we finally got her Play-Doh a couple of weeks ago, which we were eyeing for a while. And, this past week, got her Melissa & Doug's wooden clock, which we've also been eyeing for a while. We were about to get her the one at Barnes a few weeks back but didn't end up getting it in hopes to possibly find something better? I was hoping we'd be able to play with it on the table/floor but also be able to hang it up on the wall. Wishful thinking. We ended up buying this $1 foam clock that ended up being a waste of time (seriously :>) and is now on our return list.

The clock at Barnes was $15 but we managed to find it at Target, in a better color (red!), no less, and for just $10. Target really is the best, huh? :>



Nui Nui eagerly wanted to open the clock and played with it over and over for the first time. The girl loves puzzles :> I'm starting to teach her how to read time by setting the big hand to twelve and counting as I move the small hand. It's still too early for her to know what it is and how to read the clock but it's definitely not too early for her to play with it— the box says '3+'— but I am of the opinion that you can never be too young to play with something... unless you're going to eat it and choke. Otherwise, it's never too early to learn or play :>.

Check out the clock and gudtimes! :>



Any suggestions for fun, affordable, educational toys? Share them in the comments below or Tweet or Instagram us! We'd love to hear! xoxo