If you’ve followed Space for Simplicity for any amount of time now, you’ll know how I feel about kids toys. How I believe in:
- Buying a limited number of toys for your children.
- Making sure the toys that you do buy are open ended in nature.
- And doing everything in your power to limit new toys from entering the home. (I’m looking at you aunts, friends, and grandmas!)
Seriously, I know that you think your kids need a lot of toys. That your life will be easier if you own more things that’ll occupy them. But I also know that your kids toys give you more work, cost you more money, and don’t actually benefit your kids’ skills and abilities as much as you think they do.
That said, I get why it’s intimidating to let go and own just 10 toys for your kids. (Which is roughly the number of toys my kids own/play with 95% of the time).
Enter my ‘1 Toy, 10 ways’ series.
Minimalism is all about owning only what adds value to your life. And about choosing the most versatile options in whatever category you’re looking to purchase. Clothing, kitchen tools, cleaning products, personal care products, and….you guessed it…toys! In this series, I’ll highlight some classic kids toys (that you probably already own), and show you how you can use each in 10 different ways.
First up, I cover one of the top 3 toys I recommend as a minimalist mama. The classic, gender-neutral, age-neutral Duplo Legos! So here we go. Keep reading for 10 awesome Duplo Lego play ideas.
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1. Free Building.
Oh free building! The quintessential way to engage with Legos. My kids build new creations over and over and over again with these famous building blocks, and I know your kids will too!
2. Like Pattern Blocks.
If your child shows an interest in pattern blocks at school or at a friend’s house, you may be tempted to go out and buy your own set. However, you can avoid the extra purchase and clutter by making a pattern block set up using Duplos! There aren’t as many shapes available, but you’ll have squares, rectangles, and the occasional circle to work with.
- Grab a piece of paper
- Create a design and color it in.
- And laminate it if you’re able to. (You could also just use a plastic sheet protector.)
And voila! Instant pattern block activity.
3. Create Your Own Photos To Follow.
- Build some of your own Lego creations (houses, pyramids, towers, flowers, etc) and take a photo of each.
- Print out the photos and challenge your child to follow them to build their own matching versions!
- Bonus tip: Template/photo creation (in and of itself) is a great activity for older siblings. It can take the work away from you, occupy the big kid(s) and give them a sense of pride and accomplishment.
4. Color Sorting.
Have the urge to go out and buy a color sorting flashcard set or game for your toddler? Save your time and money! Duplos come in a rainbow of colors, which makes them perfect color teaching tools.
- Set up several colored cups or circles (one for blue, one for red, etc), and get your child started by putting the first Lego in each group.
- Create 6-8 construction paper squares (of various colors) and lay them out on a table, so your child can line up similar colors on each sheet.
- Or encourage your child to stack like colors on top of each other to create a green tower, a yellow tower, etc.
5. As Play-Doh Stamps.
(Full disclosure: This one can be a bit of a pain in the butt (if the Play-doh gets stuck inside the hollow section of the legos. However, I think it’s worth it.) Smooth out some Play-Doh (here’s the homemade Play-Doh recipe we make), and show your child how you use Legos as stamps to create different shapes and textures. Its a great sensory activity with stuff you already have lying around!
6. In A Water Table Game.
Follow these steps for a fun Duplo sensory table activity!
- Fill a water table or bin with water (soapy is best so you can’t see to the bottom of the bin).
- Submerge some Duplos under the water.
- Then have your child reach in without looking, and describe the piece that they feel (or have them search for a particular piece).
- Have the child pull the piece out and see if they were correct!
7. Use Them As A Ruler.
I love this Lego measuring idea for preschool/kindergarten aged kids. Using the standard square shaped Duplos, have your kids create a stack to measure how long different household objects are. In this way, Duplos function as a measuring tool that teach kids how to calculate and compare lengths/heights before they know how to use a standard ruler.
8. Use Them to Practice ABCs and 123s!
Here’s another Duplo Lego play idea that will give your child some academic practice. Write numbers or letters on individual Legos and have your child stack them in order to make:
- A number pattern.
- Their ABCs
- Or simple words.
The great part about this idea is that you can cater it to fit learning levels from preschool to elementary aged kids (and save yourself some worksheet/flashcard purchases).
9. With Pipettes and Water.
My son’s preschool often had out invitations to play involving little plastic pipettes. They were always a hit. This next Lego Duplo play idea from Fun At Home With Kids has kids using pipettes (you could also use ketchup/mustard bottles with a fine tip) to transfer water from a bowl into the little holes on top of the Duplos. And if you’re extra brave, you can put a drop or two of food coloring into the water!
10. As Action/Play Figures.
Dolls, action figures, and stuffed animals (in moderation) can be great for young children because they serve as figures for imaginative/pretend play. But instead of buying a bunch of superhero figurines or toy animals, try instead to stick with the Duplo people and animals for your children’s play.
Most basic Duplo sets come with 1-2 Lego people. In our household we’ve received a few extra Duplo kits which means we have 4 Lego people, 1 Lego dog, 1 Lego cat, 1 Lego Spiderman, and 1 Lego Minnie Mouse. My kids will often play with the figures in a building context, but they’ve also been known to role play with the figures apart from the Duplo bricks.
So There Are 10 Different Duplo Lego Play Ideas.
I hope that I’ve shown you how just one open-ended toy can fill several holes in your child’s play. Duplos can be used:
- As educational tools.
- In open-ended building.
- In imaginative toy figure play.
- And in sensory activities.
It can replace the need for:
- Action figures.
- Play-Doh stamps.
- Pattern blocks.
- And color matching flashcards.
And this post only covers 10 options for how to play with them! It just goes to show that you don’t need dozens and dozens of toys when you pick the right ones and milk them for all that they’re worth!
