Creative ways to use a simple everyday toy.

During my years working in the Early Intervention field, parents often asked me for ideas for toys to purchase for their children. Invariably, my response was always, the simpler the better. When looking at a toy, ask yourself, how many different activities can I do with this? Simple toys allow you to match your interactions with your child’s personality, playful interests, and developmental needs. Children value how we present toys to them, our energy, enthusiasm, and how we engage them in an activity. There is a world of opportunity available in taking the simplest of objects and turning them into an amazing teaching tool.

One of my all time favorite toys is the “ring stacker”. The ring stacker is one of the most versatile toys every parent should have in their home. From working on early motor skill development to helping your child follow multi-step directions, this toy can do it all.

There are a wide variety of ring stackers on the market today. Some toy manufacturers have begun to overthink the ring stacker and have drifted away from its original simplicity. If it looks overly complicated, it probably is. Two specific kinds of ring stackers that I have leaned on heavily, when working with families are the “original” plastic stacker and the wooden stacker.

The “original” Rock-a-Stack plastic model from Fisher Price is fantastic. Everything from the size, weight, number of rings, the larger diameter of the holes, and the vibrant colors, all make this a very adaptable toy for most ages, abilities, and interests. Nothing more needs said - it’s just great!

Different than the “original” Fisher Price stacker, but great in its own right, are wooden ring stackers. The Melissa and Doug versions are readily available at most big box stores. There are a number of differences with a wooden ring stacker that make it another must have for any playroom. The hole diameter of the rings are typically smaller, which makes placing the rings on the post more challenging. Most wooden ring stackers use a “one size fits all” hole diameter, which allows the rings to be put on in any order. Being able to put the rings on the post in any order, provides opportunity for creativity and exploring. Placing rings small to big, big to small, alternating sizes, stacking by color, or by alphabetical order of the color are just a few of the options. They also just happen to fit on the end of a finger perfectly, opening up many more possibilities-one’s creativity is the only limit with these. The wooden rings have a nice weight to them, a smooth tactile feel, and they make a pleasing audible clack, when stacked.

All of these attributes and more are why I think the ring stacker is the must-have toy, and I’d like to walk you through just a few of the many ways I use this toy with young children. These activities are just a guideline, I highly suggest you adapt, tweak and adjust to fit your needs, space and personal preferences. For instance, a few of these are more easily accomplished with another set of hands.

A great introduction to the toy is starting with the basics: Stack the rings on, then take the rings off. Stack the rings on, dump the rings. Then begin introducing some silliness by having your child stack the rings (plastic style rings only!) on your head and then allow them to playfully fall off or bring the rings up to your eyes to peer out of and playfully engage in a peek-a-boo type interaction. Most kids of an appropriate age will imitate this quite quickly and join in on the fun. When you are ready to move on to more specific skill building try one or all of these:

Communication Skills

If you are working with your child on improving their communication skills, I find that playfully have the rings “blast off” and “fly” to an unreachable, but very visible spot grabs their attention. Then, have your child retrieve the rings that are out of reach. Most children will need assistance in retrieving the ring and will need to ask for help. By doing so, you’ve created the opportunity for your child to see you model the “up” or “help” request for them, and an opportunity for them to practice those requests.

A fun way to work on communication skills and a bonus of working on direction following, is a ring scavenger hunt. Go on a hunt for a particular ring color one at a time, place the ring in a bucket or bag, and have your child bring the ring back to the post to stack one at a time or all at once. This gets your child moving around, following your lead and direction, exploring the home environment, and practicing word use.

Impulse Control

Try spinning the rings on a hard surface. Ask your child to playfully wait for the ring to stop spinning before being allowed to grab the ring and put it on the post. Most children will be very excited to be the one to grab the ring and will follow your instructions on waiting patiently. This promotes impulse control, waiting nicely and promotes a positive connection to waiting as a fun and rewarding behavior.

If you have some space to move around - have the ring stacker post across the room from your child. Have your child sitting on a chair or on their visible “spot”. Their “spot” can be designated as anything you have on hand, a carpet tile, pillow, wash cloth, or even a folded up t-shirt, as long as it draws their attention and they know it as “their spot”. Once your child is seated, waiting nicely, give them the ring, dramatically count to three, then tell have them GO!!! Mix it up a bit. Have them walk SLOW, have them run FAST, hop, crawl, walk backwards. Have fun with it. Your child should place the ring and return to “their spot”. Once your child is seated again, nicely waiting, they can get the next ring. This promotes attending to stated limits and expectations, as well as following a two-step direction, and turn-taking.

Playing nicely and turn-taking

This activity is best achieved with a second set of hands. Place a ring into a toy vehicle that has an open top. Push the vehicle to your child, transporting the ring to them, then your child will push the vehicle back to get another ring. It is an easy way to playfully and repetitively model a variety of fun words and to promote a patiently, well mannered, back and forth playing style.

An all in one activity!

If you are looking for an activity that can check off a lot of boxes - this is the one for you. Stack the rings without the post on the floor. Allow your child to push the tower down with a finger, roll a ball into it, run into it with a pushable or ridable car, roll, hop, crawl, or wheelbarrow walk over to the rings to knock them over. Wheelbarrow walking, hopping, crawling, stacking and knocking them down will promote fine and gross motor skills. Playful word use and your child following verbal direction, touches on receptive and expressive communication skills. As your child waits, takes turns, and navigates their emotions during this meaningful back and forth interaction, personal/social skills and impulse control are being practiced. All of this while you are tiring out your kiddo and having lots of FUN!

These are just a few of the ways you can get creative with a simple everyday toy. Remember to be patient when starting out, take your time introducing the ideas and allow your child to observe before trying. Allowing them to observe the activity, can do a lot to grab their attention and help with your initial instruction. Be at their level as much as possible and away from known distractions.

Lastly, and I cannot stress this enough…BIG SMILES, ENTHUSIASM, and ENERGY!

Looking for more ideas, or have questions? Contact me to discuss your concerns.

*I receive no form of compensation for the products mentioned in this blog. This is not a paid advertisement.