Browse our favourite toys, books and resources for toddlers!
Click the images below to shop the resources with my favourite stockists and brand partners.

SHOP OUR FAVOURITE TOYS & MATERIALS

Grimm's 7 Friends

The Creative Toy Shop*

Grimm's Wooden Cars

The Creative Toy Shop*

Grimm's Pebbles

The Creative Toy Shop*

Grimm's Stacking Bowls

The Creative Toy Shop*

Natural Shape Stacker

Growing Kind*

Shape Puzzle

Growing Kind*

Ring Stacker

Growing Kind*

Shape Sorter

Growing Kind*

Horse Stable / Barn

Growing Kind*

Papoose Trees

Growing Kind*

Foundation Mats

Melanie Shanks on Etsy*

https://www.thecreativetoyshop.com.au/products/grapat-nins-rings-and-coins-4?_pos=1&_sid=1116b4473&_ss=r&aff=6

Grapat Carla Set

The Creative Toy Shop*

Magic Wood Tree House

The Creative Toy Shop*

Connetix Tiles

Connetix*

Kids Kitchen

IKEA

FLISAT Table

IKEA

Twisty Droppers

The Creative Toy Shop*

Fine Motor Pack

The Creative Toy Shop*

Happy Architect Blocks

The Freckled Frog

My Family Blocks

The Freckled Frog

Hollow Blocks

QToys

Natural Building Blocks

Made with Altitude on Etsy

Rainbow Building Blocks

The Creative Toy Shop*

Mirror Building Blocks

The Creative Toy Shop*

CollectA Animals

The Creative Toy Shop*

Schleich Animals

Mini Zoo

Ocean Animals

Wild Republic from Mini Zoo

Insect Animals

Wild Republic from Mini Zoo

Varnished Wobbel Board

The Creative Toy Shop*

Stepping Stones

Hart Sports

Balance Beams

Hart Sports

Miniland Anatomical Dolls

The Creative Toy Shop*

Play Dough Stampers

The Creative Toy Shop*

Play Dough People

Amazon*

Potion Pots

Works At Play

Sarah's Silks

The Creative Toy Shop*

Felt Pizza

Melissa and Doug on Amazon*

Felt Foods

Chook Shed Designs

Cash Register

IKEA Australia

Felt Foods

IKEA Australia

Melody Mix

Little Earth Nest

Shopping List Game

The Creative Toy Shop*

Petit Collage Puzzles

Playdreamers

Djeco Mum & Baby Puzzle

Playdreamers

Petit Collage Puzzles

Playdreamers

Ravensburger Puzzles

Amazon*

Heads and Tails Puzzle

Amazon*

Building Pebbles

The Creative Toy Shop*

This is NOT a sponsored resource. The products I list here in the directory are all items we personally love. We have not been paid or compensated by the brands or businesses in exchange for being featured. Some links are affiliate links meaning I will earn a commission on any sales made using those links.

Looking for ideas for another age?

Browse our favourite toy, book and resource recommendations for newborns and babies from birth, 1 month, 2 months and 3 months of age!

BIRTH - 3 MONTHS

3-12 MONTHS

1-3 YEARS

3-5 YEARS

Transform playtime in the Little Play Club!

Themed play packs, masterclasses, simple play ideas and more!

Never under estimate the power of a simple sensory

Never under estimate the power of a simple sensory tub 🙊 Whenever I want a quick and easy play activity, you can guarantee I’m gonna grab a sensory base, some utensils and some containers of some description!I’ve found that our little people really love to scoop and pour. They’re obsessed with the movement of the sensory bases and love to fill and empty containers. These explorations all form the basis for a pretty solid mathematical understanding of capacity and volume #LearningThroughPlaySo what are my favourite sensory bases? Pasta, rice, sand, water, corn kernels, chickpeas, split peas, bird seed, dirt, aquarium pebbles, white beans, black beans, cloud dough, kinetic sand, polenta, pom poms....the list goes on! If you can scoop it, you can add it to a tub! Tell me your favourite sensory bases below - let’s make an epic list!Next week I’ll be kicking off a FREE play challenge with hundreds of playful parents like you and we’ll be chatting more about simple play invitations like these that you can add to your playtime toolkit. I can’t WAIT!! But to join in on the fun in our pop-up Facebook group, you’ve gotta register for free by following the link in my bio 🥰

Join me as I prep a simple sensory tub for the kid

Join me as I prep a simple sensory tub for the kids!. Instagram post 17879911748189429

Hey playful parents! 🌈 Are you ready to transfo

Hey playful parents! 🌈 Are you ready to transform the way you think about playtime? I’m hosting a FREE 5 day Back to Basics Playful Challenge and I’d love for YOU to come and join us! ✨If you’d like to know the secret to creating a successful invitation to play which isn’t going to take forever to prepare or require you to stock up on all the latest and greatest toys...well you’re gonna want to join us!Over the 5 days, I’ll share some of my juiciest play secrets with you and help you to see the play potential surrounding you every single day. There’s bonus printables and did I mention prizes?! Because there’s 5 of those up for grabs too!! It’s time to get back to basics!Come join the fun by clicking the link in my bio 🥰

✩ WIN a wooden horse stable as seen in Little Li

✩ WIN a wooden horse stable as seen in Little Lifelong Learners play room✩ Valued at $130 + postage!!_______________________________________________
HOW TO ENTER:1️⃣ Like this post2️⃣ Follow both @growing.kind and @littlelifelonglearners3️⃣ Tell us your child’s favourite toy
One comment= one entryFor two bonus entries share this image to your stories tagging @growing.kind and @littlelifelonglearners and use the save feature
_______________________________________________Giveaway begins now and ends April 22nd 8pm AEST. The winner will be chosen randomly and have 24 hours to claim their prize. If the winner does not claim their prize in the allocated timeframe, a new winner will be chosen randomly. This giveaway is not affiliated, endorsed, sponsored or associated with Instagram. Entrants must be 18+ years of age. Please note: winners outside of Australia are responsible for shipping of prize. Free shipping in Australia only.
Giveaway is open to entrants worldwide.

When our eldest was a toddler, I tried to fix our

When our eldest was a toddler, I tried to fix our ‘toddler boredom’ by buying her new toys all the time.I’d head to Target and stroll the aisles looking for the next popular toy hoping that it would capture her interests and keep her playing for more than a few minutes.You see, at that stage of my parenting (and play!) journey, I hadn’t realised how capable my toddler was at finding her own fun without me needing to entertain her all day.But as time went on and we had more babies, I also discovered what play really meant. And more often than not, it didn’t really have much to do with me at all. In fact you can swipe through this post to see some of Lilly’s playful moments in those early years that I completely overlooked as real playful moments.Over the years, I’ve come to the conclusion that play can both be child-led and adult facilitated. Neither is wrong - both are beautiful in their own right. For me, I adore using play as a way to connect with our children. There’s nothing I love more than providing my community with simple ways to inject more play into their days!Next week I’ll be sharing how you can join us for another FREE play challenge and I can’t wait to connect with more playful parents with the same play values as myself! It’s going to be such a fun week!Are you keen to join in the fun? Keep an eye out for my announcement early next week!

Raise your hand if you’ve ever wondered why ALL

Raise your hand if you’ve ever wondered why ALL the other kids will play for longer than YOUR child ever could?! 🙋🏻‍♀️Little learners have THE shortest attention span and anything that captures their attention beyond these times is basically as magical as a unicorn 🦄But seriously, expecting our little learners to focus on something for extended periods of time isn’t actually developmentally appropriate. Our little people were made to move and wriggle and explore and did I mention move? 😜But here’s a little tip that will lengthen the time your child WILL play for. Are you ready? Follow the child! Let them take the lead and find their own fun. Don’t feel like you have to come up with grand ideas all the time or prepare invitations or constantly entertain. Take a few steps back and see what they come up with all by themselves. They might just surprise you! We’re going to dive into this more during our FREE playful challenge in a few weeks so keep your eyes peeled for that announcement!Tap the save flag under this image so that next time you consider an invitation or play activity a *fail* you can come back to this chart and check to see whether you might just be expecting too much of your little person. KISS - keep it simple silly! 🥰

GIVEAWAY CLOSED - Congratulations @rachael_dear 🎉 Ready for your little learners to safely learn AND enjoy music and audiobooks independently?!We are SO excited to announce that we’ve partnered with @birde.co to bring you an AMAZING giveaway where one lucky winner will receive their very own Birde player!As you know, we’ve been loving our Birde player. It’s been a wonderful way for our little learners to find moments in their day to calm their busy bodies and enjoy their favourite music and stories without any screen time.So how do you get your name in the running to win your very own Birde? Simply follow these instructions! 👇🏻1. Follow @birde.co and @littlelifelonglearners
2. Tag a friend in the comments that might like to enter too. Each comment equals another entry so feel free to tag multiple friends in multiple comments!It’s THAT easy! We’ll be drawing a winner at 8pm AEST on Thursday the 15th of April so be sure to enter before then! ✨If you’re ready to grab a Birde player right now, you can use the code CASEY15 over at @birde.co to save 15% on your player.Giveaway is in no way sponsored or endorsed by Instagram. All entrants must be aged 18 years or older to enter. Open to Australian residents only 🌏 Good luck!!

Do you collect natural loose parts for your play s

Do you collect natural loose parts for your play stash? We love getting outside and finding little treasures to add to our small worlds or sensory tubs 🌿I’d love for you to share what you’ve created with your little learner using natural materials. Let’s put some ideas together by sharing in the comments 👇🏻You can also swipe through this carousel to see some of my favourite ways to use natural loose parts in our play!

Never under estimate the power of a simple sensory

Never under estimate the power of a simple sensory tub 🙊 Whenever I want a quick and easy play activity, you can guarantee I’m gonna grab a sensory base, some utensils and some containers of some description!I’ve found that our little people really love to scoop and pour. They’re obsessed with the movement of the sensory bases and love to fill and empty containers. These explorations all form the basis for a pretty solid mathematical understanding of capacity and volume #LearningThroughPlaySo what are my favourite sensory bases? Pasta, rice, sand, water, corn kernels, chickpeas, split peas, bird seed, dirt, aquarium pebbles, white beans, black beans, cloud dough, kinetic sand, polenta, pom poms....the list goes on! If you can scoop it, you can add it to a tub! Tell me your favourite sensory bases below - let’s make an epic list!Next week I’ll be kicking off a FREE play challenge with hundreds of playful parents like you and we’ll be chatting more about simple play invitations like these that you can add to your playtime toolkit. I can’t WAIT!! But to join in on the fun in our pop-up Facebook group, you’ve gotta register for free by following the link in my bio 🥰

Join me as I prep a simple sensory tub for the kid

Join me as I prep a simple sensory tub for the kids!. Instagram post 17879911748189429

Hey playful parents! 🌈 Are you ready to transfo

Hey playful parents! 🌈 Are you ready to transform the way you think about playtime? I’m hosting a FREE 5 day Back to Basics Playful Challenge and I’d love for YOU to come and join us! ✨If you’d like to know the secret to creating a successful invitation to play which isn’t going to take forever to prepare or require you to stock up on all the latest and greatest toys...well you’re gonna want to join us!Over the 5 days, I’ll share some of my juiciest play secrets with you and help you to see the play potential surrounding you every single day. There’s bonus printables and did I mention prizes?! Because there’s 5 of those up for grabs too!! It’s time to get back to basics!Come join the fun by clicking the link in my bio 🥰

✩ WIN a wooden horse stable as seen in Little Li

✩ WIN a wooden horse stable as seen in Little Lifelong Learners play room✩ Valued at $130 + postage!!_______________________________________________
HOW TO ENTER:1️⃣ Like this post2️⃣ Follow both @growing.kind and @littlelifelonglearners3️⃣ Tell us your child’s favourite toy
One comment= one entryFor two bonus entries share this image to your stories tagging @growing.kind and @littlelifelonglearners and use the save feature
_______________________________________________Giveaway begins now and ends April 22nd 8pm AEST. The winner will be chosen randomly and have 24 hours to claim their prize. If the winner does not claim their prize in the allocated timeframe, a new winner will be chosen randomly. This giveaway is not affiliated, endorsed, sponsored or associated with Instagram. Entrants must be 18+ years of age. Please note: winners outside of Australia are responsible for shipping of prize. Free shipping in Australia only.
Giveaway is open to entrants worldwide.

When our eldest was a toddler, I tried to fix our

When our eldest was a toddler, I tried to fix our ‘toddler boredom’ by buying her new toys all the time.I’d head to Target and stroll the aisles looking for the next popular toy hoping that it would capture her interests and keep her playing for more than a few minutes.You see, at that stage of my parenting (and play!) journey, I hadn’t realised how capable my toddler was at finding her own fun without me needing to entertain her all day.But as time went on and we had more babies, I also discovered what play really meant. And more often than not, it didn’t really have much to do with me at all. In fact you can swipe through this post to see some of Lilly’s playful moments in those early years that I completely overlooked as real playful moments.Over the years, I’ve come to the conclusion that play can both be child-led and adult facilitated. Neither is wrong - both are beautiful in their own right. For me, I adore using play as a way to connect with our children. There’s nothing I love more than providing my community with simple ways to inject more play into their days!Next week I’ll be sharing how you can join us for another FREE play challenge and I can’t wait to connect with more playful parents with the same play values as myself! It’s going to be such a fun week!Are you keen to join in the fun? Keep an eye out for my announcement early next week!

Raise your hand if you’ve ever wondered why ALL

Raise your hand if you’ve ever wondered why ALL the other kids will play for longer than YOUR child ever could?! 🙋🏻‍♀️Little learners have THE shortest attention span and anything that captures their attention beyond these times is basically as magical as a unicorn 🦄But seriously, expecting our little learners to focus on something for extended periods of time isn’t actually developmentally appropriate. Our little people were made to move and wriggle and explore and did I mention move? 😜But here’s a little tip that will lengthen the time your child WILL play for. Are you ready? Follow the child! Let them take the lead and find their own fun. Don’t feel like you have to come up with grand ideas all the time or prepare invitations or constantly entertain. Take a few steps back and see what they come up with all by themselves. They might just surprise you! We’re going to dive into this more during our FREE playful challenge in a few weeks so keep your eyes peeled for that announcement!Tap the save flag under this image so that next time you consider an invitation or play activity a *fail* you can come back to this chart and check to see whether you might just be expecting too much of your little person. KISS - keep it simple silly! 🥰

GIVEAWAY CLOSED - Congratulations @rachael_dear 🎉 Ready for your little learners to safely learn AND enjoy music and audiobooks independently?!We are SO excited to announce that we’ve partnered with @birde.co to bring you an AMAZING giveaway where one lucky winner will receive their very own Birde player!As you know, we’ve been loving our Birde player. It’s been a wonderful way for our little learners to find moments in their day to calm their busy bodies and enjoy their favourite music and stories without any screen time.So how do you get your name in the running to win your very own Birde? Simply follow these instructions! 👇🏻1. Follow @birde.co and @littlelifelonglearners
2. Tag a friend in the comments that might like to enter too. Each comment equals another entry so feel free to tag multiple friends in multiple comments!It’s THAT easy! We’ll be drawing a winner at 8pm AEST on Thursday the 15th of April so be sure to enter before then! ✨If you’re ready to grab a Birde player right now, you can use the code CASEY15 over at @birde.co to save 15% on your player.Giveaway is in no way sponsored or endorsed by Instagram. All entrants must be aged 18 years or older to enter. Open to Australian residents only 🌏 Good luck!!

Do you collect natural loose parts for your play s

Do you collect natural loose parts for your play stash? We love getting outside and finding little treasures to add to our small worlds or sensory tubs 🌿I’d love for you to share what you’ve created with your little learner using natural materials. Let’s put some ideas together by sharing in the comments 👇🏻You can also swipe through this carousel to see some of my favourite ways to use natural loose parts in our play!

Have you heard the exciting news?! I’ve created

Have you heard the exciting news?! I’ve created a new FREE baby play resource just for you!When I was a first time mum, I felt so unsure about what to do to support my baby’s development. I knew play was important, but I had no idea what milestones she was supposed to meet and when. I’d spend hours on Pinterest looking for ideas for her exact developmental stage.My inbox is frequently filled with questions from playful parents wondering what kinds of invitations they can prepare for their baby...so I decided to create a FREE eBook for all the baby mamas (and dadas) out there who are feeling a little lost too!Head to the link in my bio to download my free baby milestones eBook complete with play ideas for each stage of your baby’s first year 👶🏼Know someone with a baby? Tag them below and share our new free resource with them too!