Last week I received an online ad that had me scowling indignantly at the computer. I don't usually even look at things like that, but this one caught my eye because it called itself "Baby University."  I looked at the page and it was a certain popular manufacturer's toys that they claim you need to buy your infant to make him or her smarter, more creative, and all around more completely set for a brilliant life.

Fooey.

The ad listed toys in each of eight categories, all with bright colors and plastic parts you need to buy to give your child the "best."  Oh yes, and you'll need batteries, since these all beep, flash and make lots and lots of noise.

No imagination required.

What follows is my take on much better ways to give your kids these opportunities in each of their categories....

Music Appreciation ~ Pots and pans, lullabies, clapping to music, nursery rhymes, being exposed to lots of kind of music, making jingle bell anklets and dancing in them, making shakers out of plastic bottles sealed tight with popcorn kernels or dried beans inside, dancing with mama to the oldies station, real instruments like flutes, tambourines and daddy's old guitar, drums made of oatmeal boxes, making up songs, attending cultural events and concerts (especially featuring music and dance from other countries), singing silly songs in the car....

Sensory Stimulation ~ Taking the time with babies to touch, smell and talk about everything you encounter, making smelling games with cotton balls soaked in scents like vanilla, stopping to touch brick walls and dandelion fluff on a walk, involving baby in daily activities with you by carrying her in a sling or carrier, giving him a pile of oatmeal to play with in the high chair, using scraps of ruined clothes to make up a book of textures like courderoy and satin, encouraging kids to taste a wide variety of foods, playing with water, snow, homemade dough, sand.....

Learning Fundamentals ~ Reading to your kids, talking to them, taking the time to answer the millions of why's you hear all day, singing the abc's, using colors and shapes in conversation ("Can you bring me the yellow box with the diamond on it honey? Ooh, look at the black and white kitty!"), pointing out letters and shapes encountered on signs and on walks, counting everything for fun....

Physical achievement ~ Walking with them, rolling balls, getting down on the floor and playing with baby, stacking blocks or boxes and knocking them over, tossing rolled up socks into a laundry basket....

Language development ~ Reading books, talking to your kids, describing what's going on to baby, using lots of new and varied words in conversation and taking the time to explain what they mean if asked, reading poetry, reciting nursery rhymes, life....

Architectural design ~ (It turns out this is their term for most of those toys with things to spin or push and I'm not sure I see the design element in those at all, so I'm offering up more real ones) Building with plastic or wooden blocks (get them by the ton at thrift shops), dropping poker chips into a slit cut in a yogurt container, sculpting homemade clay and letting it dry, making snow creations, playing in the sand, making mud pies and stone structures, using scraps of wood to sand and make your own building set, stacking measuring cups, matching tupperware containers with the right size and shape of lids, building forts and tunnels with empty boxes.....

Oceanography ~ (All right, I had to look here too and it turns out this is where they sell their fake fish bowls-- the answer to this one is obvious!) Real aquariums or fish bowls, a trip to an aquarium, reading brightly colored books about underwater life, visiting the ocean and exploring tidepools, making sponge fish for the bath....

Creative Expression ~ Life! Drawing pictures, using homemade play dough, making shapes with straws in a restaurant, playing dress up, making up songs and stories, making toys out of rocks and sticks and found objects -- and most importantly avoiding those annoying toys that blink and flash and gobble!

Here's to all those plastic things you never buy and the time you spent playing in the dirt with your children instead!

In the Mankato area, here's some fun places to take your little one for some of these experiences:

The Children's Museum of Southern Minnesota has giant building blocks, on-site art materials and a huge variety of exhibits to interact with.

Local parks like Minneopa Falls, Hiniker Pond and Sibley Park offer chances to play in nature, splash in water, get exercise and see wildlife.

Thrift stores like the Salvation Army, MRCI and Again are great places to find blocks, wooden toys and other great goodies for children.

Pet Expo has a wonderful walk-in aquarium that's lit by UV lights, perfect for some live oceanography fun!

This article originally appeared on my web site, A Magical Childhood.