“In childhood, everything was more vivid, the sun brighter,the smell of the fields sharper, the thunder louder, the rain more abundant and the grass taller." Constantin Paustovsky
Kinderhaus
Toys of Williamsburg, VA offers classic toys that come to life by
children using their imaginations. No battery, electronic or computerized
toy can inspire a child to use the creative part of the mind where
thoughts, ideas and images are formed. Nor do we have plastic or media
inspired toys. We offer timeless toys that inspire good old-fashion play,
from both our own Goesel Woodshop Trucks, Boats,
and other unique Wood Toys made locally, to manufacturers from
USA
, Europe, and
UK
.
Kinderhaus Toys’ set of beliefs and basic concepts are the guiding principals by which we support and encourage the respect for childhood and children’s play.
Several
of our traditional toy makers are: HABA Toys & Games; EVI, europlay, Kathe Kruse & Waldorf
Dolls; Sarah's Silks, Stockmar and Mercurius Art Supplies; Waldorf, Rudolf Steiner &
Green Tiger Press Books; Anchor Stone Building Sets & Barclay Unit
Blocks; Ostheimier, Kinderkram,
Holtztiger and Glueckskofer
Wood Toys, and Walter Kraul Science Exploration Kits.
Kinderhaus Toys' philosophy is based on some of the greatest educators of our time. Plato said, “The most effective kind of education is that a child should play amongst lovely things.” Jean Jacques Rousseau was the first to notice there was a stage in life called childhood. Friedrich Froebel invented Kindergarten and the Froebel Gifts & Occupations that inspired Frank Lloyd Wright. Patty Smith Hill wrote the song “Happy Birthday to You” and was a pioneer in the Kindergarten movement in
America
. John Dewey was the father of Progressive Education.
Marietta Johnson was the founder of Organic Education which bases its philosophy on a child’s education developing gradually and naturally, without being forced or contrived. Rudolf Steiner was the Founder of Anthroposophy & Waldorf Education of which many of our product lines embrace. Caroline Pratt, inventor of Unit blocks (better known as building blocks) believed play is the process by which the child’s experience is expressed and organized, and Lucy Sprague Mitchell, the Founder of Bank Street College in
New York City
and author of the “Here and Now” storybook, emphasizing the rhythm, sound and patterns of children’s language.
