I was so excited to stop by the Vision Forum the other day and check out their new book series–Drums of War. Why? Because I have boys and boys love adventure! And as a busy, but intentional parent, if I can add history, patriotic values, faith, morality and character to their love of adventure…well, what else can a parent ask for?

Which got me thinking about what else we fill our boys time with. Since it’s Tuesday, here’s our favorite top 10 toys for young boys (in no particular order).

• Architectural Blocks. These are better than those old letter blocks and they’re much cooler than Legos. Yes, they’re a bit expensive–and size does matter with these. I’ve seen some less expensive sets, but the blocks were much smaller. You want the big ones! This is the set we bought when the Ladybug was 2 and it’s been worth every penny–the box alone is worth half that! {smile} But I had no idea there were so many styles! How cool are these middle eastern blocks?

• Stick Horses. (Or stick-dragons, as the case may be!). These have just brought us hours and hours of fun. The best $14 we ever spent!

• Adventure Books. Besides those the new Drums of War series we want to check out, our boys love The Jungle Book (Did you know that the “book” is actually an accumulation of short stories? Perfect for boys!), The Swiss Family Robinson, The Black Stallion, and Where the Red Fern Grows. And we’re starting the Viking Quest Series soon–book one just landed on our coffee table!
• Binoculars and Backpacks. Throw in an apple and a bottle of water and you’ve got an all day adventure on your hands. I’ve got my eye on a couple of these survival bracelets too. And I know pocket knives are just around the corner…{sigh}.

• Guns or Swords. Maybe I should say guns and swords. I’ll be honest, this one took a while for me to come around too–but they are going to play weapons one way or another. It’s just the nature of boys. At least if you embrace it, then you can direct and supervise it. We have rifles, shotguns, light sabres, the sword of Thor, and various projectile Captain America toys. Believe me, it’s imaginative.
• Erector sets. Legos are fun, but Mr. Fix-It introduced us to Erectors and they are way more fun. I mean, some of them even have motors! (Speedracer got Tipper the Truck for his birthday and loves it!)

• Schleich animals. These things are indestructible! They’re solid so they’re dishwasher safe if they take them outside and they don’t get moldy water in them if they go in the bath. We’ve even had a few that survived the lawn mower. They have just about every imaginable animal in exquisite detail (for a toy), and now Speedracer is into the knights and horses and dragons. And their philosophy statement says “… we pay careful attention to their character and the message they carry. Educational aspects play a more important part than possible sales potential.” That’s a company I agree with!
• Adventure Movies. I love the old Disney movies for our boys. They’re full of faith, family, and fun (whatever happened there anyway?) Swiss Family Robinson, Old Yeller and Savage Sam, and Davey Crockett. For more modern movies, we also like Far From Home–Adventures of Yellow Dog, Eight Below, and Iron Will. Yes, they watch Transformers (only #1) and Captain America and some others, but I don’t consider them of the same value. These are the ones we hunt the bargain bins for!

• Pretend props. Who says boys don’t play dress up? Ok, our boys definitely don’t wear dresses. Ever. But they love costume props. We just call it playing “pretend.” Our “pretend” tub includes Cowboy hats, Army hats, bandanas, super hero capes, Sheriff badges, fringed vests, walkie-talkies, and Optimus Prime of course.
• Unmowed spaces. Seriously. Boys need natural places to play. Away from the playsets and manicured lawns. They need tall grasses, fallen logs, and trees to hide behind. They need dirt piles to climb, acorns to fill their pockets, water to ruin their shoes, and deer prints to “track.” They need places that spark their imaginations on to great adventures.

I’ll never forget the Thanksgiving when we took an evening walk as a family and all the sudden the Cowboy ran forward and threw himself down on the ground behind a tall clump of grass and started using his finger as a gun to shoot “them.” As he started army-crawling and rolling from clump to clump, I didn’t know if  I was more astonished by the fact that he actually blended in with his little camo hoodie and I lost sight of him–or the fact that I suddenly had a little soldier on my hands.I think boys just have a natural inclination to all things rough and tough. You can’t teach them to control and direct it, unless you let them express it while they’re under your supervision and care.

I’m linking up over at Many Little Blessings for Top 10 Tuesday today!