“Mommy, why do stars twinkle? Daddy, why do fingers look funny in a bathtub? Mommy, why do we need to go to bed? Daddy, why?…Why?..” Do you have a “why-attack” in your home? I love those questions. I think it exposes kids curiosity. I think it shows is their thirst for knowledge. I think it is fun to learn about things, I haven’t even thought of myself! And I think that by answering them, we show our kids how much we respect them, their desire to learn, how much we encourage getting to know about this world.
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My son absolutely loves using “adult” real equipment: instruments, kitchen utensils, office supplies, even my makeup brushes. Anything that I use myself. Many of those tools can actually do a great job developing his small motor skills, so I love finding a chance for him to use it. I even set up a shelf in my kitchen closet filled with his own “adult” tools: a little water pitcher, salad tongs, spoons, dough roller, bowls and cups of different sizes. He loves it!!! Montessori-style, I also added a tray and a little mat to place underneath his tools, to avoid slippery surface. 
A completely revolutionary toy has been developed by David Merrill, a grad student from MIT: little cookie sized blocks, that you can stack, shuffle, switch around, play as they allow you to interact with words, numbers, objects or even musical instruments.These blocks are actually tiny computers that constantly aware of each other’s presence, so as you put the numbers in a line – the last block would display you their sum. If you take some Siftables that are configured as paint cans -you can pretend to pour paint from block to another, creating new mixtures of colors. If you take Siftables with letters and make words with it, they’ll actually read a word for you. Or if may be you want to create music with them… or even a fun story! Absolutely remarkable. I wish I could play with it!