Toys & Games

In Waldorfshop, under Waldorf toys, you will find beautiful wooden toys from well-known brands such as Grimm's, Ostheimer, Fagus and Decor for Waldorf children and Waldorf kindergartens. All toys have been carefully selected and tested for added educational value as well as Waldorf and anthroposophical aspects.

Playing is being brave

To play is to be courageous and to dare new things, to delve into themes and situations, to walk in the vastness of one's own imagination and to become creatively active. The more natural and simple the materials of the play elements are, the more versatile they can be used by the child in its imaginative play. That is why we attach great importance to high quality toys. They leave room for free design and stimulate the child's senses and creativity. Thus, a playhouse or a play stand can be a children's shop one day and transformed into a children's kitchen the next day. Decorated with colourful play cloths, the play stand can also quickly become a playhouse for puppet play.

Pedagogically valuable Waldorf toys at Waldorfshop

Waldorfshop wants to bring joy to children and family with the products and gifts from our online shop! Furthermore, we feel responsible to contribute to the healthy development of babies, toddlers and teenagers as well as to promote unique childhood moments with our range of natural and high-quality toys.

Based on Waldorf education, toys, and especially natural wooden toys, support children's development and strengthen their innate creative skills.
Toys in Waldorfshop are pre-selected, educationally valuable Waldorf toys according to Waldorf educational aspects. Natural, high-quality toys are characterised for us primarily by the materials, which is why we place a great deal of focus on wooden toys and toys made from natural materials. Of course, wooden toys therefore do not always have to be natural-coloured, so we also offer a wide range of colourful wooden toys in many different colours and various shapes. Manufacturers such as Romanswerk or Grimm's are well represented with us.

The most important principle for our assortment development is that the toy should be played with by the child and not play at the child. Only in this way can it accompany children in creative play and leave room for their own creativity.
In our opinion, play materials should be free-flowing in the sense that the occupation with the toy is based on a "sense of play", but this can be expanded and gives the child's imagination room for its own play inventions. As if in passing, the children's motor, social or cognitive skills will also be promoted.

5 tips for educationally valuable toys

1. Toys made of natural materials, such as wooden toys for natural, environmentally conscious play.
2. Natural colours and shapes for your child's sensory care.
3. Eco and organic toys for the child's health and for the sake of the environment.
4. The right toy for the right age of child
5. Free-flowing toys to strengthen your child's imaginative powers

Toys for all age groups

At Waldorfshop we want to offer a range of toys that can accompany the complete development of children. The anthroposophical view of man developed by Rudolf Steiner, with its division of life into seven-year cycles, can provide orientation and support in this respect. We therefore ensure through our allocation to the seven-year cycles that the toys are also age-appropriate. For babies in particular, the toys should be as natural as possible and not overwhelming, but should provide gentle play stimuli. Some articles, such as the Waldorf wooden play stands, also offer the possibility of remaining in the children's room as a piece of furniture over several seven-year cycles due to their wide range of uses, from the shop to the Punch and Judy show.

Wooden toys and eco toys

In addition to the Waldorf aspects, the naturalness and sustainability of the high quality toys play a major role for us. Eco toys are characterised above all by the fact that only natural materials such as wood and organic cotton, i.e. materials made from renewable raw materials, are used in their manufacture. Our ecological wooden toys are mostly made from alder wood treated with organic oils. These include, for example, the handmade wooden animals and wooden figures from Ostheimer and Deco as well as our Waldorf-style dolls from Tannigel made from organic cotton or the handicraft materials from Filges made from certified organic wool. The naturalness makes each toy unique! The colourful paints used are water-based and harmless.

Sustainable toys

We consider longevity and repairability of high-quality wooden toys and eco-toys to be an important criterion for sustainable business. Therefore, for example, our wooden toys are made of solid wood such as alder. Our play furniture, such as the play stand, is made by a small master craftsman's workshop in Poland from organic alder wood. To support this, we therefore also stock repair materials in our Waldorfshop, such as eco-glue or ecological glazes. For us, a toy that meets these criteria is a perfect organic toy that meets our demand for quality. We attach great importance to toys that are made in Germany and Europe.

Wooden toys, selected according to Waldorf pedagogical criteria.

Our children's toys are tested by our team of Waldorf teachers and Waldorf parents and are also classified into year groups to give parents an indication of whether they are already suitable for their child from a Waldorf educational point of view. The Waldorfshop sees itself as a seal of quality for Waldorf families with regard to toys and wooden toys. Ideally, the beautiful wooden toys will enrich the whole family for many years to come. In addition to our own tests, a large proportion of our wooden toys have been awarded the "Spiel Gut" logo.

The phases of children's play

1. Functional play, also called practice play | 1st year of life | sense of touch and sight | wooden building blocks, but also a simple wooden spoon, cloths made of wool, silk or cotton, the beautiful bows from Grimm's wooden toys
2. Construction play | 1st and 2nd year of life | training spatial experience, fine motor skills and frustration tolerance |treasures from nature, such as pine cones in a basket, a set of boxes from Grimm's, felt cords, wooden building blocks, a ball, Kapla bricks
3. Symbol play and imitation play | 2nd and 3rd year of life | development of practical and social skills, connection with the environment | dolls, cuddly toys and accessories
4. Role play | from the age of 3 | awakening and strengthening of imaginative powers, training of language, communication skills and social behaviour, finding identity | doll's house, children's kitchen, shop, etc.
5. Rule play | from years | across generations, integration of the individual, the individual into the community, teaching of values, training of frustration tolerance | parlour games, such as board games, cards etc.

You can find more about children's play in terms of Waldorf education as well as creative inspirations on our social media channels(Instagram, Youtube, Blog) and in our newsletter!