We just bought our 8yo the American Boys’ Handy Book by Daniel Beard. It is full of boy-ish stuff, like potato cannons, traps for birds and rodents, kite-making, various fishing apparatuses, and more. He has only had it for a few days and is reading it every night before bed. He and Daddy made a kite on Sunday afternoon.
We also have several Melissa & Doug stamp kits. He has one with dinosaurs and horses and enjoys both on a lazy afternoon. I mentioned Playmobil toys on another thread. My ds also likes to carve soap with his Swiss Army pocket knife. We have a small tent that can be set up in the house for hours of pretend camping/pretend disaster survival. For some reason my children love to gather stuffed animals, blankets, and pillows and pretend to survive through tornados, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. Too many episodes of Raging Planet, perhaps??
We also have an empty room with wood floors that doubles as a play room/family play space. We love to turn music up really loud and have dance parties.
Just some ideas to get you started,
Lindsey
