boxes, tubs but no toys!

[mushpea]

has anyone taken all their toys out and just had boxes in?
next week I intend on emptying the playroom of all toys then providing just empty cardboard boxs of all shapes and sizes, empty bottles of all shapes and sizes and lots of small pots like yoghut pots.
I thought it would be interesting to see how the children play with these things, if it dosent go well at first I thought I could bring in the small world people to add to this .
has anyone done this before? was it a success or a flop?

[silvermist]

Hiya, I havent done it as a childminder but we did it when I worked in a primary school and it was brilliant. We left some material out too, old sheets etc...the los made a volcano by stacking the boxes up and covering them with the sheet. Then they got some marker pens and drew fire and lava on the top! This was done with children in reception year 1 class! It was amazing to watch them getting creative! Good luck, let us know how it goes!:thumbsup:

[AliceK]

I haven't taken the toys away but when I had toys in plastic boxes the children would rather tip the toys out and spend hours playing with the empty boxes, sitting in them, pushing each other around in them etc. I have also given them a HUGE empty cardboard box which again they spent ages crawling in and out of. The older children drew on it and cut windows etc out.
Good luck, I think it will go down well :thumbsup:

xxxx

[butterfly]

This sounds like my sort of thing!! I'd be interested to hear what happens! How old are your mindees?

[singingcactus]

On a friday we always used to put our toys away and have out only heuristic resources. Haven't done it in a while, but will get back to it at some point. It always goes well when I do it, with whatever kids I have.
I wouldn't do it full time though, kids need a variety of play experiences, and whilst heuristic play has it's place, it is not good to rely on it to the exclusion of all others.
But have fun. :)

[butterfly]

On a friday we always used to put our toys away and have out only heuristic resources. Haven't done it in a while, but will get back to it at some point. It always goes well when I do it, with whatever kids I have.
I wouldn't do it full time though, kids need a variety of play experiences, and whilst heuristic play has it's place, it is not good to rely on it to the exclusion of all others.
But have fun. :)

My PhD is about exactly this point! I'm investigating whether a child can have a completely 'rounded' experience with entirely open-ended resources. Check out my journey at www.playnaturally.co.uk !

[mushpea]

This sounds like my sort of thing!! I'd be interested to hear what happens! How old are your mindees?

they are 4yrs, 2yrs, 3.5yrs and 9 months, they come on different days , I thought it would be quite interesting to see what they make of it and as they run out of ideas i will introduce more things like small world people, animals etc and when the interest goes all together I will chuck the boxes and bring in the toys,, was gonna do it just for next week as its only a 4 day week.

[Little Pickles]

A couple of years ago after christmas I had loads of different sized boxes in the garage , I got them all out in the playroom and the kids had a wonderful time building towers and exploring the boxes while they were having a snack I hid different things in the boxes and the kids had such fun ! :clapping:

[Cammie Doodle]

Brill idea, you will get some fantastic obs done sit back and watch :)

[Rubybubbles]

I wondered what your photo post was about:thumbsup:

TBH my last few weeks of childminding have been just this, not by me removing toys though, I put up a few large boxes and the children loved them, made castles, baby beds and cots, vets ect! (they were 4 and 3)


Hope they have fun, don't stress about your boxes getting squashed haha