How do you have yours set out?

[Stillgoingstrong]

Do you have things all in separate areas like a home corner, dressing up corner, puzzles in one box, reading area, age appropriate all together in separate storage or are you like me and end up with everything everywhere? What does the inspector like to see??? I have run out of space and want to do a radical reorganise but want to do it properly this time but seem to have lost track along the way of what is actually expected????:panic: Any ideas/help would be great please as I am rubbish at organisation:blush:

[mama2three]

If I had the space ( or a playroom!) I would love seperate areas , but tbh that can limit play as they are less likely to improvise and mix things in.
With limited space I find the best I can do is have a 'soft' area in which most of the baby/toddler toys , and cushions / reading / quiet time are - and the rest of the room given over to various activities .

Everything was very much mixed in when I had my inspection - there were no littlies that day and the soft area had become a big space den...but everything else was just spread around the lounge.

[rachelle]

I have boxes of specific toys on open shelves in kitchen/diner (this doubles as play room with garden access) - so trainset box, marlble run box, food box, popoids, music box etc etc and then other side of the play area I have car mat with car box, dressing up pop up thing and a huge trug with toddler toys.

Front room is building toys -trug of mega blocks, box wooden bricks and what is known here as a muddle up box, which is a box of assorted toys and bits that don't fit into other boxes! Baskets of books go between the 2! Tunnels etc are under sofas! I don't have a role play corner as such but will set up a camp or den if children ask...

[PixiePetal]

I think it is unrealistic for some of us to have a home corner etc - these are our homes not nurseries.

I have a small playroom so consider myself lucky as I don't have toys in my sitting room - this is even more important to my family, my kids are teens and really have had enough of the 'baby' toys!

To be able to use the playroom to play in, I can't have it all set out in areas. I have a low table where I set up puzzles/colouring/stickers, a play cooker, dolls house,garage,bookcase etc but the bits that go with them are in labelled boxes stacked out of the way and I get out a selection each day. Puzzles etc are kept in a floor to ceiling built in cupboard - I just leave the doors open to choose.

Kids are welcome to choose anything I have but as I mostly care for under 3's (or under 2s as it is now) usually put out what I think they would like or something to practice a certain area of their development.

Not saying I am right at all but it has to fit with me and my house and family first, mindees and parents are impressed I even have a playroom :)

[singingcactus]

To be honest, I can't see that anyone will ever get the perfect layout that will continue to work indefinitely. As the kids grow and develop, the layout you had last month will no longer be appropriate, then as you add new kids into the mix and lose existing ones all the needs and priorities of the setting will change too.
I used to stress that none of my layout worked for long, then I realised that it was because the settings needs changed almost daily. So I gave up trying to find that magical layout and now I just reassess every month and change what needs to be changed to work for my family and kids needs there and then.

[mama2three]

To be honest, I can't see that anyone will ever get the perfect layout that will continue to work indefinitely. As the kids grow and develop, the layout you had last month will no longer be appropriate, then as you add new kids into the mix and lose existing ones all the needs and priorities of the setting will change too.
I used to stress that none of my layout worked for long, then I realised that it was because the settings needs changed almost daily. So I gave up trying to find that magical layout and now I just reassess every month and change what needs to be changed to work for my family and kids needs there and then.

My inspector actually said something very similar. The bonus of not having a playroom which can be left 'set up' is that everyday I have to decide what to put out and how ..which means the childrens needs are always taken into account and being met.
Im forever trying to get more organised with my resources though , feel like Im fighting a losing battle!

[sarah707]

I am lucky enough to have a conservatory for a playroom.

This means I can have some 'spaces' or 'zones' as they are called in Early Years speak.

I have paper, writing stuff and things like stencils near a table which is always in the same corner. I reassess contents of the resource boxes regularly.

I have a little area for a den and children use that in very different ways depending on who is here.

I have a story telling cushion next to a sofa which children use for curling up when they are reading. It's not for climbing on or jumping around, it's for telling stories and they are very respectful of that.

Then there is the floor space which is for free play and the children use it in lots of different ways.

I use the front room for meals, sleeping children and occasional TV time so that's my quiet zone I suppose.

Things change when new children arrive and prefer to spend time in different places so it is a constant ebb and flow but that's good, it keeps me on my toes :D