sarahb1985
27-05-2013, 09:35 PM
I would quite happily clear out every toy/activity I have and start again! I feel I have too many unnecessary toys and not enough play resources. I find myself planning loads of outdoor activities to avoid thinking about the rubbish toys we have on my lovely storage shelves and units! Can anyone give me ideas on what resources are really useful and fun? I have no idea where to start. I like the little people/small world toys but the children don't seem to like them. I have a garage and lots of dolls with clothes, bath, bottles etc but no one plays with those either! I have ride ons which are very popular but I seem to be covering lots of physical activity and not much of any other area! Even the books I have aren't very popular and I have so many! I'm thinking I need to plan better but I need resources first! Only became registered in March and only look after one 17 month old 2 days a week and so far we've spent most of the days at the park/picnics/days out so would love some ideas to have fun inside! I also need multicultural/inclusion toys and have no idea where to start!
Mouse
27-05-2013, 10:06 PM
Perhaps move away from toys and more towards open ended resources that have no fixed play attached to them.
Have you got a treasure basket? All my mindees love ours. They sometimes sit and look through it, but most of the time they just take the things out of it to use in other games. Eg. the shells and for cones are used for play cooking.
They also like homemade resources from every day items. A big favourite is the wooden mug tree with a basket of bangles for them to hang on the 'branches'. They also like the shaker bottles made from empty water bottles and filled with beads, buttons, glitter, sequins etc. Last year I made coloured themed bottles and put a matching glow stick in each one. They loved those.
Paint bags are another fun activity. Put hair gel, paint, glitter etc in a zip topped clear food bag and squidge it around. Lots of messy play, but without the mess! You can even chill them for a cold feel, or heat them slightly for a warmer feel.
I would say give children familiar items - wooden & metal spoons, pieces of fabric, kitchen roll tubes, bags, boxes etc and let them play as they want :thumbsup: