I've put toys away!!!!!!!!!!!

[ziggy]

I'm being a big bad grumpy childminder today

I have 2 two year olds every morning, as well as a 1 yr old one morning and a 4yr old at playgroup. 2 of the children stay till 5pm.

I've just moved house and have a playroom, as well as a bedroom just for the mindees. Every day children just tip all toys out of boxes then just stand on toys, roll about on floor etc etc but dont actually play with anything.

So, after lunch we put all toys back in correct boxes and have stored them in bedroom, children loved this activity

I have left out soft toys, basket of baby toys and big box of books as well as wooden kitchen. There are 4 boxes of little people, happyland people n vehicles, musical instruments and peppa pig toys as well as small selection of dinosaurs on shelving unit in playroom, everything else is in bedroom.

my idea is for children to choose what they would like each morning/afternoon instead of every thing being all over the floor.

We go out 3 mornings a week to toddler group, soft play and swimming.

Does anyone else limit toys in playroom?

[DickDock]

I do with serial tippers and walk-awayers. They get a small basket of toys or a small selection and when they are finished they get to put it away afterwards. My now three year old minded child has got the hang of it now and one of the two year olds.

[watgem]

I have 2 serial tippers so will be trying this next weekthank you for the idea

[sarah707]

Yes if children just tip and trample then I spend as long as necessary teaching them how to play with limited resources until they get the hang of keeping the floor safe and actually playing with the toys!

I think part of the problem is that they don't know how to play... well done you! It sounds like you have made a good move

[green4lynn]

I keep the majority of toys in my garage as my own girls are 12 and 18. I get out different stuff depending on which children are here and what their interests are! Sometimes its like having new toys as they've forgotten about some things that we've not played with for a while! I hate it when they just tip everything out without actually playing with any of it! The kids definitely benefit from having less stuff out, and it makes my life easier too!

x

[Maza]

I also did this today! My little whirlwind, as I call him, walked straight to the toy corner and and I saw his hand reach out and I just thought, no, I can't have that today! I moved everything to DD's bedroom and gave him a balloon on a string and he had a fantastic time. I now have a tidy lounge and didn't have to spend my evening picking up all the random toys. I will put them back on Monday but DD is having a party here on Thursday and so I was planning on taking the toys out of the lounge for then anyway. It was nice being able to breathe in my living room!

[jadavi]

Do remember that balloons can be fatal for children as they can inhale them if they suck them or try to blow them up after they've popped or before they're blown up. The plastic gets wrapped around the windpipe and can't be easily removed.
I'm afraid Im one of those busy bodies who freaks out at kids discos with popped balloons everywhere running around clearing them all away.
It Always amazes me how many people don't know this though. Same danger as babies inhaling nappy bags.
Hope you don't mind me hijacking your thread with a safety warning!

[amanda1309]

All my toys are boxed up in the garage. I go out on a Monday morning and bring in 2-3 boxes of toys and that's it for the week. Some may say its mean but it does mean that what's out does get played with properly.
They can still tip if they want to but it does make tidying away easier.

[RuthJ]

Sounds good to me! Hooray for organised chaos

[TraceyC]

Yes Yes Yes!! I am a new childminder and initially I thought it would look great for my pre reg inspection to prove I had as many toys as possible. Like you I got fed up with the children getting it all out and mixing all the small pieces up. I look after a 18 month old two days, a 9 month old 2 days and a 6 month old one day. I also have two children 5 and 6 after school 2 times a week. My own children are 5, 4 and 22 months.

A pre school wouldn't have free access to everything, so like you I have moved alot of stuff upstairs and the older children are allowed to chose what they would like to play with and just before they go home, we have a tidy up session. All toys are boxed and labelled apart from the very big things. For the babies and toddlers, we mostly stick to happyland stuff (which has the playmat and more importantly storage box), wow toys, soft toys and buggys and prams. If I start a craft activitiy, most of the toys are put away. This saves me having to spend 2 hours after everyone has gone home at 6 o'clock getting everything ready for the next day. Also we try and get out to toddler groups as much as possible and do lots of messsy play there. The snow has hindered that this week and we have been stuck in!!! x

[Maza]

I did this at the end of November and am loving it! I still get a shock when my living room is almost tidy at the end of each day! The older ones are great at asking for things that they haven't seen for a while and with the babies, I just observe them and see what new skills/concepts they are currently exploring and get out resources accordingly. I also rotate general toys but am now very strict - if I'm getting something out of storage then something has to immediately be packed away into storage to make space for it, otherwise, before you know it everything is out again! We're pretty much due a big rotation right now and I must say, even I am gettting excited about some of the toys we have not seen for a while!

Jadavi - I'm also paranoid about balloons and most things! He was completely supervised the whole time. My other big bugbear are those boiled sweet type lollipops. I have changed hairdressers because they always used to give DD one while she waited. Maybe I should have told them my concerns for the sake of other children. x

[hectors house]

We converted 2/3 of the garage to a playroom/toy storage area but there wasn't enough floor space left for children to play in it, so is just a storage room at the moment.

I have photos of the toy boxes and resources, the children choose from the photos each day and stick them on a "what shall we play with today" - I get all the toy boxes in and if they then don't want to play with them, I just tell them thats what you chose, think more carefully tomorrow.

I do try to guide them a little on choice and make sure they have at least one craft activity eg: colouring, painting, playdough, cooking (if I don't want to do cooking - I hide the card so they can't choose it)! Also I try to have out a construction option - wooden bricks, stickle bricks, construction straws, duplo each day too and we always have our bag of library books.

I do try to get the children to help tidy up throughout the day - if they want me to read a story, or play a board game I just say "lets tidy up a bit first" and give each child something different to pick up - cars, bricks, etc

[SandCastles]

I'm in the process of putting toys away and donating duplicates to charity or our local primary schools breakfast club. My aim is to give the lo the gift of more floor space to actually play!! and a cosy corner for reading/quiet time.
I'm seriously looking at buying a shed to store indoor toys to help achieve this but they seem expensive.
I used to boast about having more toys than toys r us !! But now realise how my hoarding is effecting my day as I'm forever tidying up.
Sounds like you've done the right thing