Toy Rotation System

It’s been a while since I’ve posted. I have several topics I’d like to update on, but I’ve been distracted, and growing a baby in my belly, and stuff. But this is important: a few weeks ago I decided we were in desperate need of better toy/cleanup policies. I hate stepping on a Barbie shoe or crawling around on my hands and knees cleaning up knex. And I hate even more when my kids are whining/fighting (usually over a toy).

I’m sure most moms have put this little equation together…

too many toys = they all become boring = bored kids = whiney kids = frustrated mom

…and none of us can afford to be frustrated. So I implemented a little toy rotation system now that the kids are older (3, 3, 1.5) and can handle a moderate amount of responsibility. The idea is that they only have access to certain toys, and then they actually play with the toys that are given to them. Here are the general guidelines.

• No toys in their rooms (we’ve always had this rule and it makes bed/nap times at this age much easier). They do have lots and lots of books since reading in bed is ok by us.
• No toys in the living areas accept the toys in the rotation tubs. We keep our rotation tubs on a bookshelf in the family room. They know exactly where they are and the rules (clean one up before getting out a new tub). All non-accessible toys are kept in the guest/toy room.
• I circulate the contents of the tubs every 4 days – week, depending on the interests of the toys. I always do this the night before when they’re asleep.
• Each tub gets one toy. Examples of tubs contents include; stacking cups, Legos, Barbies, etch-a-sketch, etc. Just because the tub is big, does NOT mean it needs to be full.
• I actually went to the extent of cataloguing all of our toys and each one is categorized as either; moving (pull toys, chasing toys, tunnels), building (wooden blocks, connecting tubes, wooden train sets), social (dress up, babies, Mr. Potato Head), or a logic toy (puzzle, game, magnets). I aim for setting out 2 from each category, but that can of course vary. You could also do more or less tubs depending on the number of children and their ages.

We’re two weeks in and it has been magical! They love the responsibility of cleaning up their own toys back in the given tubs, and that the toys are rotated to new things they didn’t even know they had, on a regular basis. It takes me about 10 minutes to set out the toys every few days, and I haven’t cleaned up one toy since starting this new system

Here’s an example of my Toy Rotation list (of our toys). I just print it out and highlight the toys I pick to keep track of the frequency.

I used the Sterilite Storage Box, 12-Pack, 16-Quart for the tubs (without lids), and they work perfect for our bookcase. But any sort of bin/box/tub will work. I do like the see-through ones though, it makes it easier for the kids to see quickly what the options are.

These tubs are meant for “free play,” which is a couple hours per day for my kids (we do daily out-of-the-house activities, art and table activities, and helping mom around the house to occupy other blocks of time).

Busy Activities, Week 5

Sorry this is late, but here are a couple new activities that we had on schedule last week.

Cones: This activity was endless. I picked up two packs of cones from the dollar section at Target (that’s where I get most of the materials for their activities).

We explored different ways to stack the cones.

And made patterns with the cones, of course.

And made obstacles for them to hop, jump, and run around.

We also did hide-n-seek with the cones and by the end they were using the cones to collect their favorite toys. Two year olds love to collect. We got about 2 hours out of this activity, and that’s a winner in my book!

Window Tracing/Drawing: I’m always looking for new mediums to color/draw/trace on. We have some washable window markers, so I figured we could have some fun with tracing through the windows!

On plain paper I made different designs. You could also do letters, number, addition problems… or whatever it is your little one is learning.

Then I hung them from the outside so the kids could trace them from the inside (the opposite would work to on a nice day!).

And then let the monsters loose with the markers. I showed them the concept of tracing on the first couple, and then let them go to town.

They ended up filling in the shapes, but they had fun doing it and that’s the important part!

And my favorite step … give them each a wipe and convince them that cleaning the windows is fun!

Busy Activities, Week 4

We had some amazing weather this week after lots of rain, so we spent most of our “free” time outside. But here are a few of the things we did this week:

Ice coloring: we made ice water colors and had a great time coloring and feeling the ice.

Scarves: Using a container and scarves (can use tissue paper, paper towels, wash cloths, anything), we pulled them out and put them back over and over. They liked stacking them into a neat pile and then cramming as many back in that they could.

Block games: This can be done with any type of blocks, we used the giant foam ones. This activity lasted a long time because there are so many possibilities…

• sort by color/shape
• make the tallest tower
• make patterns by shape/color
• use the blocks to make letters/shapes

Busy Activities, Week 3

Here are a couple new activities we added this week!

Matching shapes using painters tape: I “drew” 4 shapes using painters tape onto the floor. Then using the wooden pieces to a stacking puzzle, the kids took turns announcing the piece they picked and putting it in the correct shape.

We played several rounds and when we were done the kids enjoyed stacking the pieces back onto the puzzle and peeling up the painters tape!

Sorting Buttons by size into jars: I used two peanut butter jars, but any containers (one big and one small) will work. The kids sorted the big buttons into the big jar and little buttons into the little jar.

Busy Activities, Week 2

I slacked on capturing pictures this week, but no time for excuses. Here’s what we were up to.

Grouping Legos by Color: I like to gear activities around what the kids are really into, and that happened to be Legos this week. We grouped Legos by color, little M couldn’t get enough and even after we were done she ran around collecting and stacking more Legos.

Sound Puzzles: More puzzles again this week but we did sound puzzles. When the piece is put in place it makes the sound of the animal.

Stringing Wooden Beads: I tied large buttons at the end of strings and gave them a box of large wooden beads. The options are endless. They can sort shapes, colors, do patterns, etc. I love watching the different stringing techniques too.

Painting with Dot Art: We colored Easter eggs using the dot paint. This was a new way to use the dot paint. Some parts they would “dot” and other areas they would do long brush strokes.

Busy Activities

Sometimes it’s difficult to think of a quick activity on the fly for our busy little toddlers. That’s why a few weeks ago I started planning out some simple weekly “busy activities” and it’s been a real hit around here.

If interested, you can download/modify the blank one here. I take a few minutes Sunday night to get all the activities ready for the week. Having the activities ready to go to sideline a meltdown is priceless.

I’m going to try and capture and then share some of the activities we do at the end of each week.

A few activities we did this week:

I picked up these paintable magnet kits at Joann’s for $1 each. They loved opening and closing the paint capsules, talking about each color they painted, and using the mini paintbrushes (perfect for toddler hands). When we were done we recycled these masterpieces to some relatives.

Playdough: is always a quick crowd-pleaser. Get out all the little tools and fun shapes for them to squish it into.

Sticker Charting: After scoring a 78 pack of Easter stickers in the dollar section at Target, I made simple little charts for them to match similar objects in each column.

Stringing beads on pipe cleaners: I gave them each a handful of beads and a few pipe cleaners. It is interesting to see the different interpretations. This time M wanted precisely 4 beads on each pipe cleaner while C wanted to get as many on as possible. You can also encourage color matching and counting. Great for building fine motor control.

Dot art Activities: This website has some great free worksheets!

Puzzles: This week we did some magnetic puzzles when their uncle was over. They have just as much fun “retrieving” the pieces as they do putting them back.

Magnetic Letters – Site words: In each bowl I put the letters they’d need to make their two site words. Use a cookie sheet and fridge magnets. They did this over and over and were very proud each time.

Cutting & Gluing Practice: I cut out strips for them to cut out (from here). Then they glued the squares onto the paper. Opening and closing of the glue stick was a big hit too. After that they colored their masterpieces.

Aquadoodle: We used our Aquadoodles this week too. It’s great that they can do this on the carpet (or anywhere) and no mess!