Rotating toys...

I was recently reading an article about how to select toys for your children to maximize creativity and minimize spending. The overall message was to select simple toys with fewer buttons, noises and automated parts. Ones that the child has to manipulate rather than push a button and sit by to passively watch the magic happen. Additionally, it was recommended to reduce the number of options your child has at any time, so that they will play with the toys for longer periods and in different ways, rather than getting distracted by something new every few minutes. This made a lot of sense to me, as I see that Andrew rarely plays for any length of time with one toy. I also find that he overlooks toys that are in his play area because they are buried too deep. I decided to try out a toy rotation system like the article described.


We have a fairly small living area on our main floor, and we attempt to contain his toys to this shelf. As you can see it is stuffed to it's limit!

 

I started by removing all of the toys from the shelf and spreading them out on the floor... I couldn't believe how many toys were hiding in this small space! 

I selected a single toy or small group of toys for each cubby/basket on the shelf and organized the remaining toys into small baskets in a large storage tote. For toys with small parts I used fabric drawstring bags. I think that these baskets and bags will make the rotation of toys a much easier process when it's time for a change. 

We were left with a much more manageable number of toys in our play area. Andrew has been having fun playing with overlooked toys and I know he will be excited to see some of his favourites make another appearance in a week or two!