Hello there! We are fully relishing our winter break around here – there have been a lot of pajama days! While the girls are enjoying all their new goodies, I have been busy sorting, rearranging, and tidying toys, clothes, art supplies, etc. It always feels so good to freshen things up.
I tend to rotate the toys from the closet to the more visible shelves in the playroom and back again. It’s amazing how fun something is when you haven’t played with it for a month. Still, I notice the girls often playing with the same toys and forgetting about lots of other treasures around the house. I decided to basically take inventory, and write down all our toys (and some lesser-used art supplies) on cut-up index cards. I’m calling them Idea Cards.
I put all the cards in a bucket. When the girls are looking for something to do, or when I hear more squabbling than playing, they can choose a card from the bucket.
Even better, they can choose 2 cards and then come up with a way to play with those 2 items together. I think they will love the challenge of finding new ways to explore their toys. Wood blocks + playdough? Playsilks and puzzles? Such fun! :)
I’d love to hear your ideas on managing toys and making them accessible for your kiddos, too.
One of the Idea Cards in our bucket is our Junk Box. It’s a great go-to place for sparking creativity, plus I have a place to put all those cardboard rolls and plastic lids. You can read more about what I put in our Junk Box over at Blissful Kids today!
Happy Playing!
I actually JUST did this today but probably reorganize once a week. I’m always trying to make things work better. My biggest thing is that I have play stations set up. For example, I have a baby doll corner, art station, music toys, fabric toys, puzzle station, block station,balls, dress up, puppets, and ect. I have all of her kitchen items together. I do not allow loose pieces to just be thrown in a toybox for the most part and all parts are kept together. My daughter is 2.5 and always keeps her toys together and we haven’t lost any I believe because I instilled this early on. Her pretty wooden Montessori and Waldorf style toys are all out of shelves. I do admit that she does have quite a few plastic toys because of gifts from relatives and I keep them in a bin. She is allowed a couple of these out a week and they are rotated. I have another bin that I call the “junk bin” that are various odds and ends that she enjoys on a rainy day. I have two more bins that are all the learning toys for when we have “school” such as artist cards I’ve made her. It works for us. I have a post about playroom organization on my blog somewhere…
we do this regularly, great idea for the littles especially!! Happy New Year!
What a fun idea!! I am going to have to try this. It is wonderful how toys and games that get lost in the back of cubbies then seem new again months later.
what an awesome idea, sometimes we forget what toys we have to play with, this is a good idea to remember them all, thanks
I love your site. Especially your Idea Cards. You have some really cute projects here. I’ll visit again : )
I love this so much!1 I’m going to do it right now!!
I like the idea a lot. I will definatly have to try it at home.
What a great idea!! FUN!
I love this idea! We are trying to reorganize our toys and make room for the new Christmas presents, and this would be great to get older toys back into rotation!
I love this idea. I might just put this to use at our school too. Thanks.
Good thinking. My mom needed this idea back in the day when we would often tell her, “There’s nothing to do.” Her solution was to give us chores to do. Ha! I think we would have liked this option better!
Love your blog. I’ll be sure to stop by again!
What a great idea. I finally did this over the weekend. My 4-year-old is always saying she doesn’t know what to do and has a hard time playing independently, but after introducing her to the idea cards she took it upon herself to pick a card (tea party) and then played on her own with all her stuffed animal friends having a very fun tea party which she later reported was the most fun tea party she has had. I’m hoping that this enthusiasm will continue witht he idea cards as a new baby will be joining the family in April and when I am busy with the baby I hope I can lead her to the idea bucket for some independent fun.
Can you send me a list of all the ideas that you have included in your idea bucket?
Great idea! I have done something somehow similar with books, which tend to be forgotten in bookshelves: I will pull one or two out and leave them on the table… where it will be picked up and read soon enough. Will be copying your idea this weekend, thanks!