Question
Q – “I am involved in establishing a new setting and my manager has asked me to come up with a list of toys to purchase. The children will be aged 0-4. Is there anyone who has recently done something like this who would be willing to share what they came up with? I would like to establish a setting that encourages child development as much as possible”
Answers
A – “You might want to stand apart from other settings and take an approach similar to the one discussed in this article http://www.earlyyearscareers.com/…/early-years…/ ”
A – “Definitely some wooden blocks….they offer lots of opportunities and are open ended so they can be absolutely anything. We’ve had a stage for a performance, a pirate ship, a fire engine, space ship…the list is endless”
A – “The setting I manage opened in July this year. It was so tricky. As you are planning for children that you don’t have. I went and visited alot of nurseries that were fully established and used ideas from my previous setting and Pinterest. Mainly treasure baskets in the baby room so east to make amd not expensive. A fav has been a wooden mug holder and bangles for hand and eye co-ordination, light natural colours throughout the setting. Small world and open ended resources. I looked at each age range and wrote down areas that develop within the age range ans what resources were needed to promote and support this. As we have grown we have looked at the childrens All about me sheets and planned resources that are of interest to them. Hope this helps and makes sense.”
A – “Role play – wooden things as you can get cheap wooden sets out of Asda, Musical instruments of different kinds – get decent wooden ones from Amazon, Treasure baskets – natural out door items you can collect, Building blocks – will get these out a catalogue, The wooden ones but aren’t cheap, Ikea kalax, wooden tables, Keep room natural and not too busy on the eyes & brain, Arts & crafts – paint easel/chalk board, sand/water trays, paint brushes, stampers, Puzzles & literacy things – note pads, white boards & pens, Technology – cameras etc, Open ended TOYS & fidget basket, Outdoor toys – bikes, helmets, scooters, crates, tyres, mud kitchen,”
A – “Lots of happyland, cars and garages, wooden trikes, bikes with pedals, easel, sand and separate water trays, mud kitchen; wooden bowls and spoons, tuff spots, threading fruits, role play area, teething toys, musical instruments, dolls, drills/tools, dress up clothes, trampoline, building blocks large and small, inset boards, jigsaws, train sets, roadways, animal sets, playmobil, Duplo sets, soundtrack CD, scissors, lots of crafts, books, tunnels, heuristic recourses (get parents to help), tents, soft play, ball pits, see saws, shape sorters, ICT toys including old phones and keyboards, sensory toys, light toys, lots of footballs, hoops, trucks..”
A – “Specify different areas first then toys to go in each. Building – wooden bricks /duplo / megabloks, Home corner: play kitchen pots pans dress up clothes and so on”
A – “I did this in January this year. One tip I’d give is to use TTS. They send out a rep to meet you and give you 20% off on your first purchase, not to be sniffed at when you are buying so much!”
A – “Water and sand trays, mud kitchen, role play, kitchen, shop, dressing up, bikes scooters, giant chalk easels community blocks, cars, car mat, dolls and accessories”
A – “Painting table/easel, aprons, floorplay trays, dolls, role play kitchen things, plastic tools and builders kit”
A – “Look up early excellence centre – shows what an ‘ideal’ room has for each age group breaking down into areas”
A – “Are you near the Early Excellence Centre in Huddersfield? Fantastic layout. They are on FB and have photos.”
A – “This site is so helpful with all the tips and ideas, thank you from a soon to be manager”
A – “Musical instruments CD player headphones cd rhymes songs …..”
A – “TTS Has a start up package”
A – “Heuristic items for the babies”
A – “Have a look at Melissa and Doug they have a lot of lovely wooden toys not too expensive. Lots for your heuristic play is essential plenty of stones pebbles pine cones ribbons etc. Don’t forget tactile soft area and a well stocked library. I’ve had experience of setting up 2 different nurseries now best advice is set things up enough to get you started it doesn’t have to be perfect, you will move furniture and resources as you see how it flows when in use. It also allows you to add to it to meet the children’s needs. Have 2 lists one for essentials ie chopping boards, first aid kit, glooves, aprons. Then have your wish list of toys equipment etc. Then go back over it and reevaluate it. Good luck”
A – “Reading chairs and cushions for a reading corner , shelf, books, Sensory items like lava lamps – touchy feel things, Sand pit and water table, Animal farm, Dolls house, Train set, Kitchen area, Seating area, Blocks (Wooden always best and lasts longer) Kids always love a massive boat or ship or tree house is well, Prams, Dolls, Dress up section, Musical items, Beads items for encouraging things like counting. And before that shapes. And before that feeling the different things, Soft play area, A plant, Craft section, Painting / drawing sections, Puppets, Really just think about what the kids would like. Use and learn from.”