Open ended play bins

[Dreamalittledream]

So, on the topic of open ended play bins (my age group is 9 months and up to 4, one concern being safety of the objects for the little crawlers/mouthers) ...here's what I have so far:**Wooden blocks, ribbons, big huge foam building blocks, scarves,* mini bowls/cups & measuring spoons...any other ideas?

[bright sparks]

How about balls, especially sensory balls and you can even get smaller sensory balls with flashing lights in them. My kids love the ball bin. I just teach them to roll inside and keep the throwing for outside so no-one gets hurt and nothing gets broken. I also have pop-onz and musical instruments. They would all be suitable for the kids in your age group.

[playfelt]

With that wide an age span you would do well to separate your room so that the mouthers and crawlers are limited only to the toys it is safe to do that with. No one wants to reach into a bin of duplo and find a soggy mouthed toy. The babies will knock over towers, move the parked cars and disrupt the imaginative play of the older kids. It isn't their fault but that is just what babies do. And it isn't fair to the older kids to always have to make allowances. If the big kids have an area sectioned off where they are free to use the big kid toys that babies aren't allowed to go is another idea.

Open ended is fine but you also need to have some designing elements to inspire the play. Scarves are just scarves but if you add music they dance. Blocks are just blocks but if you ad a few people figures the blocks become boats and houses and barns for animals. Some playfood in the kitchen, bin of small stuffed animals that can double as story telling figures. An assortment of plastic containers or boxes that can be stacked or nested. Mine love the pile of empty yogurt tubs.

[Dreamalittledream]

With that wide an age span you would do well to separate your room so that the mouthers and crawlers are limited only to the toys it is safe to do that with. No one wants to reach into a bin of duplo and find a soggy mouthed toy. The babies will knock over towers, move the parked cars and disrupt the imaginative play of the older kids. It isn't their fault but that is just what babies do. And it isn't fair to the older kids to always have to make allowances. If the big kids have an area sectioned off where they are free to use the big kid toys that babies aren't allowed to go is another idea.

Open ended is fine but you also need to have some designing elements to inspire the play. Scarves are just scarves but if you add music they dance. Blocks are just blocks but if you ad a few people figures the blocks become boats and houses and barns for animals. Some playfood in the kitchen, bin of small stuffed animals that can double as story telling figures. An assortment of plastic containers or boxes that can be stacked or nested. Mine love the pile of empty yogurt tubs. Great idea; I have lots of little people & animals! Babies (or, in my case, 1 little one) into everything...that is my challenge. The older ones will be mid-activity & guaranteed my 18 month old DCG is pulling it apart or taking the things...I am constantly redirecting this child. Blocks, magnets, puzzle pieces are everywhere, because she picks one thing, wanders with it (doesn't even play with it) and throws it down. I now have most things with pieces up (I pull down an activity at a time for a child to play) because of this one child. So, I really don't see how I can possibly restrict access to this one very persistent child (who can really wail like a banchee may I add;)). Fortunately my team are excellent cleaner uppers, so it all gets picked up & reorganized at tidy time...so, I try to relax a little on everything everywhere.

[Momof4]

I'm sorry, but don't scarves and ribbons worry you? I'm a safety freak, but I'm sure you have everything in a safe place. I use things like this with our musical instruments for dancing too but then put them away.

We have a buggy full of baby dolls, a shopping cart full of dishes with a large kitchenette, balls, blocks, tons of books of course, construction equipment with little men, a big garbage truck, a million little cars and a parking garage, tambourines, drums, maraccas, xylophone, stand up piano, walker toy, and this is all just off the top of my head. There is so much more.

I have a variety of ages and when a baby starts I just keep repeating 'not in your mouth' over and over until I want to scream, but they learn. I agree also that the pick up and dump of toy after toy after toy is so annoying, but they learn not to do that in time too. We have a little clean up song that we sing since we have to clean up before naptime and at the end of the day. It's amazing how young they are when they learn how it works.

[Inspired by Reggio]

Yup some of our favorite open ended materials are:

Scarves in silk, satin, gossamer and other fun glitter shiny sensations and various pieces of fabric in different textures, patterns and colors ... these get used for creative movement, for 'dress up' and fort decoration and sometimes just for snuggling up with while they read a book.

Sea shells, river rocks, pine cones, stick collection ... these make awesome 'patterning and mosaic' for play and get used for food in dramatic play and other props in role play.

Gemstone collection in a lazy Susan tray ... those glass gems meant for vases the kids love to sit at the table and create designs and pictures with the stones

The 'electronics' bin .... various old cameras, cellphones, cordless phones, binoculars for adding to play

The paper clip bin ... various sizes and styles of paper clips and I created a 'grid' for them over the opening in the bin with gimp to hang and weave with the clips

The marble bin .... 2000 marbles in an under the bed storage container (long and deep) with only METAL implements to explore with - tongs, spoons, silver tea tray and cups ... noisy as hell but they LOVE that bin one because it is noisy and two because you have to be 'big enough' to earn the right to play with it so it is that right of passage to get to play there ;)

Weaving and lacing bin - have one for two age groups mouthers and non mouthers ... so the mouthers get pipe cleaners and larger beads, buttons and things that will go on the pipe cleaners and the non mouthers have a similar bin but with smaller 'treasures' and lengths of gimp and ribbon and so forth.

Also have collections of pom poms, buttons, poker chips, bingo chips, play doh lids, marker lids from dried up markers and other well 'bits and bob' type treasures that they can explore either on their own sorting , on the light table, use in creative art or 3D creations and so forth.

To be honest MOST of my materials and collections are things from 'real life' collected at garage sales, second hand stores and from clients .... and these are played with far more than 'toys' from Toys R Us or Walmart!

[Dreamalittledream]

To be honest MOST of my materials and collections are things from 'real life' collected at garage sales, second hand stores and from clients .... and these are played with far more than 'toys' from Toys R Us or Walmart! Oh I so agree! I have been able to sell off most of my battery operated/1use only/rarely played with toys (can't talk them out of the power tools; they love those!) and been able to reinvest that money in the larger base structures they all love to have inside & out. If I could have advised myself back then when I was buying for the daycare (or my own kids for that matter) I would have spent way less (if at all) buying things at retail$...and look in my own kitchen cupboard junk drawer;)

[playfelt]

What is hard is having to justify to parents that that "junk" is really toys as they just don't get it. So up on my shelves I have all these "toys" from when my own kids were little and put a few down each day just in case but mostly they play with the stuff that is somewhat hidden from view during interviews or with things I have made for them. I like that a lot of what I provide is different than at home so it keeps them engaged just from that alone. My kids are young so their imaginations are just developing meaning they don't have the same ability to envision and pretend. When there is an older child in care doing that they will dutifully play along but when they are the oldest almost everything is for the sensory value more so than the pretend value - meaning a bin of scarves and fabric is just a bin of textured fabrics which is still ok just doesn't look sometimes like they are playing and learning even when they are.