Daycare Room equipmetn Wish List....

[Inspired by Reggio]

My dream space would have had a seperate entrance to the daycare and a kitchenette downstairs so 'everything' was contained - but that did not happen

For the 'room' my staples are:

Child size cubbies for their belongings and boots/shoes ... that they can access them to get dressed and so forth and parents know where to go for 'dirty clothes / art / etc". Fortunately my spouse made mine for a fraction of what Quality Classrooms charge and we stained and painted them the same color to 'blend' into the wall so they are not too much of an eye sore in our foyer!

Childsize table and chairs for both meal time and for creative art / sensory time ... this was the best investment I ever made because being able to be independent at these times of day helps...instead of highchairs I bought booster seats that FIT onto the child size chairs so that the kids are all at the same height for meal time - infants love this!

Dramatic play / kitchen area - well stocked with materials that promote role playing and dress up in a variety of 'real life ways' ... I want to upgrade to a nice natural wooden one but cannot find one so might have to DYI what I want cause I needed a 'corner style' one for where I want to keep it

Quality set of wooden blocks for a block corner and accessories that promote imaginative building and creating including ramps and gully style blocks to create 'rolling structures' ... my kids will play for hours here!!!

Book Nook .... if I had the space I would me a loft style one where the book nook is up top with a nice place to curl up and it could be a place away from 'babies' if needed be for older ids and under neath could be the 'dark cave' with the light table under it and flashlights and things that glow and make 'magic reflections' and on the side of one of it a 'puppet / felt board' area for literacy ... we had one of these custom made in a centre I worked at and it was AWESOME!!!!

A Light table is a must ... again you can make a DYI for cheaper than Quality Classrooms

Quality musical instruments for exploring

Child size shelves for variety of floor toys that promote open ended explorations

ETA forgot the 'wooden dollhouse' it is plain wood and serves as not only the dollhouse but also the firefighters hall, the Dr office or Hospital, the Vet clinic and various other 'structures' depending on their interests as I have a variety of different accessories but the 'doll house' is a staple since I got rid of the Little Tykes / Fischer Price 'themed structures' that normally are used cause they took up way too much space to rotate.