Toddlers horrible at indoor free play!

[torontokids]

I was going to say the same thing as Sunnydays as I found this when I started. The kids did not know how to free play and they had to learn. I didn't have a ton of structured activities myself but it became clear quite quickly that my dck's were used to being entertained and played with. They have gotten better with more practice and I would say, my program is now 90% free play as most of our time is spent outdoors exploring and playing.

[SongSparrow]

We do a lot of free play here, I would say we spend a total of 1 hr a day or less doing adult-led activities. Some kids I've had are better at playing than others but they have all caught on eventually I have always had mixed ages in my group which really helps.
I also rotate toys but only the bigger ones....but I do use our everyday toys when I'm doing activities with the kids so it will spark their imaginations and give them new ways to use our same old toys. Like if we are learning about ponds we will dig through our animal bin and pick out all the creatures that live in a pond and use them for counting, games, sensory bins, etc. Something as simple as cutting out a piece of blue paper in the shape of a pond and adding it to the play area will suddenly make those animals that were forgotten in the bottom of the bin seem super exciting.

[Dreamalittledream]

I have quite the opposite problem...my little ones love free play so much that they are hard to corral fro any extended period for most adult led activities; the younger they are the less attention span they have. Good for you for really getting them to engage; a valuable thing that they do need to learn for school.

[momofnerds]

I do alot of free play. They are toddlers they need to learn how to play. If you start doing structure they will keep looking at you to engage them. I don't even play with them, and they have great imaginations and the play really good together. I love my toddlers, they are the best. Yesterday they took the toy muffins and were barbequing them.