Here's a look at our play space set up to inspire play for different aged siblings.
Play space change ups don't always need to be massive to invite more play. Sometimes the simplest of changes work too! These photos are from a play space change up that involved a quick little shuffle and rearrange of some toys on our shelf.
Remember simple changes can invite more play!
We don't have room for all the toys to be out at once, so some toys are stored away. It would be too overwhelming with all the toys out as the space is not large!
Some toys that are played with the most are kept out all the time. When I notice that my children aren't playing here anymore I know it is time to make some changes, either by rotating lots of toys or by doing one of the simple ideas listed below.
Sometimes I don't have time to do a big toy rotation of what is out on our shelves, so instead I do some of these things. Remember simple changes can invite more play!
Above all else do what works for you and your family. Your play space/s doesn't need to look like anyone else's. Follow your heart and test out things to see what works best for your children.
*Note: I have been building our collection of open-ended toys for 7 years now. You don't need to buy all of the toys for your children. Start small and build up your collection over time. A great idea is to start a wishlist on the notes app on your phone and add in toys you would like to add to use as a reference when buying for birthdays or Christmas. You can also share these ideas with others when they ask you for present ideas.
Quick ways to invite more play in our home play space:
Change how a toy is displayed - e.g. move the toy to a new spot ( a different shelf) or change how the toy is displayed to create new interest in it - e.g. for the Grimms rainbow - set it up whole, separate into pieces to make little homes/caves, stack it with the semi circles to make towers.
Here is the Grimms rainbow shown set up as 'caves' or little houses for the animals to live in. It only took a few moments to change this up, but it invited lots more play! It also encourages children to use these types of set up in their own play.
Towers are also really fun to play with! Here we have stacked pieces of the rainbow with the Grimms natural semi circles to make little dolls houses for the little figurines.
Put some toys in a basket or container e.g. the Grapat nest bowls and the Grimms weather set. A basket can be easily brought down from the shelf for play on the floor or on a table.
Another example of using baskets - building blocks in one, Grapat Nins and the mates in a basket that can easily be brought to the floor for play. There is a basket of cars, roads and bridges on the bottom shelf.
Baby doll and blanket in a basket on the bottom shelf, silks in another and some baby toys.
Add a book with some toys that could be used with the book for acting out the story. Books also make great backdrops for small world play + it encourages reading too!
Bring out a few 'old' toys that haven't been seen in a while - old becomes new again. This works surprisingly well! Put some toys away where the kids can't see them. When you bring them out to play again they are like new!
Add a basket of small world props for your child to choose from.
Set up an invitation to play on the floor or shelf using a few of the toys to invite your child/ren to play (it can be really simple!). An example is a few road pieces and a couple of cars, or a green silk and some animal figurines etc.
Baby Play
These photo above is from our play space when my youngest was 11 months old.
Here's a look at what I put out for her at the time:
Mirror Play
I put both our acrylic mirrors (they are from Educating Kids) on the wall for baby play. Miss 11 months loves to sit and stand here and look at herself in the mirror. I have stuck some Fat Brain Toys Whirly Spinners on the mirrors for her too. These were a favourite.
Purple Discovery Basket
I collected a purple play silk and purple baby toys for this basket. There is a purple ball, Jellystone calm down bottle, purple Grapat nest bowls (only the two biggest bowls), and a purple diy sensory jar. We can easily pull the basket off the shelf for baby to explore.
Board books for baby
A small selection of books that have different textures in them to feel.
Small World Invitation to Play
Our middle shelf usually has some type of small world set up on it or small world props to play with.
For this quick change up I put out a few props for small world play that have been away for a while including our strawberry house and felt mats (Papoose brand), bridge (QToys brand), and little river.
Straight away the girls decided they wanted their fairies out to play here. The fairies have been away for a while too.
The basket with the Grimms weather set and some Grimms pebbles stayed out too. Both girls like to use these items in their play.
I hope you found some inspiration for your own home play space to invite your kids to play more.
Remember: simple changes can lead to lots more play!
You can try changing up how the toys are displayed, bringing out 'old' toys that haven't been seen in a while, try a basket of toys or a simple invitation to play.
I wonder do you rotate your toys or do you do a quick change up sometimes too? It might be a bit of both! Let me know in the comments below.
Thank you for reading this blog post.
Until next time, have fun learning in a playful way!
Danica
For more play and learning ideas visit the homepage + join the email list below.
Save this for later - Pin me now!
Commenti