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Sooo...I just realized that my toy selection is pretty bad. So is my book collection. I just lost a daycare girl leaving me with only 3 kids and no money to get anything new (gently used). I mean literally no money. How can I make my bad toy selection seem more fun and appealing? How can I help the kids make the bwst out of it?
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Everyday is a new day, with its own challenges, but even the bad days are good.lovethis -
I rarely ever buy any new toys for the daycare anymore. I go to garage sales andget a lot of stuff from craigslist. -
Try looking on pintrest there are lots of fun things you can make using things you might have around the house. What age group do you have I can send you some ideas and links.Comment
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What stuff do you currently have?
Maybe everyone can give you some ideas on what are absolute MUST-HAVEs and what things you can skip.Comment
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try freecycle.org and tell them you are a daycare looking for new toys for the kids and on a tight budget! I have done this several times and have gotten TONS of stuff for FREE!!!! I had one lady (she was a grandmom) that gave me a whole Step 1 outdoor climbing set and it was in brand new condition, she said her grandkids out grew it and she was ready to send it to goodwill and figured I would get good use out of it. I sit down with the kids and make a list of things they like and place wanted ads on freecycle or craigslist and see if I can find them, the kids LOVE it when they come in Monday and have new (to them) stuff and it's things they asked for. Then we go through the old toys and decide together who to pass the old toys onto and I let them know "Some little boy/girl passed these onto us now we need to decided what to pass on to" they get a kick out of knowing they are sending their old toys to other kids to play with. The parents love it too cause they use the same excuse at home to get rid of some of the older toys. I have a bunch of 2's & 3's and they understand!Comment
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Call appliance stores and see if they have any boxes you could get. Decorate them and make a town. Put a piece of blue fabric on the floor for a lake, make cloth fish for it make some old clothes into costumes. Make a post office with pretend mail, etc. If your kids are over 1 they will have a blast.Comment
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I try to buy something new every week. (Notice the word, "try") Sometimes I have in mind what I am going to buy. Sometimes something catches my eye. I shop at thrift stores and on craigslist mostly. Something fromthe dollar store also counts as my purchase for the week. I recently purchased a $300 Preschool hooked on Phonics kit for less than $20 at the goodwill compete with posters, board games, computer games, and dvds. I try to do a walk through at the thrift store every weekend to catch baragins. Sometimes if I don't have something in mind I just search daycare on craigslist. If I don't have the money I don't purchase anything some weeks. My budget is $30 max, but I usually spend less than $10. I once had the great idea to buy all new playground equipment. I searched craigslist all week, but come Friday all of the parents decided that I wasn't number one priority on their bills that week, so I got mad and decided to stick to a small budget if any. There are very few things that I have bought new. I try to buy quality second hand items. My kids are rarely bored.Comment
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Use stuff around the house. Put out some tupperware containers and cooking utensils (spatulas and wooden spoons). Ask the parents to donated boxes, toilet paper tubes, cans, etc. Cut circles in the plastic lid of a can or plastic container. Give the kids straws or pipe cleaners or pompoms and have them push the items through the holes. Take plastic bottles and toss items like beans, stones and rice to make shakers. A coffee can can become a drum. Turn a plastic strainer upside down and have them thread pipe cleaners or string through the holes. Wrap boxes in white paper, let the kids decorate them and turn them into building blocks. Baby blankets make great dress up clothes. A receiving blanket can be a hat, a skirt, a cape. Adult socks make great puppets. Throw a large blanket over the coffee or kitchen table and pass out a flashlight or two.
There's so much you can do with things around the house!
As for books, thats what the local library is for!Doing what I love and loving what I do.Comment
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Try "repackaging" the toys you have.
Fill a cardboard box or plastic bin with rice, dry cereal, beans or sand - you could also add leaves or twigs. Then add their cars and trucks or plastic dinosaurs.
Fill a plastic tub with some soapy water (maybe use kid-friendly bubble bath) and let them give the baby dolls baths. A shallow pan could make a good car wash for the boys.
Despite a huge collection of bath toys, one of my daughter's favorite water activities is when I drop a colored bath fizzy in an old squirt or spray bottle (usually from bath products so no worries about leftover chemicals) and fill it with water. I give her 2-3 bottles of colord water along with bowls, ice cube trays, muffin tins, funnels, measuring cups, etc. and she mixes colors and makes all kinds of pretend food, drinks and medicine. Could you do something like that outside?
I'm just a mom, not a provider, but I LOVE this lady's website (who is a provider) for cheap, out of the box, secretly educational activities to do with my kidlet http://happyhooligans.ca/Comment
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Use a bin and put beans in it with spoons and cups my daycare kids love thisComment
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I will send out a list of diy ideas for these ages this evening I have lots. Also check out this blog look under tot school post http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.net/
she has alot of great ideasComment
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sometimes its not the toys (I have toys that are 14 yrs old) but its the room. I just redid my rooms and I love it. I didn't buy any new toys (and haven't in a while) but it was the room that needed brightening up.Comment
lovethis awesome idea! 2 of my current kids would love this and have a blast with it!
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