Rotating Toys

[Cozy_Kids_Childcare]

Ladies some of you suggested I rotate my toys. How do you decide what goes and what will stay? What about the bigger toys do they always stay? I'm thinking about maybe doing a tub of just monthly toys instead of hVing everything out all the time. I have everything in my livingroom and it has taken over the entire space. I have kitchen, two three drawer storage bins that have puzzles, trains, doctor kits and dress up clothes in them. I have a big open three shelf storage bin that has small toys in it (potato heads, baby toys, Barbies, camera. Then a 9-cube cubby that has trucks and books along with a few odd and end toys. I have a little mermaid hair styling center. Plus a changing table that has toys on the bottom two shelves. Oh yeah and three little people sets that are just sitting out. A bin with train tracks and another with baby dolls and assessories. Oh and a bucket of blocks and big Legos and a Dora doll house.
I have a weird group now.
My daughter is 3-1/2
DCB - 3-1/2
DCB- 18-months
DCG- 16-months
DCB- 11-months
DCG- 9-weeks

I would love to have one tub that I can bring out and fit it in some nice wicker bins in a nice bookshelf when they are not playing with it.

In theory it sounds nice but I don't know where to start. Please help with ideas. Hopefully my garage will be closed in for my daycare space and it won't be such an issue.

[Thriftylady]

I am just restarting so I don't have any kids this time yet. But I am rotating toys this time because I have to. I just don't have space. And no all the big ones are not staying out all the time here. I just don't have room.

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

I roatate all toys (big and small) and it helps tremendously with boredom issues. They stay engaged in meaningful play for longer periods of time.

[coolconfidentme]

I leave the big stuff out like the kitchen, workshop, table & chairs, etc. I bought a bunch of the 3 stack plastic drawers with wheels & loaded *like* toys in each drawer. Once a month I change out a few drawers & set them on the floor of the play room. This month Barbies, My Little Ponies & cars are the *new* toys.

[DaveA]

Big stuff (kitchen, large trucks, barns/houses, ) I rotate out when they seems to get bored with them.

Small stuff I rotate about 1/3 of my toys weekly or bi-weekly, depending on how popular the toys are.

Some things are permanent fixtures in the classroom. Right now if there isn't wooden blocks in the cubbies and Very Hungry Caterpillar in the book box there would be rioting.

[Second Home]

I keep out the big stuff ( kitchen , block table , table & chairs ) all the time . I have bins like this http://www.target.com/p/ecom-whitmor...=kids+storage+
I keep the shelves out all the time and rotate the items in the bins .

[Rachel]

I have the ikea trofast system and a couple of bookshelves (bottom 2 shelves) that have toys on them. The trofast bins I rotate (I have extra bins so it's super easy, just take out one bin and put in another), and the shelf toys a bit less, but sometimes I will put a few away and take out a new 1 or 2. Also depends on the age of my kids. Plus there is a shelf of board books that is out all the time, and other than that all the toys are in the closet and I take them out and sit and do them with the kids (the toys in the bins are things like megablocks and soft cars and plastic animals and toy food).

[butterfly]

I roatate all toys (big and small) and it helps tremendously with boredom issues. They stay engaged in meaningful play for longer periods of time.

I take out the toys that don't get played with and rotate something new in.
I also rotate out anything that is causing fights. I give a warning about playing nice and if things don't improve it gets put away for a while.

Sometimes I go down to a bare minimum of toys if they seem to be playing too rough, etc.

I also try to rotate toys in that fit the theme that we are working on during that week.