Imagination

[MommyMuffin]

I meant to title it imagination and child activities.

I have quite a few toys, all available to the children. Sometimes they just dont seem to play. I am a family child care provider, not a preschool teacher. I have a list of go to items when the kids seem bored: puzzles, playdoh, bubbles, reading, painting, coloring, musical instruments, dancing, tents and tunnels. (They dont like legos, farm, or little people)

The kids are teaching me what they like to play with. But I am buying these toys to find out...ex: I spent $ on lincolin logs and a spiral race track. The first day I played with them and showed them how to use it. They havent touched it since.

I am sick of wasting money. I have a room where I keep some toys and I do rotate the toys some.

I have infants and a 19mo, almost 3 yr old, 2.5 yr old. I am mainly looking for toys for the older 2. What are your kids fav. that the kids can play with little to no adult involvement?

Also, any advice for the toddler age and taking every toy in reach and just throwing it about the room? I am even considering making an area with the XL gate just for the toddler.

[Zoe]

Cars, dinosaurs (larger ones that are not choking hazards), stuffed animals, dress up clothes, doctor playset, barbie dolls, baby dolls, and a play kitchen. That's what my kiddos have been playing with the majority of the day without me having to find them something to do.

I have a large variety of toys for pretty much any age (except school age, but I don't watch that age anyway) and if there's a kid with a short attention span, I usually point out all the toys and tell them that there's really no point in being bored. They can find something to do.

That might sound harsh, but I've had a kid over for a playdate who just took out all the toys simply for the fact of taking it out and didn't play with anything. Then he asked me if he could go into the toy storage room. Um, no. Go play with all the toys you took out! And have fun putting them all away kid! ::

As for the toddlers, I like the idea of a play yard if they are just dumping toys out. If you gave the kid a bucket and some blocks or something to "dump" that might be fun!

[momofsix]

Sometimes my kids like it when I "pick" the toys, and them let them choose between the ones that I picked. If I have 4 kids, I might pick Kitchen, legos, magnet blocks and bristle blocks. I them tell them the 4 options, and one at a time they get to pick where they would like to play. I usually only allow 2 together. This limits the options and avoids them being ovewhelmed and it also makes them think about what they want to do rather than just taking things out.

[WImom]

I have three girls 2.5, 3y, almost 4Y and one boy 2.5. They play daily with My little Pony, Barbie, Read lots of books, tonka chuck trucks, sensory table and those cardboard blocks. Everything else mostly sits and they maybe play with it once a week. I'd say the Barbies, My Little Pony's and Card Board blocks are the most played with.

The barbies I have 3 big barbies, 2 little kelly dolls, and one baby. A crib, 2 beds and a couch and a brush. That's it (no clothes to change, no shoes or little pieces) and it's played with by all. It's my most 'timed' toy (meaning it needs a timer for sharing...)

THey do like painting, playdoh, puzzles and games but I didn't mention those above because they do those with me normally.

I find it so odd that I have three girls and noone plays with dress up or the nice Kitchen/babydoll area. Go figure.