We swear by toddler toy rotations in this house. Yes, toddlers will play with anything, but it’s just like magic when you pull out some “new” toys and they get so engrossed in independent play. We rotate once a month, with a mid-month refresh if anything is getting really stale.
Toddler Toy Rotations : The Free Play Shelves
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We have two big black bookshelves that act as the backdrop for our toddler toy rotation. She has the bottom two shelves for all her free play toys. We all love that her toys are readily available, but have a home. So we aren’t tripping over baby dolls and stepping on blocks all day. Also, she is getting really good about knowing if something is missing from the shelf and looking around to make sure everything is put away. (a girl after my OCD heart!)
On her play shelves, we have two big baskets. One has her baby dolls and these are her most absolute favorite toy so they never get rotated. The other has building blocks. Right now they are wooden and probably are due to rotate. Maybe for a mid-month refresh…
Toddler toy Rotations : Large extras
We have our Pikler triangle and wobble board, these currently are out full time. I am open to rotation these, but to be honest she uses them so much I don’t really want to…
Last month we had the dollhouse and it was a major hit but by the end of the month, I could tell she wasn’t playing with it as much.
We rotated in her tent and tunnel for this month. Right now I have everything set up in an obstacle course of sorts. Likely they will be moved many times over the month.
I did have to move her reading corner for the time being, but it’s just over by the couch for now.
Toddler Toy Rotations : Puzzles and Games
We are big board game people in this family and I am anxiously awaiting the day we can start playing games with Bitty. Right now matching is about all she can do. I pulled out a dollar store matching game and just set the pieces out for her. We will sit a do it a few times but mostly I am just letting her explore. I also have normal puzzles in the wing if I feel like we need to switch things up. I want to get the one by Andrew Zuckerman, I love the more exotic animals on it!
Free Play Toys
Grimms Rainbow – She still isn’t very interested in stacking the rainbow herself but she really likes to make circles and then tries to sit in them. She also likes it when I lay everything down on its sides and we build a cloud. We sometimes add her wooden blocks and make playgrounds for the little people as well!
Little People Castle – this is always a hit. We have most of the original figures and we added the rapunzel set as well. I figured if I was taking the dollhouse away I should add in the next best thing in her books.
Thomas the Trains – these are hand-me-downs from her daddy. We don’t have any track but she likes to drive them under the rainbow and line them up.
Horse – our play set up seems like it just isn’t complete without a horse right now. This one goes for lots of walks as you can see by its leash…lol We got this one from a flea market for like 2 bucks so if she breaks it I won’t be too sad!
Peg People and cups – these are the DIY peg people and cups that I made for our loose parts set. I pulled the full rainbow out this time to see what she would do with them. So far the answer is not much. I may try separating them to encourage matching.
Play Silks – We have been swaddling a lot of baby dolls these days but they are also frequently used as dance scarves as well. The wooden clips are also perfect for building forts. Honestly, we need another set!
Mangatiles – These are always a hit and we all like building with them. Her personal favorites are the mirrored tiles from the stardust set.
Update on the new system
It’s still to soon to know if my new rotation schedule is working or not. Some of the items definitely got played with all month, but I could tell by the last week she was bored of most of it…So, for the time being, we will continue to do one big rotation a month with updates as needed throughout the month.
What do your Toddler Toy Rotations look like?
I like our new system but I feel like I’m hitting a bit of a wall creatively when it comes to pulling toys out. She obviously is still playing with her toys ut it just feels like the same old same old. Maybe I need to theme the rotations around our tot school or something.. I would love to hear what your toy rotations look like and maybe glean a few ideas from you! Comment down below!
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