Tag: 5yearoldtoys

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May Toy & Book Rotation

I try to rotate some of our toys and books around the first of each month. I don’t rotate everything, but find that some rotation helps add some fresh energy to the playroom. The kids are usually excited to see toys that have been put away for a few months – the toys almost seem new to them. Also, limiting the number of toys that are out at one time helps the kids focus their creativity on the toys available.

toy rotation on IKEA shelf

My method for toy rotation is pretty relaxed. I take away toys that are no longer being played with and replace them with toys from storage. When I rotate in the “new” toys, I try to think about what might be happening in the upcoming month – if there are any holidays, special events or themes we’re going to be exploring.

This month, I’ve rotated in some toys related to the outdoors. The weather is just starting to slightly warm up where we live and we are ready to spend more time outside. I’ve also added a few construction materials, as we will be doing some construction play this month.

toys on Kallax shelf

There are a number of toys that I don’t rotate because they are played with regularly. Our farm animals, fences, barn and chicken coop stay out on the shelf all the time. My 3 year old son is a huge farm addict and plays with them pretty much everyday. I also leave out our open ended blocks, castle pieces and play kitchen. If you’re interested in learning more about the toys we leave out all the time, there is more information in this post.

toys and puzzles on Kallax shelf

Here’s what I put out for toy rotation in May.

Toys

  • Guidecraft Little Bricks (Scholar’s Choice)
  • Lovevery Flashlight
  • Magnifying Glasses (Amazon)
  • Discover the Busy World of the Beehive book (Amazon)
  • Felt beehive, bees and bee kaleidoscope (Sewing Seeds Play)
  • Lovevery Camping Set and Wood Stacking Boulders
  • The Little Book of Backyard Birds (Amazon)
  • Folkmanis bird finger puppets (Sewing Seeds Play)
  • Mader Wood tops – Roly Poly Spinning Top, Rainbow Spinning Top Learning Set (Nest.ca)
  • Goki Ladybug Bobble (JS Rainbows)
  • Lovevery Montessori Math Bars, Math Tiles & Number Sense Nature Counters
  • Lovevery First Sewing Kit
  • Lovevery Match & Tap Hammer Box
  • Chicco Remote Control Cars (Billy Bigwheels and Fiat 500 Sport)

*As an Amazon Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Puzzles and Games

puzzles and games in toy rotation

Book Rotation

Next, I rotate the books on the display shelves in my kids’ rooms. The books on the display shelves tend to be the ones we read at night, rather than the ones stacked on nearby shelves, so we all enjoy when they are refreshed every month. This month, I put out some books related to the outdoors and a few of our other favourites that we haven’t read in a while.

book shelf rotation
book rotation on wood shelf

*As an Amazon Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Can you guess what my kids’ favourites might be? My 5 year old daughter grabbed Stuck by Oliver Jeffers first and my 3 year old son chose his two Stick and Stone books. If you have any questions about the toys and books above or if you have any questions about toy rotation, please leave a comment.

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April Toy Rotation

It’s the beginning of a new month and time for a toy rotation. We’ve had our Easter toys, decorations and activities out for almost a month now, so it’s time for a refresh.

I started with the cubes in our IKEA Kallax shelf that house toys I rotate monthly. However, I plan on doing a larger reorganization of the toys in our playroom this week, so stay tuned.

My approach to toy rotation is to remove all the toys from the cubes that are no longer getting attention. This resulted in taking away everything but the Schleich farm animals, Ostheimer Wood Fences, Fisher-price Barn and Schleich Chicken Coop. If you’ve seen some of my other posts, then you may know that my 3.5 year old son is farm obsessed and plays with these items all the time. I wouldn’t dare take them away from him.

The next thing I did was to pull out toys that are topical for the month or in-line with my kids current interests. So this month I put out some toys with a spring feel to them and things the kids received in their Easter baskets this past weekend. If you are curious about what was in their Easter baskets, see here. I don’t have an endless number of spring toys, and we also had some out last month, and so I added in a few other items that the kids haven’t seen in a while.

I try to keep a rough balance between different types of toys, puzzles and games so that there is something about language, something related to math, building, pretend play, small world play etc. I also try to keep a rough balance of items for my 5.5 year old daughter and 3.5 year old son. Although as they both get older, I am finding they both play with everything.

Keep in mind we also have a number of toys that are not rotated. I’ll include a list at the bottom of toys that remain out all the time.

Here’s what we’ll be playing with this month:

barn toys in IKEA Kallax shelf
variety of toys in IKEA shelf
puzzles and games in IKEA shelf
  • Grapat Mandala
  • Lego City Barn and Farm Animals (Amazon)
  • Schleich farm animals
  • Ostheimer wood fences (Nest)
  • Fisher-price Barn (ours was passed down from friends, but here is a similar one)
  • Schleich Chicken Coop (Amazon)
  • Lego Disney Encanto the Madrigal House (Amazon)
  • Sarah’s Silks swords, rainbow veil & crown (The Playful Peacock, Mymy and Me)
  • Lovevery Montessori Sensory Box – from the Analyst Playkit
  • Clixo (Amazon)
  • Learning Resources Shape Shell Turtles (Amazon)
  • Guidecraft Barnyard Activity Boxes
  • Lovevery Turtle Hatch Game – from the Problem Solver Playkit
  • Lovevery Lockbox from the Realist Playkit with Velcro critters from the Fuzzy Bug Shrub in the Adventurer Play Kit
  • Londji A Home for Nature Puzzle (Mymy and Me)
  • Crocodile Creek Unicorn Dreams Floor Puzzle (Dilly Dally)
  • Janod A Day at the Farm Puzzle
  • Goki Life Cycle of a Chicken Puzzle (Sewing Seeds Play – save with code HOUSEOFPLAY10)
  • Peaceable Kingdom Snug as a Bug in a Rug Game (Amazon)
  • Lovevery Letter Sounds Animal Puzzle from the Storyteller Play Kit
  • 2 Jeux Mômes Jeu Éducatif Métiers + Chiffres (3 part cards – jobs and numbers)

*As an Amazon Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Grapat mandala in cotton rope basket

The white bins on the top level of the Kallax shelf hold items out of rotation and the toys in the bottoms baskets do not get rotated. The bottom baskets include

  • Magnetic tiles (combination of KidCheer and Picasso),
  • Picasso ball run,
  • Plan Toys wooden roads,
  • Brio/ wooden trains and tracks,
  • Balls and soft objects the kids can throw inside, and
  • Vehicles.
magnetic tiles and ball run storage
wooden train tracks storage
balls and vehicles storage

We also have wooden building toys, musical instruments, large vehicles and a play kitchen that remain out.

I find rotating toys helps refresh the kids’ interest for their toys and also keeps some of the clutter down. It does take a bit of effort on my part, but I always find it’s worth it when I see my kids’ enthusiasm and engagement with the “new” toys.