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Connections Forum Pro
Joined: June 24 2008
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Posted: Feb 04 2010 at 10:20am | IP Logged
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I know a lot of people rotate toys.
How, specifically, does this work in your home?
Who decides?
How often?
Do some toys- like blocks- stay out all of the time?
How many do you allow "out" at once?
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CrunchyMom Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 03 2007
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Posted: Feb 04 2010 at 10:31am | IP Logged
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Duplo is our constant in the boys room, and then they each choose two toy types to stay out at a time. I only have two boys choosing atm.
I keep choice baby toys out downstairs (he plays with the Duplo when with his brothers).
We also keep the puzzles in a bin downstairs as well as the wooden train track all the time in the front room.
I figure I can always trump or *strongly* recommend if needed. For instance, I'm about to suggest we rotate out the tinker toys for a while, they are driving me nuts!
__________________ Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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SusanJ Forum All-Star
Joined: May 25 2007 Location: New Jersey
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Posted: Feb 04 2010 at 11:46am | IP Logged
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We have always out: my daughter's doll house (though this might change soon), the dress up basket, a small basket of baby toys, and the Tinker Toys.
I decide what gets rotated and do it at night. The kids don't usually notice. They do know that a lot of toys are in the basement (they get placed there when they aren't picked up properly as well) and sometimes they want me to bring up a toy. I always tell them they have to pick something to go downstairs and they are cooperative.
Ideally I change one toy every week but I'm not always on top of that.
I, too, would really like to rotate the Tinker Toys out for awhile but my ds5 plays with them for a large part of every day and gets upset whenever I mention it. My project as soon as I'm done here is to fish all the stray TT's from every corner of the play room and then go couch diving for several dozen more.
__________________ Mom to Joseph-8, Margaret-6, William-4, Gregory-2, and new little one due 11/1
Life Together
[URL=http://thejohnstonkids.blogspot.com]The Kids' Blog[/UR
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JodieLyn Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 06 2006 Location: Oregon
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Posted: Feb 04 2010 at 12:12pm | IP Logged
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When things aren't being played with but only dumped out.. is a good clue to change them up.
We always have out hotwheels.. everything else is subject to switching. My favorite to get switched OUT is the dress up. It's used tons but when it stops getting picked up well it starts driving me nuts... and I figure it won't hurt any of us to have a break
__________________ Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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JodieLyn Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 06 2006 Location: Oregon
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Posted: Feb 04 2010 at 12:12pm | IP Logged
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Oh and I keep out more toys in winter when we're inside more and very few in summer when they should be outside playing instead
__________________ Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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violingirl Forum Pro
Joined: Nov 27 2008 Location: Missouri
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Posted: Feb 04 2010 at 2:55pm | IP Logged
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My 2 boys each have toy bins in their closets- I think we have 12 or 14 cubes total. They are allowed to have 2 cubes in the living room at a time (that's where we spend most of our awake hours, they don't really play in their rooms) and if they'd like something else they are able to trade 1 cube for another.
We have a cube for our wooden train set, lincoln logs, cars, blocks, etc. Like Jodie said, we switch out whenever things are being dumped more often than played with.
__________________ Erin
DS (2005) DS (2007) DD (2012)
Mama In Progress
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Becky Parker Forum All-Star
Joined: May 23 2005 Location: Michigan
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Posted: Feb 04 2010 at 4:06pm | IP Logged
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We became desperate when every time we walked into our basement room there were toys from one end to the other. The kids weren't even playing with them, just stepping over them. So my husband and I had all the kids down there and we sorted everything into bins. Then we made the rule that there could only be 3 bins out at a time (each of the younger kids picked a bin to start out). Everything else is stored in our storage room. The kids are aloud to switch them out whenever they want. They just say something like "Mom, can I trade the Legos for the Army guys?" or whatever. I usually have to help them switch things because we have them on shelves in the storage room. It really hasn't been a problem at all this way. Since it's in the basement, and I'm not always down there I was worried that they might get into the storage room and take things out without asking, but they never have. I suppose if they do I would have to have a consequence, or our system would stop working. Maybe I could think of some sort of ransom they would have to pay to get their toys back.
Since my kids are a little older 7, 9, and 11, it works to let them decide. If they were all younger I might do the choosing when it was time to rotate.
__________________ Becky
Wife to Wes, Mom to 6 wonderful kids on Earth and 4 in Heaven!
Academy Of The Good Shepherd
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DominaCaeli Forum All-Star
Joined: April 24 2007
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Posted: Feb 04 2010 at 6:08pm | IP Logged
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I too am in charge of the rotating. (When the kids are older, I imagine doing more of a library kind of system, but for now, this works.) The toys that are available for playing with are in a wicker toy basket in the family room. Every couple weeks, I change them out when the kids are napping or down for the night. A few receiving blankets (our poor man's version of play silks ) and a "baby" for each of them are the constants--they never bore of them. I also usually have out some kind of blocks, whether wooden or Duplo. Everything else is subject to change. I keep the extras in the laundry room, where we have overhead cabinets that I use for toy storage.
There are a few toys that never make it into everyday rotation--I set these aside for special play times (when I need a few minutes to accomplish a special project, during a particularly crazy pre-dinner hour, etc.). I pull them out for that brief period and then I put them back. Our felt board, ABC flashcards, some art books, and a few other items fall into this category. (These also happen to be toys that aren't baby-friendly--she is usually in the Ergo during those kinds of moments anyways.)
All of the baby's toys are in one basket. I have the older kids pick a few for her to play with for the day--the rest stay in the basket out of reach.
__________________ Blessings,
Celeste
Joyous Lessons
Mommy to six: three boys (8, 4, newborn) and four girls (7, 5, 2, and 1)
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Mimip Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 17 2009 Location: Florida
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Posted: Feb 04 2010 at 9:09pm | IP Logged
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We don't really have a system but I'm with Jodie, the dress up drives me NUTS TOO!!!!!!!
We always have out the duplo, Lego bin (these are the smaller ones the girls play with) and the dollhouse. Everything else gets rotated and right now most everything is put away because most day the kids are outside when they have a free moment.
We keep everything extra in our shed. It is a real mission to rotate toys out but we don't have any closets in our 1920's house so its the best we can do
Does anyone have a running list and rotate that way?
__________________ In Christ,
Mimi
Wife of 16 years to Tom, Mom of DD'00, DD'02, '04(in heaven) DS'05, DS'08 and DS '12
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JodieLyn Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 06 2006 Location: Oregon
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Posted: Feb 04 2010 at 9:12pm | IP Logged
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Oh and rarely do puppets just come inside.. those are ones I pull out for the desperate for a new something for a miserable day outside.. or dh and I get to go out (rare) and here's a fun toy you don't often play with type of thing.
__________________ Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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