My life has been changed since adopting the Montessori philosophy and specifically the practice of toy rotation. I want to share my 6 steps to successful toy rotation so you can experience a sense of calm in your home.
The practice of toy rotation is an essential component in the Montessori method. The most helpful guideline for rotating Montessori activities is to evaluate the child’s participation once a week to determine the viability of the item. How often you choose to rotate the activities will be dependent on your child.
Toy rotation might sound like it could be very labor intensive but I’m going to simplify it for you so you can implement it in your home today.
Montessori Toy Rotation – A Step By Step Guide
Before we get into the steps, let’s first establish what the goal of toy rotation is. If you understand the end goal it is easier to get started and stay motivated so you can see it through till the end.
Creating a Montessori home is all about the prepared environment. Young children benefit immensely from ordered surroundings where everything has its place and everything is in its place. A tidy home is a calm home where children will feel relaxed and able to focus. Clutter and chaos will cause distraction and frustration.
Why should you rotate your toys?
The essence of toy rotation is simple – you only have a limited number of toys and activities available for your child to play with and the rest is stored away. This might sound too simple but the benefits are so profound.
Here are some of the benefits that you can look forward to:
A confident child – a limited amount of activities means a more manageable amount of toys for a child to tidy independently which ultimately builds better self-esteem through feeling a sense of accomplishment.
More time to relax – when children know where everything goes they can easily return the items to their proper place which means less time spent tidying up.
More money in your pocket – you won’t feel the need to constantly buy toys to stave off boredom. Every time you rotate your shelves the old toys will feel like new again!
The 6 Steps to Toy Rotation
This all sounds fantastic but you have to put it into action to reap the rewards. Here is a step by step guide to help you get from chaos to calm.
#1 Purge
If your children are old enough they can help you out with this step. Collect all your child’s toys and place them in one spot. It’s important to see the number of items in their totality. This will help you make informed decisions.
Start by getting rid of anything that is broken or incomplete. Then select the items you wish to donate. These might be items that are either not Montessori friendly* or that you know is not being played with anymore. Remember to repeat this exercise with all your child’s books.
*Montessori friendly toys are open-ended toys with no batteries. These include toys like blocks, dolls, vehicles, animals, etc. Open-ended toys do not dictate to the child how they should be used.
#2 Categorize and store away
The easiest way to store toys* is to first categorize them according to these 5 Montessori categories for activities.
- Hand-Eye Coordination
- Language
- Music and Movement
- Arts & Crafts
- Practical life
You can also add other categories for your open-ended toys. It’s really up to you.
- Things that go
- Books
- Dolls
- Blocks
- Playdough and accessories
- Animals
- Dress up clothes
* A toy can be any object that your child likes to play with.
Once you have all of your toys sorted into your categories you can start packing them away. I find that clear plastic drawers on wheels work best to help you find and retrieve items quickly. You could also use open shelving with baskets or containers.
A few crates are fine to use but when you have multiple large crates all stacked on top of each other it becomes impossible to get something out in a hurry. Crates are better left for toys or activities you are keeping for later and don’t need to access every week.
#3 Select appropriate activities
Pick age-appropriate activities to present to your child. The objective is to provide activities that your child will find both interesting and challenging. Think about what they are interested in at the moment and what skill they are working on mastering.
If you are unsure of how many toys to select – start with less and add more if needed but limit the number of activities to 12. I go into this subject in more detail in this article.
#4 Display correctly
Use a shelf to display toys and activities instead of toy boxes. Make sure to leave some space between each activity. Use baskets and trays to neatly present the activities in their unfinished state and make sure you provide everything the child will need to complete the task. Don’t forget to make sure your presentation looks attractive and appealing to your child.
Make sure to check puzzles for missing pieces. You want to make sure all the activities you present can be completed independently to avoid unnecessary frustration.
Remember to limit the options especially when it comes to multiples. If you want to have wooden blocks out you can select a couple and put them in a basket.
#5 Observe and take notes
Take a couple of minutes every day to observe your child while they play. Make a note of which toys they engage with most often as well as which toys get overlooked. Try to determine why your child is ignoring certain activities. It might be an indication that the activity is too difficult or perhaps you should work on your presentation.
Write everything down so you can look at your notes when you are ready for your toy rotation. Here is a very handy toy rotation assessment sheet I’ve created for myself. Print it out and keep it close at hand. I have mine on a clipboard near my son’s shelf so I can make notes while he plays. I revisit these notes later when I make any toy rotation decisions. This has helped me stay organized.
#6 Swop out with new materials and activities
After all your observations and notes it will be clear to you what will stay and what needs to go. You can now decide what you will swop out. If your child is happily playing with everything you don’t have to rotate anything. This is all about being in sync with your child’s needs.
The Do’s and Don’ts of Toy Rotation Mastery
- CONSIDER THE ORDER: Don’t change everything at once and keep their favorites in the same spot.
- BE CHILD LED: Do consider your child’s unique interests.
- KEEP IT CLEAN: Do use the opportunity to clean the toy when storing it away
- DON’T FORGET THE BOOKS: You should limit the books available to your child and rotate them along with the other toys.
- DON’T BE TOO HASTY: Don’t remove items just because you think your child has mastered the activity. Only swop out toys that they have lost interest in..
- ROTATE THE ART: Do rotate the art on the walls every couple of months.
- CHANGE UP THE THEME: Introducing a theme to your shelf can help you out in the inspiration department. If your child is interested in wild animals you can pick books and objects to match as language materials or perhaps you have a puzzle that matches the theme.
At what age can I expect my child to tidy up after themselves?
I know I promised you a calm oasis but don’t expect to live like that 24/7. We are setting up these spaces for our children to enjoy and most of the time that means a bit of chaos. But because you only have a limited number of toys out – it will be manageable chaos.
Managing your expectations
The end goal is to imbue our children with confidence so they can feel self-assured and act independently. This means that you should expect your child to tidy up after themselves at some point but understand that it is a skill that they need to learn when it becomes developmentally appropriate to do so.
0 – 2 years old
Because young toddlers want to feel part of the home – they want to take part in daily activities. Even cleaning up. That said, they might not be able to tidy up yet but they will be watching us and learning from the behavior we model for them.
So, If your child is younger than 2 then most of the tidying up will fall on your shoulders and that’s okay. Don’t get discouraged and don’t even attempt to keep it tidy at all times. Decide for yourself how often you will tidy the area. Once a day, three times a day – it’s up to you.
When you do tidy up – make sure to still involve your young child in some way. Sing a song or play a game while tidying up. Remember you are modeling what it looks like to tidy up and if you make it look like an arduous task – chances are slim that they will want to join in.
2 – 4 years old
You can expect your child to take part in tidying up at this stage. You should be asking for cooperation instead of making demands. Do it in the spirit of teamwork! They might not always do it perfectly so please don’t discourage them by constantly correcting them. Offer acknowledgment instead by saying: ‘I see you are putting the blocks back in the basket. Thank you for helping me tidy up.”