Last weekend I packed up about half of their toys and stored them downstairs. Then I found some pinspiration, and cut down their collection even more. The girls now have about 10 different toys in rotation (piano, links, blocks, instruments, stacking cups, ball, stuffed animal, farm, doll, and activity walkers).
Everything except the piano and farm fit in this basket! An added benefit is that the girls are much more engaged in the toys they have available- they play independently for about 15 minutes and 30+ minutes with the same toy if I am on the floor playing with them. The toys they have access to now really encourage creative play- only two require batteries. I'm drawn to the Waldorf method (although we probably only have one or two Waldorf approved toys...) so limiting toys that light up, make a lot of noise, etc is my way of adhering to some of the principles.
I was worried that Justin would roll his eyes about my new parenting strategy, but he was on board- especially when I mentioned that kids tend to appreciate what they have when they have fewer choices (please note that this is not applicable to shoes).
Don't despair- the girls will have access to all of their fabulous toys- I plan on rotating their collection about every two weeks... although the really love their blocks, links, and stacking cups do those will stay constant until they lose interest (they do have two sets of blocks and cups- Grandma Lu insists that both sets need to be out when she is here, but that is what grandmas are for).
I have a few fun craft projects planned for the girls, but other than that my goal is to be on a toy purchasing freeze until next Christmas... my mom claims the girls already have more toys than I had in my entire life (oops).
In other news, Claire is a budding yogi and had been practicing her downward dog:
She also enjoys perusing her closet for accessories:
Audrey has been practicing so big:
No comments:
Post a Comment