AnonyMouse_25331 Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Hi All, Well half-term has finally arrived! yeah!! and I've got a few things I would like to 'ponder' about, as I was hoping for some opinions to help me on my way! 1. What do you do with sand from the sand tray which has gone on the floor? usually we bin it - or if there is piles of it we'll seive it back in.... today though a member of staff asked why it is different from the sand outside? and I struggled for an answer! Just wondered if there were any views on this? 2. We want to replace our home corner kitchen as well as our doll's house.... currently we have a little tykes kitchen and a pink barbie looking doll's house.... just looking for some opinions on plastic V wooden. Both resources look fantastic in wood - but I'm worried the play value won't be the same as they currently have. Does anyone have any experienc and could recommend any resources? Many thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 (edited) We have a wooden home corner which is very popular and the children loved helping to build it, often recreating this activity with their wooden community play thing blocks! When furnishing our new nursery I opted for as much wood as I could. I have not bought a dolls house as I've never found them to be used. Again providing children with other materials to build their own houses. Parents love the look of the nursery and we get very positive feedback during visit about the look of the setting...it looks different to other places which all look the same apparently! Edited February 18, 2011 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_25331 Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_1027 Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 wooden over plastic anyday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_2418 Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Wooden here too and even our babaies have a wooden home corner and use it really well. As for the dolls house , we have a large one ( again in wood) which was donated to use and our children love it, it has been especially useful when working with children who are moving home or that have become 'looked after' by the LA to talk about transitions etc and change . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_2418 Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 for babaies read babies - it's been a long week ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_1469 Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Wood.........we currently have the John Crane/Pintoys kitchen: cooker; fridge/freezer; washing machine and sink unit, plus themicrowave. It has stood up to daily use ( 8 years) quite well, but the paint is starting to chip now.So, we are planning to change it next year and will be buying the Community playthings one instead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 We "lost" all our wooden home conrer furniture in the flood and this very week our new kitchen stuff arrived. Wood again. Separate pieces: fridge, washing machine, sink unit, cooker and free microwave. Lovely wood and each piece has a trim in a primary colour. £329 for the lot I think. We did have to put it together ourselves but it looks plenty sturdy. I had wanted to replace the home corner stuff asap (after insurance comapny ok) and I rang 3 companies about this set and they told me 6 -8 weeks for delivery. I rang Primary Resources and I had it within less than a week. (Thankyou Mandy on the other end of the phone!!!) I am using this company to order wooden table, chairs and a sofa!!! I think wood makes for a different play experience! However, we do ahve a plastic dolls house.... a little tikes one I think. An inherited gift............. which is fab indoors and outdoors and can be hosed down and washed by the children whenever necessary!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_30128 Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 i think wood has an aesthetic quality that cannot be achieved by plastic. our home corner is essentially wooden boxes with very little details which allows the children a greater range of play experiences as it can become anything they like. The pieces can be put on their sides or turned around to change the play again or to be used for 'table space' to create little worlds etc. we do have a wooden house...it took me a long time to source one that i liked that was not pink!, was able to be used from all sides and was flexible in its use. My favourite 'house' is one that i bought for my daughters years ago and is still going at pre-school it consists of several pieces of wood which slot together to create a very open house structure with a play area and garage that can all slot together. it comes in a hessian sack and was bought from a craft fair. it has a very different reaction when we get this one out and there are always more boys who use it than girls...i have not figured out whether it is the construction of it or the add on's that encourage them but it is a real favourite...unfortunately i dont know if the company is still going. i have to add that i have a pet hate for little tikes (SORRY! ) dont shout at me!...i think the big thing for me is it is so prescriptive and often the pieces are quite sexist...just my opinion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_11396 Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 (edited) Yes wooden everytime, sounds like we have the same roleplay equipment as finsleymaid, we also have a two storey large dolls house in natural wood, with all wooden room layouts resources, think it came from Early Learning Centre but it was a kind donation from an ex- parent of pre-school.[ a thoughful and very wonderful piece of equipment]. Have to say the boys love it as much as the girls, tend to stay away from the pretty pink syndrome, yuk. I am looking at the Community Playthings blocks, bricks at the mo and trying to justify the cost but i'm sure the play experiences will far outweigh this. Happy choosing. Edited February 19, 2011 by bridger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_1469 Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 Bridger...........you don't have to justify the cost of CP blocks...just know that they will last several lifetimes and hundreds, or thousnads of little hands will learn so much from them.Buy them.......buy them...................buy them.......... ( I kicked myself for missing a complete trolley load of them on ebay a couple of years ago, they went for £80 in the end!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_21338 Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 im watching your replies for the indoor 'sand' question with interest ! if our sand spills on the floor we bin it, but i questioned why last week...the floor is clean, if other toys etc drop on the floor we dont bin those, and they are more likely to end up in mouths than sand? i worked a few sessions at a childrens centre last week and they put sand back into the tray..... i think that by insisting the sand stays in the tray at all times (and some staff members seem to be constantly saying this to the children) doesnt this somehow restrict the play to a certain extent ? not that im saying they should be free to 'fling' it about willy nilly lol ! id like to think that if we left a 'sand only' dustpan and brush by the sant tray /tuff spot, then the children would be able to sweep the sand themselves ? then maybe ensure all the sand is replaced every half term or so, in case of contamination ? tho i have heard you can dettol it ? who knew sand could be such a minefield lol !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_30128 Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 im forever asking our cleaners to bin it but found bits of cracker in it last week i guess the difference between toys and sand are that toys are easier to wash and dont pick up debris. our sand outside is covered and is also not picked up from the floor and put back so anything coming into it comes from above!!!??? if that makes sense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_22106 Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 Plastic verus Wood - Wood everytime and I'm desparately trying to get our committee to allow us tp replace our Little Tykes kitchen. Our dolls house is wooden and the boys in particular enjoy playing with it. We always used to have it as a table top activity but for some reason awhile back we put it on the floor and the children seem to play with it much more. Sand - if outside we just throw it away, if inside we actually stand the sand tray onto some heavy duty sheets so it is relatively clean and so goes back into the sand tray - we do have a sand only dustpan and brush and the children seem to enjoy sweeping up more than they do the actual sand play! Our sand is changed every 1/2 term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_25331 Posted February 19, 2011 Author Share Posted February 19, 2011 Thanks for all your replies! Seems wooden is by far the winner! But the verdict is still out on the sand...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_3735 Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 as others wooden home corner... we were lucky enough to have enough money for a Community playthings set to replace our old and much battered wooden one.. children love using it and it looks more like 'home' if you get my drift.. how many of us have a plastic kitchen.. we also added table and chairs and sofa.. to make the area into a open plan all purpose area.. much used. sand, we sieved and returned to the tray, floor washed daily, no food near it , and own dustpan and brush which children soon learnt to use ... completely changed half termly but usually ran out first.. even returning it it got 'lost' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_1469 Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 sorry, missed the sand bit! Yes, we sweep it up and throw it back in too.Sand tray stands on a big plastic sheet, so only sand gets on it, no food. However,I'm seriously thinking of ditching indoor sand altogether and having sand outdoors in all weathers.I'm thinking of having a covered sand pit. One reason for this is that sand tends to find its way into everything indoors and no matter how careful we are, it seems to grow legs and walk.It would also give us more space indoors,as our rooms aren't huge and add another element to outdoor play.What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_19782 Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 We have sand outside, we have a huge sand tray inside (custom made years and years ago) we do sweep up and add back and as Narnia says it does travel all over the place most irritatingly - but more so when I find it in fresh play dough We also use moon sand, in individual cat litter trays on tables, and we have a large plastic box of brightly coloured sand with glitter in to do dry sand only activities - and a box to mix up sloppy ploppy sand or soapy sand etc. We are very sandy people I think! Obviously they are not all out at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_2732 Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 We have a 'sand bin'. Even the children, who sweep up after themselves, know the sand goes in a special bin. At the end of the week it is seived and sterilised (Milton sprayed) then, when dry, is returned to the sand tray. Obviously, this is inside! As someone has said, there isn't the issue of sand being returned to it outside, as it kind of 'gets lost'! Anyone else? Sue PS - Panders - do your children really like moonsand? ours have never seemed to take to it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts