TOY ROTATION: Storage, System, Categories, Benefits, Age Tips For Babies, Toddlers, + Beyond!

[@ronjab4586]

I love that you follow the child for selecting the toys you display. Toy rotation was absolutely not working for us, no matter how few toys I put out, our daughter would just not interact with anything more than a day or two. By coincidence, 3 months ago, I roatted her toys while she was awake (she is now 19 months old) and let her choose. It was a game changer and it's working so well for us now. She seems to know exactly what she missed and wants out and gets that from the bins. Now she is easily engaged the entire week with at least some toys. It's actually gotten so successful that I don't need to rotate once a week any longer. Funny, I watched the video where you said you give access to all books and back then I did too. Since then I encountered the same issue as you did - books everywhere, I was picking them up all day long. I felt bad starting to rotate them since she is sincerely reading all of them each day. But as long as I keep a bin with her favorites out and have a second bin that I rotate weekly (I have 4 of them now), she seems fine. Puzzles are really a pain to store. What works currently for us is have them in a bin and keep the pieces of each puzzle in a clear plastic bag in the bin. I found if she has access to too many puzzles, the pieces get lost so much easier. Thanks for sharing your toy rotation system, I'm pretty obsessed with such videos and am really happy to see a video that is so similar to the system that worked for us.

[@confidentlymom]

Ahh I LOVE hearing all of this!! I felt bad because the video was so long haha but I just felt like I couldn't cut anything out because there are SO many variables to finding what works for you/your child! Yes! We only leave out 1-2 puzzles on the shelf (pieces in a basket next to the board of that specific puzzle), 2-3 under the bay window, 2-3 in her closet, and then in the baby's room I'll just keep the basket and only give 1-2 at a time from there. Also, just a heads up since your little one is almost 2, I noticed shortly after my daughter's second birthday, that her attention to toys drastically dropped overall. I even got her 1 or 2 new toys that she LOVED/LOVES but her focus was just different than it'd been previously (15 min versus 30)... I realized she'd entered into the second phase of the montessori sensitive period for movement as well as the refinement of the senses period and she's just obsessed with practical life skills right now. Give that girl some dishes and a mop and she's all set for hours haha Or a gluing activity? She's into it for at least hour!

[@sarahkleykamp9656]

Crazy to me you don’t have more subscribers and all that! Your videos are my favorite Montessori parenting videos I’ve seen.

[@confidentlymom]

Awe thank you!!!

[@tomorrowkiddo]

hi Rachel, I've just shared your blog post that has this vid for all the Montessori at home, home ed peeps I know. SUCH a good habit for ALL home ed peeps though. Loved most of all when you were following that child. My monty mates just turned 18 and 21 and I montied them all through their childhoods. GREAT way to raise children.

[@confidentlymom]

Awe thank you!! Agreed!!

[@MariaandMontessori]

Toy rotation really doesn't need to be complicated and can be whatever works for the family. It is often most successful when taking the child's cues on when and what to rotate. While a scheduled shelf overhaul works for some, it doesn't work for everyone. It is also ok to observe your little one and remove items one at a time as you see your child lose interest. Maybe the puzzle you take out goes completley untouched for 3 days. Swap it out, no need to wait a whole week per se. Or, alternatively, your little one may still be reaching for that basket of balls after the whole week is up, totally fine to leave it! We have had the basket of balls out pretty much the entire past 6 months because my daughter reaches for it at least a few times a week! I just swap out some balls to keep it interesting. Imagine you're deep into solving a rubic's cube, and you're excited every day after work to get to it. You think today could be the day you finish. And you come home to find your partner put it away because it was "hobby rotation time". How discouraging and frustrating that could be! And worse yet, he took out the items you're least interested in right now! Knitting and crocheting! You're SO over fabrics for now. You want puzzles! Maybe you compromise and let your child choose between 2 items that can go on the shelf. But be wary that for some, the answer may be "both!" Following the lead of your child on this one can be really helpful 😁

[@confidentlymom]

Yep, that's the biggest option I covered for a reason 😁

[@BriBayly]

Your videos are unbelievably helpful! Thank you for these!! I have a 19 month old that I’d love to transition to Montessori and these are so informative.

[@confidentlymom]

Awe thank you! Let me know if there is every a question or topic you want to see covered!

[@jacieroughton8501]

Tubes on the wall with the Lovevery flowers. Smart! 💛

[@confidentlymom]

Thank you!

[@daphnevanderwesthuizen8409]

Hi Rachel, please could you share a link of the storage bins you use to store the toys?

[@confidentlymom]

Hi! I just found them on sale at Costco last summer in a 4 or 6 pack! I don't even know what size they are to pull a comparable one, sorry!!

[@stephaniethoen795]

Yes, this is my third comment on one of your videos tonight. No, I am not ashamed. LOL. I rotate toys for my twins and I consistently see them play with cars and books. I always offer other things but they rarely get played with. I have found that towards the end of the day if myself or my husband wants to engage with them we will pull out a puzzle from our panda crate or one of my DIY activities. They get so focused on that and spend a good 20 minutes engaging with it. But if I leave it out the pieces get scattered. They aren't even interested in the Lovevery toys any more. I put them all away for two weeks and pulled one out and they played with it for 5 minutes then went back to cars. So cars it is.

[@confidentlymom]

Haha sounds about right! My daughter has been playing with Magna tiles for 2 hours a day (broken up - not consecutive!) for a month straight now. I just started a little series on montessori sensitive periods, and when they know what they want, they know what they want!

[@aucune1idee]

I cant find a magazine rack like that anywhere! It looks perfect for small spaces where did you find it?

[@confidentlymom]

bit.ly/3xvtlqQ - I had to stuff the bottom with packing paper to get the books to sit up a little higher, but it works!

[@peachtreejazz]

Thank you for the information. The link to the doll house does not work. Could you share a new one? Thank you.

[@confidentlymom]

This is the brand we have (it's european so it's styles go in and out of stock a lot and can be pricey) bit.ly/3gJ1JHP - this is another similar brand too: bit.ly/3JmHtrK

[@jenniwhite2361]

I am loving this series!!! And also agreeing with Sarah that your quality of video is A+! I can’t wait to see your channel grow. Side note: that pregnancy hair 💕

[@confidentlymom]

Awe thank you on all fronts!!! I was literally just thinking this morning how sad I'm going to be to lose the pregnancy hair hahaaaa rightttt as the baby hairs from my first were coming in haha

[@fusionpunk1346]

I'm normally pretty old school and lean way more conservative than other millenials, but one aspect where Im more "hip"I guess is the minimalism lifestyle ( not zero waste but super minimal things).. I'm sick of people not understanding it and others acting like I'm being ungrateful or spoiled because I'd rather have one large nice item than the 400 piles of junk people like to buy. I know you studied psychology ( from your previous videos). While my degree is in biochem, I always was fascinated by human behavior. One thing I've observed ( and correct me if I'm wrong), is the severe narcissism that is embedded in 99% of people who give gifts. For instance, why is it so hard to buy from the registry that the mother dedicated to creating, and instead spend even more money buying stuff she clearly does not want, all because you are shopping more for yourself then the person you are buying the gift for. It just baffles me and is illogical at best and horrible at worst. Imagine a mother who is low income and registers for specific stuff and people give her 700 swaddles and she still has to go buy a bunch of necessities. Yes I know no ones responsible to clothe and feed your child, but if they're already spending the money, why not ? I never knew those people existed until I realized from a baby shower I attended 3 years ago. The mother registered for the uppababy vista. I called like 8 of our friends and asked how much they planned on spending for the shower. They all said about 100 each. The uppababy is like 1299. So I said OK can you guys all contribute 100 each ( 800) and I'll put in the other 600 myself with tax. They said no. I said why? The mother registered for it. They go because I want to buy all the cute clothes and stuff. Like it pissed me off so much so I asked my now husband if we can just buy it for her. He said yes, and then those people had the audacity to be pissed and talk crap behind my friends back becsuse she didn't SEEM as excited over their gift and nearly cried at ours. Like duh nitwit, you shopped for yourself and bought her a bunch of crappy carter's cheap onesies in newborn and crappy plastic walmart toys ( im bitter right now dont mind me) instead of what she asked for and STILL ended up spending more. Sorry for my soapbox I just simply hate humans lol. I always make sure to ask someone what they want for their birthday or whatever. If they want a 50 dollar bill to wipe their butt, I'll give it if that's what I was planning on spending anyways because it's not for ME, it's for THEM

[@confidentlymom]

Lol I'm literally laughing out loud, this was NOT the comment I was expecting when I clicked in and thought I was about to read a hate comment about not being minimal enough or something lol so imagine my surprise when I feel like I could've written this rant myself... I've literally had a blog post in drafts for about 2 years now with this exact rant I've just never hit publish on... Truly baffles my mind too. Thank you for such a relatable read/comment to start my work day!

[@fusionpunk1346]

@@confidentlymom no problem! Being minimal isn't about a rule, it's about keeping what you use and love and having every item in your home basically be your employee, as in what can they do for YOU and are they worth paying ..I love your videos, and that's rare for me haha