Open-Ended Play Shelves - Our Current Play Space Set up
- 4 days ago
- 6 min read
I recently changed up what was on our open-ended play shelves in our play space for the first time in a little while, so I decided to write a blog post about what we currently have out on our toy shelves.
This play space is in the corner of our lounge room. We use a white house bookshelf that I bought from Mocka Australia quite a few years back now. This shelf has room on the floor in front of it that can be used for play and building creations.
In the classroom I would use a similar type of set up. Shelves for the block area + some small world props and figurines in baskets or just on the shelf to invite play. Space in front of the shelf to build and create in. Material in a variety of colours and textures works well in this area too, to encourage imaginative and creative play.
*IMPORTANT: Please note that these play ideas contain small parts, which are a choking hazard for young children. These play ideas are suitable for children ages 3+. All play ideas should be actively supervised by an adult. It is your responsibility to determine the suitability of these ideas for your child/ren.
What's currently on our open-ended play shelves to invite play:
Bottom shelf:
Building blocks and play silks + material
We have the Grimms semi circles in rainbow and natural in a container
A large basket that has the blocks from the Grimms Large Stepped Pyramid in it + some of the Grimms stairs blocks.
On the floor next to the shelf is the Grimms 1001 Nights Building block set, Grimms rainbow bridges, and Grimms rainbow building boards (you definitely don't need all of these!)
Basket of play silks, material and some scarves for creative play (these are a favourite with my girls and are always left out).
Why?
Baskets close to the floor make it easy to pull the blocks out. The large space/mat in front of the shelf makes the perfect surface to play, with lots of room to build.
I keep loved materials and toys out, such as the basket of material/silks, as they are used a lot for all different types of play by my three girls.
I changed up how the blocks were stored. They were in the wooden tray and sitting as the large stepped pyramid. Putting them into a basket, made them feel new again and renewed the girls' interest in playing with them.
Second shelf from floor
Small world themed play
Wonderie play silk - Enchanted Kingdom as the back drop on the shelf
Grimms rainbow
Unicorn figurines
Grimms stacking house and fire
Papoose trees
Papoose felt mat with toadstools
Basket of Way to Play Roads + Grimms cars
Ambrosius fairies and Mother Earth doll (from Honeybee Toys and Oskars Wooden Ark)
Bowl of granola and yogurt (because I was making these shelf changes while my youngest daughter was with me and she was straight into playing with the small world! ☺️).
Why?
The height of this shelf is the perfect place for young children to sit on the floor and play.
Small world play is a favourite type of play for all 3 of my girls, so we always have some type of small world set up or materials readily available to create their own small worlds.
I have a small world table in our dining room as well, which gets more play than this shelf. My girls always seem to turn this shelf into a small world as well. They really enjoy this type of play!
I started with a few figurines here on this shelf and my daughters added more in as they played. It ended up being a chick and bird themed small world with some nests, eggs and little felt birds.
They also added in some Duplo and cars here too.
Third shelf from floor
Light and Reflective Play
DIY Light play colourful containers - see instructions on this blog post here.
Bauspiel fairytale window blocks
Sensory motion liquid - Kmart Australia (not sure if they still have these as I bought them years ago now).
DIY reflective building platforms- read the blog post here.
Mini torches from Officeworks Australia
Grapat Nins
Lucite rectangles
Grimms counting rainbow (I wouldn't buy this one again - we have the original rainbow and the pastel rainbow. We really don't need this one too).
Why?
This shelf allows the girls to explore as they wish with the torches and the materials on this shelf that are translucent and transparent.
On one day we bought out the light panel too and the girls explored using these resources on the light panel too.
Fourth shelf from floor
Loose parts
Finger puppets
Grapat mandala pieces in containers + in a basket and tray
Blueberry fairy house printable
Papoose trees
Why?
These pieces can be brought down as needed for play. I found that by having some of our Grapat mandala pieces in a tray and a basket they get played with more as they are more easily accessible.
I have found that having all the pieces away in the containers with the lids makes the kids less likely to play with them. When some pieces are out in the basket or tray it has actually encouraged them to get out the pieces in the jars on the shelf as they need more when they play.
FAQ
When is it time to make a change to the toy shelf/play space?
How do I know when it's time to make a change?
When I see that the kids aren't playing here anymore.
When it looks like this (see photo below). Messy and cluttered! No-one is coming to play here. It doesn't look inviting at all.
When I have time. Sometimes I will make a couple of quick changes, other times its a bigger change up.
We don't have the space to have all our toys/play resources kept out, so I change up what it on this shelf for the girls to play with. This is particularly helpful for my youngest daughter who just turned 3. The older girls tend to get things out of the baskets in the hallway where the extra things out of rotation are stored for their play. They know where to find things here e.g. animal figurines, small world props etc. They do still engage with the play invitations and small worlds that I set up too.
What the shelf looked like before I made these changes:
Do I need to buy all these toys to support my child/ren to learn through play?
Absolutely not!! I can't say this enough. Our collection of toys has been added to over 8 years now for birthdays and Christmas (and sometimes just because).
I went overboard initially and thought I needed all the different toys that I saw on social media. It's not true though! Follow your child's interests and build your collection slowly over time, otherwise you are going to end up cluttered and your child/ren will play less, not more!
I'm not saying that you need to have any/all these toys/resources. I'm just sharing these photos as inspiration for what a play space might look like and what is currently working for us as I discover it along our own playful learning journey.
Open-Ended Play Shelves - Our Current Play Space Set up
Thank you for reading this blog post. I hope you found some inspiration.
It's time to make some changes to your play space at home or in the classroom when it isn't being played with anymore and/or when it looks messy and overwhelming. The changes might be a full shelf make over and change up, or simply changing a few toys around or adding some new ones in, changing how the blocks are displayed on the shelf or adding some baskets.
Remember you don't need to have any of these toys or resources. Use what you have and get creative to invite play!
If you want to explore more play, art and mindful moment ideas - make sure to check out more ideas in The Playful Moments Library!
Until next time ...
✨Let's create a kinder world: one playful,
mindful and creative moment at a time.✨
Danica 🩷
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