5 Best toys for your kids at nursery or home childcare

But back to the toys.  The toys listed in this video are all great value and are toys or resources that the children all naturally draw to.

All the toys listed, I believe can be used by children of all ages from your baby room to your toddler and preschool rooms so let’s get straight into this.

I want to mention that the list of toys are in no particular order and if you already own any of the resources that I list do let me know in the comments and let me know what you think of them and whether your child or children love them as much as mine do.

1] Soft Play Bricks

The first toy or item that I want to state is the soft play bricks which I got from Gompels.

All of our children love this when we bring them out for them.

Generally, we use it to do building, we use it for role play.  One of our children’s dad is actually a builder too, so he’s always teaching us new words and ways to use this.  It’s really good as it gets all ages involved.

The younger ones like to hold it to stack a small tower and then knock it over whereas the old ones try to get more creative and build structures with it.  One of the favourite things they try to do is to see who can build the highest tower.

This really gets the competitive and creative side out of them as some will build with strong bases and others will try to balance them high.

We then either count how high they make it or use tape to measure the height which also helps encourage early maths.

Another game we like to do is to create mini towers and use the ramps to roll cars down and try to knock the towers over a bit like bowling.

The toy is marketed at age three plus, as the younger children can bite pieces off.  Though, we do let younger ones use these under supervision so I hope I don’t get comments saying this is unsuitable for under 3s.

This is just a great item for developing children’s motor skills and creativity.

As I said before this can be purchased from Gompels, you get 25 bricks for under £50.

You can click the link in description (of the video) to try and purchase them.

They were sold out last time I checked but they might be back up now.

I found these cheapest on Gompels, though you can purchase them in other places like eBay, Amazon and Bambino Planet.

So if it’s still unavailable and you can’t wait you can get it from there, but when I did check they were more expensive on the other sites.

2] Tuff Tray

The second resource I would recommend and if you’re a part of any nursery or child care groups you will know that this is something it seems every nursery has which is a tuff tray.

I don’t know what it is about this, but it is such an amazing resource and it is a definite must buy.

We have one in each of our rooms and this is so great for creating open-ended play.  We also have one in our garden. I even bought one for my two sons at home.

There are so many things that can be created from them.

It’s great as you can use it at different levels.  We have it on the floor sometimes for the babies to get really messy in and do different activities.  On the table where the children sit and use them and sometimes higher up where they can stand and use it.

It’s such a great resource, as it allows you to do lots of messy play and it’s very easy to clean up afterwards.

I could go on about the numerous activities you can do with it, though if you are involved in any nursery groups or forums like on Facebook you will be aware of how useful it is and the different things you can do with it.

Some of the things you can do are shown on the screen.

We’ve used it to do painting, made ice cream displays there’s just so much.

Though, when you are searching be careful when purchasing as there are small ones available for cheaper and it’s difficult to tell the difference on some listings.

As I was going to say the price for a full one is roughly £15 to £20.  But the cheapest we’ve found for the full size one meter by one meter in black is on eBay where we got three for £36, which works out at £12 each.

Learning through play is the main focus of the EYFS.  It’s all about making learning fun.

1. These trays provide a focused area of play with the contents relatively contained.  Setting out inviting activities with cognitive and physical challenges has a significant benefit to early childhood development.
2. It also gives the children the opportunity to explore and discover independently and foster their creativity and imagination.
3. The large trays encourage group play, allowing numerous children at once to join in the activity.
4. Playing alongside each other is a great opportunity to build social skills, confidence and speech and language development.
5. The size and the shape of the tuff tray means children are free to move around the tray and explore activity from different angles and different perspectives.
6. It also gives the children the freedom to explore at their own pace as it requires less supervision.
7. It engages curiosity
8. and as mentioned the tray is easy to clean up afterwards.

Though how good this item is depends really heavily on your staff’s ability to create engaging and stimulating trays.  Which is why I stress how important it is to invest in good staff as opposed to lots of expensive equipment.

Though, as there are lots of different examples available online it shouldn’t be hard to come up with different tray ideas.

The trays are very durable and I’ve had mine since I’ve opened my nursery.

3] Role play kitchen

But moving on to the next item which I recommend is a role play kitchen.

This is a great resource and again is used all the time by the children in the nursery.

It is used every day by our children and we try to set up different activities around it.

If you are going to purchase one opt for a wooden one as opposed to plastic ones as it is likely to last longer.  Our kitchens are used by all ages and it encourages the younger ones to pull themselves up and stand whilst leaning or holding onto the kitchen.  The older ones love to use it for role play as it’s out all the time.

It is also a useful room separator, so it helps divide the room into different sections.

Some kitchens that you get come with role play items.  Though, if it doesn’t make sure you get some.  It’s good to get real items too, like real pots and pans as opposed to plastic items. Though, obviously make sure they are safe to use.

Children love playing different roles and scenarios in imaginative play.

Play kitchens are a particular popular resource for pretend play as it gives children the opportunity to imitate situations that they are familiar with.  Whether they’re playing the role of a head chef, waiter, kitchen porter or parent at home play kitchens allow children to imagine themselves in new roles and COOK up exciting scenarios.

Kitchen role play isn’t just a fun activity for children, it also benefits children’s development.  Young children learn through play and are always exploring and experimenting.  You can get kitchens of different sizes depending on the amount of space that you have.

The prices of these items range from anywhere from £50 up to a few hundred pounds.

As you can get so many different types and sizes based on your space, I won’t recommend a specific one in the description though do try to stay away from any plastic ones.

You can get extensions added to your kitchen as well, like a washing machine, dishwasher which all help to extend play.

Kitchen roleplay is an exciting and fun activity which stretches the children’s imagination and enriches their creativity.

It gives children a chance to concoct their own imaginative recipes and explore different pretend ingredients.

They enjoy experiments with various pretend utensils and appliances to create imaginative scenarios, either mimicking actions of adults they have seen or formulating their own uses for the objects they use.

It gives children the opportunity to express themselves creatively and engage in storytelling.  Children vocally enact the role that they are playing which enables their language development and communication.  Kitchen role play widens a child’s vocabulary as they begin to learn the names of new objects and foods whilst also using new verbs such as cook and stir and opposites such as hot and cold.

Play kitchens encourage the little ones to engage and play with other children which enhances their social development.  They create discussions around who will play what role, what they should cook and how they are going to do it.  This inspires children to work as a team and cooperate so they can get the job done quicker.  Encouraging them to share take turns and listen to other people’s opinions and ideas about what to cook

Children typically enjoy the process of organizing their pretend kitchens. Determining different roles and organizing different food types into sections.  They tend to discover that kitchen play becomes a more enjoyable activity if their play kitchen is organized.

Children may store their pretend ingredients away in cupboards and neatly organize the plates and cutlery for their guests all whilst planning what they’re going to cook next and who will get what meal.

When children engage in kitchen roll pay they are acting out real life occupations and situations they are familiar with.  This teaches children the basic cooking and cleaning concepts which enrich their understanding of the world and develop their life skills.  Whether they’re pretending to set a table, wash the dishes or bake a cake.

Kitchen roleplay tends to heighten their empathy for others because it gives them an insight into what it would be like to cook in the kitchen or work as a chef.

By providing children with their own play kitchen it gives them a sense of independence which increases their self-confidence.  They fully adopt the role of working in the kitchen and become responsible for keeping it clean organizing their belongings and caring for the different items in the kitchen.

When children undertake real-life kitchen roles and play superior roles such as head chefs they also start to develop great leadership qualities as well.

Kitchen role play enhances a child’s cognitive ability and problem-solving skills.  If problems arise such as a fork going missing it forces children to come up with a solution whether that is substituting the fork for something else or going out of their way to find the lost item.

Play kitchens also help to improve a child’s numeracy skills children may count how many plates they need weigh ingredients or count how many minutes the food needs to be in the oven for.  Which all enhances their mathematical learning while they play.

Play kitchens give children an opportunity to identify new objects and food.  You can stock play kitchens with a variety of items which also gives children the chance to categorize different food types and utensils.  By promoting different types of pretend foods such as fruit vegetables egg and meat it encourages children to make healthier food choices.  Also they imagine the food they have cooked in appetising scenarios which tends to encourage them to try eating that food in real life.

Play kitchens also help a child’s fine motor skills, as they are picking up accessories in their kitchen and using the tools in play situations.

Overall, there are just so many benefits of a roleplay kitchen and I definitely recommend it to your nursery and I hope the list of benefits has encouraged you to buy one if you haven’t already.

Whether that be for your nursery or even just at home.  We have one in each of our rooms and you can also get a mud kitchen for your garden which has similar benefits.  Here they can make their own food using things in the garden like mud, sand, water, leaves etc which is great for messy play and exploring.

Choosing resources

As you may have noticed none of the toys mentioned so far are typical bright coloured noisy toys or activity toys you may usually see recommended for home or other videos like this.

This is because there is a push for a lot more natural toys that are wooden as opposed to plastic.

This is both because the sensory benefits of wooden toys for example feeling something natural and the different textures you get from that.  As well as the environmental aspect of recyclability and overall aim to reduce the amount of plastic we use.

Also generally the plastic toys, like the activity cubes that you can get don’t typically get long engagement and it doesn’t allow for child-led open-ended play.  You usually have to complete a task and once that’s done the play stops.  It just doesn’t allow for each child’s uniqueness.

Also, if you are running a nursery you need to be aware that some of these toys can cause a sensory overload for some children as they can be loud repetitive and bright coloured.  They’re usually fine for at home but for a mix setting with different needs they aren’t usually the best and I found personal children rarely engage with them a lot especially in nurseries.

If they do engage with them they don’t engage for a long time.

4] Little Tikes Cozy Coupe

Though, one toy that I would recommend that arguably fits this category is the little tikes bus.

This toy is probably the toy that causes the most arguments at nursery.

We currently have two of these as well as a few bikes but children are always fighting over these two cars.  They just loved them, this is one I loved when I was young too and has definitely stood the test of time.

I’ve seen these in loads of places they usually cost around £50 brand new.  Though, as they are so popular and durable you can usually find some good second-hand ones on various resale apps.

Again this toy has various benefits.

The children love racing each other in them.  It helps improve their physical mobility and risk management it’s such a sturdy toy that I know your children will love too.

5] Musical Instruments

The final toy you should get for your nursery are musical instruments.

Again this is something all ages can use, though some extra supervision will be needed for younger children.

Make sure you get some good quality ones though, preferably wooden as the children will end up playing with these quite roughly.  For example, they may do drumming with it and some of the shakers or the bells that come with it can be quite dangerous.

The cheap ones especially are very dangerous when broken as some have bells which are major choking hazards.

So try to get ones with good reviews and that look quite strong.

You can get sets of musical instruments from many places just make sure you separate them to the appropriate age groups.

We use these in circle time when we are singing different songs.  We do stop and start activities with it, counting and learning rhythms. There’s lots you can do with them or you can just let children loose and use it to make their own music and experiment with different sounds.  Your children will love them!

Lots of studies show that music has a profound effect on children’s mind.  Especially when making their own music.

Musical instruments help too build fine and gross motor skills.  Experimenting with musical instruments promote physical development in a variety of ways for example drumming with an open hand can help build gross motor skills while learning to tap each finger on a piano or hold the drumstick strengthens fine motor skills.

It also helps to support sensory development movement.  Balance hearing and touch are all involved, as your children learn to hold and play different instruments.  They begin to understand for example that banging the drum slowly and softly creates a different sound to banging it quickly and forcefully.

It helps enhance children’s hand-eye coordination.  Playing the piano or drums continuously engages children’s hand-eye coordination skills.

It teaches patience and perseverance.  As children engage more in instruments they learn how to use the different instruments teaching focus.  Mimicking things that create a simple beat can teach children patience and perseverance and give them a sense of accomplishment.

As naturally children want to use the same instruments it will teach them and encourage turn-taking.

Musical instruments also help to accelerate brain development.  Research says that children who play instruments tend to have a better language development speech perception sound processing and reading skills.

So, it’s not just great for children to play with it it is also an educational tool.  So if you want some genius kids at your nursery musical instruments are a must.

You can get a good set of wooden instruments from as little as £25 to £30.  They can be purchased from anywhere like on Amazon or eBay.

I recommend getting a few sets as they will be very popular with your children.