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When you’re on a tight daycare budget, it is important to select toys that children will get the most use of and  to avoid wasting money on toys kids have no interest in. Great toys should be ability to provide children with creative options during play and be age appropriate and durable. Our  OwnADaycare Facebook fans who are wonderful daycare business professionals, have provided their input about the most essential, tried and true toys for daycare business. Here are some essential toys for family daycares:

• Play kitchens, play houses, lego or mega blocks, and play doh gets used alot around here. Also my little ponies, Barbie dolls, dress up stations, and  hot wheels cars.

• Wooden blocks as well as animals and toy people that the children are always wanting to play with. Play is endless with them.

• Melissa and Doug food selections. They are made of wood so they will last forever. It made the kids enjoy playing in the kitchen again. Amazon.com always has great price and they qualify for the Super Saver Shipping so you save money that way to. You can get ones that stick together and the kids can cut them apart with a wooden knife. They love that. Also cupcakes that you can color with marker like icing.

• Computer type learning toys are wonderful. They have numbers, ABC’s, colors and shape, etc. My daycare kids love them.

• We have a couple of shopping carts with some plastic play foods that the kids take the babies shopping then “come home” and cook. It is a great way to introduce healthy eating habits and talks as well.

• A cash register. We also have a dramatic play area, kitchen are, costumes, shopping carts and lots of play food. The kids love puppet theater and  cardboard stacking blocks

• Duplo blocks, assorted animals(4-6″), hand puppets, wooden board puzzles, and match box sized planes, trains, trucks and automobiles.

• Paper, crayons, glue sticks and safety scissors.

• Magformers captivate the kids from infant on up to teens. There are so many possibilities with these, it never gets old!

• Art supplies. Books…good books….look for preschool books that win awards.  One thing to consider is that at some point you may have kids under 3 also so try to get things that don’t have small, parts that kids may choke on.

• With my full supervision we have learned colors, shapes, and patterns with stringing beads and the kids don’t ever seem to get tired of them.

• All of my 2 and 3 year olds love back packs. We have one for everyone. They put toys in them and pretend they are going on a field trip, to the pet store, or to preschool. I love this age.
• Trains, trains and more trains!

• Play food and dishes; those containers are ALWAYS out! Play make-up and jewelry, small action figures/dolls

• Classic push and pull toys  such as a puppy on a string

• Everyone loves sensory bottles and the doodle things that you write with and erase.

• A toy box that looks like a train engine that they climb in and out all day. Also tents — find a collapsible one so it folds up easy for storage.

• My three-year-olds love teeter totters.
• I have a set of wooden blocks from my own childhood that are used in more ways than I would have imagined possible. The blocks are colored and different shapes so all the squares are blue, all the rectangles are red, etc. We do testing here and use the blocks for shapes, colors, size (such as “which block is bigger?”), space relation ( such as “which block is on top, on the bottom, in front?”), counting, pattern sequencing, fine motor skills ( such as “How many blocks can you stack?”), and banging blocks together in rhythm. Of course, they are also used for building during free play.

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Green Environments for Daycare Centers photo by jekert gwapo

Increasingly, more family daycare businesses are becoming environmentally safe and responsible.  Child care providers are special taking measures (as an important component of their daycare jobs) to ensure that the environment provides the best in health for children, offer locally-grown or organic food, and celebrate multiculturalism.

Matt Haugh directs sales and marketing for BigToys, Inc., a commercial playground equipment manufacturer based in Olympia, Washington. In Part 2 of our interview with Haugh, Haugh describes the types of equipment necessary and safe materials for green daycare centers.

OwnADaycare: What kind of equipment would a small family childcare business require? What types of materials should a small family childcare business avoid?

Matt Haugh: There are many factors that contribute to creating a safe and developmentally appropriate playscape, and regional differences make it difficult to generalize. Fortunately, BigToys has a network of professionals who can answer any question, and we’ve also created a helpful guide to early childhood play spaces, which can be found here as a PDF, where you’ll find many ideas for natural playscapes that we like to think of as “pockets of play along a path.”

Obviously all playground designs should begin with safety, and it’s important to consider supervisor visibility (lines of sight), sun exposure, pooling water, and many other factors. Beyond core safety, well-designed playgrounds incorporate as many natural elements as possible while creating exploration and growth opportunities for developing minds and bodies. From a safety, durability, and design perspective, commercial manufacturers can play a critical role, but it’s also worth consulting with local landscaping and materials experts to come up with a total design that can be comfortably maintained while giving kids maximum exposure to nature.

For many customers (especially small centers) it makes the most sense to start small, and slowly add more natural and environmentally friendly materials as budget allows. This also lets learn how the kids interact with new elements, which supports decisions about future changes and additions. Thinking of it as an ever changing, organic growth and learning process can be very liberating compared to the more traditional “rip out and replace” mindset.

OwnADaycare: When selecting playground equipment many daycare providers have been told to avoid items that are made of treated wood. Is this correct? Can you elaborate on this?

Matt Haugh: BigToys’ wood structures are conditioned with copper azole (a water-based wood preservative comprised of 96% copper and 4% azole) which prevents fungal decay and insect attack. Our conditioning process provides lasting durability, releases no air pollutants or wastewater, and uses recycled materials. Furthermore, our wood conditioner contains no heavy metals, is arsenate free, won’t leach out, won’t dissolve, won’t stain, and won’t pollute. Copper azole is approved by the EPA and CPSP for use on playground equipment.

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While most art supplies for children are tested for safety, many products still include toxins like lead, silica, dioxins, and arsenic that are potential health hazards. Today many companies produce green (or environmentally friendly) art supplies for children.

For example, their crayons may be made from soy instead of petroleum and colored pencils may be made from made from recycled wood instead of destroying new living, growing trees. If you decide to make the investment in environmentally friendly or green art supplies for use in your childcare center, consider purchasing them from the following companies:

Stubby Pencil Studio:  Stubby Pencil Studio offers non-toxic, recycled, fair trade, educational, sustainable or environmentally responsible products. Here you can purchase aprons and tools, crayons, chalk, colored pencils, office supplies, molding clay, graphite pencils, paints and paint brushes, and sketch books. Stubby Pencil Studio also offers environmentally friendly craft kits. Order online or by phone.

Kidbean.com: If you’re looking for environmentally friendly finger paint, KidBean.com offers natural help finger paint. Livos SALIS Natural Hemp Finger Paint Set for Kids is biodynamically grown, lead free, and VOC free. KidBean.com also sell unnatural dyed “play dough” made from food grade ingredients as well as Green Field hemp sketch, drawing, and watercolor paper.

Eco Choices:  One of the best products sold by EcoChoice in their EcoArt Works division is their soy rock crayons. These soy crayons are made of soft soy wax and tinted with mineral powders. EcoArt Works also sells Eco dough, Eco finger paints, natural modeling dough in a variety of scents and colors, drawing books, face paint, and fairy tale wool. All products are earth friendly and non-toxic.

Nuno Organics: Nuno Organics is a green crafter’s dream. They offer non-toxic play dough, modeling beeswax, wooden beads, bee wax coloring blocks, beeswax crayons, colored pencils, face painting pencils, nontoxic finger paints, and Lyra Wax-O-Glas Window Crayons. The products sold by Nuno Organics are those that meet European standards for organic certification in Germany and Holland.

Also check out the “Guidelines for the Safe Use of Art and Craft Materials” published by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. This guide helps childcare professionals, like those who are licensed daycare providers, select safe arts and craft materials for children.

If you have the time and the means, try making your own natural, eco-friendly art supplies. Nature Moms is a great website which provides you with loads of free natural recipes for play dough, finger paints, bubbles, and silly putty.

Remember that there are many seemingly harmful art supplies that may contain hazardous chemicals like ammonia, formaldehyde, turpentine, or xylene (a neuro, kidney, reproductive, and respiratory toxin). Do some research to find out what toxins may be in the art supplies you are using, and consider switching to healthier, environmentally-friendly supplies. Better safe than sorry!

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Inspire children’s love of reading by providing a well rounded library of fascination, age appropriate books in your daycare center. Classic books make a great foundation for lifelong reading.  This article will focus on helping licensed daycare providers set up a daycare library for preschool aged children.

Children’s books are usually categorized by genre and reading level. First books are divided into three categories: Fiction, folklore or poetry, nonfiction. Nonfiction books are books of information.  Folklore and poetry include folktales, mythology, tall tales, nursery rhymes, verse and epic literature.

Fiction books for children are then divided further into categories by reading level: Board books, picture books, easy readers, transitional books, and chapter books.  Infants and toddlers and preschoolers in child care centers are interested in board books, picture books, and easy readers.

Board Books

Board books are soft books for infants and young children with rounded edges. In addition picture books may have pop-up feature or flaps or a variety of textures for young children to explore.

Classic Board Books

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle [Puffin, 1994]

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd [HarperCollins, 2005]

The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss and Crockett Johnson [HarperFestival, 1993]

Picture Books

Picture books pair art with story. Some picture book pages may only have a few words while others may have a few paragraphs. Picture books are intended to convey ideas through art and to stir the imagination.  Picture books are usually 32 pages. To select exceptional picture books for your childcare center, choose picture books that integrate outstanding text and excellent illustrations.

Classic Picture Books

The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter [Warne, 2002]

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See? Bill Martin, Jr. and Eric Carle [Holt and Co., 2008]

Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans [Viking, 2000]

Make way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey [Viking, 1965]

Harold and the Paper Crayon [HarperCollins, 1998]

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats [Puffin, 1976]

Polar Bear Express by Chris Van Allsburg [Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade, 2009]

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak [HarperCollins, 1998]

Easy Readers: As children develop reading and comprehension skill they move on to easy readers. They help children build the skills of children are just beginning to learn to read. Easy readers marry exceptional pictures with simple sentences.

Classic Easy Reader books

Little Bear by Elsa Holmelund Minarik and Maurice Sendak [HarperTrophy, 1978]

The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss [Random House, 1957]

Frog and Toad are Friends Book and CD by Arnold Lobel [HarperCollins, 2005]

Henry and Mudge by Cynthia Rylant [Aladdin, 2006]

Bread and Jam for Francis by Russell and Lillian Hoban [HarperTrophy, 1993]

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If your child care center cares for infants and toddlers, your number one priority must be to keep them safe by maintaining a secure and healthy environment.  High chairs and strollers can be extremely dangerous for young children if they are not built correctly. Infants and toddlers may be at risk of falling and choking hazards if these childcare products prove to be faulty. Take note of the following recent  high chairs and stroller recalls:

2009 High Chair Recalls:

April 2009: Evenflo Recalls Envision High Chairs Due to Fall and Choking Hazards manufactured by Evenflo Company Inc., of Miamisburg, Ohio, 643,000 units. “Recline fasteners and metal screws on both sides of the high chair can loosen and fall out, allowing the seatback to detach or recline unexpectedly. Children can fall backwards or fall out of the high chair and suffer bumps and bruises to the head, abrasions, cuts and bruises. Detached hardware also poses a choking hazard to children”.

April 2009: Evenflo Expands Recall of Majestic High Chairs Due to Fall and Choking Hazards, Manufactured by Evenflo Company Inc., of Miamisburg, Ohio 90,000 units (95,000 were recalled in December 2008). “Plastic caps and metal screws on both sides of the high chair can loosen and fall out, allowing the seatback to suddenly fall back or detach from the high chair. Children can fall backwards or fall out of the high chair and suffer bumps and bruises to the head, broken bones, abrasions, cuts and bruises. Detached hardware also poses a choking hazard to children”.

March 2009: Fisher-Price Recalls 3-in-1 High Chairs Due to Fall Hazard, manufactured by Fisher-Price, of East Aurora, N.Y. 24,000 units were recalled.” The seat can fall backwards from high chair frame if the booster seat release is unlatched while the child is in the product. Also, the seat back can detach if not fully snapped in place, posing a fall hazard and risk of serious injury to young children”.

2009 Stroller Recalls

August 2009: Baby Jogger City Mini Strollers Recalls Strollers Due to Fall Hazard, manufactured by Baby Jogger LLC, of Richmond, Va., 41,000 units recalled. “The stroller’s restraint buckle could break or unlatch allowing the child or infant to fall out”.

June 2009: Bugaboo Recalls Strollers Due to Risk of Brake Failure, Bugaboo Bee Strollers manufactured by Bugaboo Design & Sales, B.V., of the Netherlands. 22,500 units were recalled. “One or both sides of the brakes can fail, causing a stroller to unexpectedly roll away on an incline. This can pose a risk of injury to the child occupant”.

Parents and child care providers MUST check with the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall list which can be found at cpsc.gov. You can even sign up to be on an email list which will inform you of current recalls. They continually update the recall list, so be sure to check frequently for recalls on toys, cribs, and daycare equipment. Depending on the severity of the recall, the manufacturer might mail kits with parts to repair faulty products.  Sometimes consumers are told to take the product back to where they were purchased for refunds, store credits or replacement items.

Strollers and high chairs are an expensive investment for a daycare business. However it is an investment that is essential for licensed daycare providers that care for infants. Be aware that if you must buy used strollers or high chairs for your daycare center it is imperative that you check against the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall list to be sure the crib has not been previously recalled.

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