Equipment for Mixed Aged Groups
Multi-Functional Furniture
Invest in furniture that serves multiple purposes, such as:
- Child size, adjustable tables that can transition from meals to play surfaces and accommodate different age groups and sizes.
- Child-size, stackable chairs for easy storage and adaptability that allow the children to rest their feet on the floor when sitting.
- Low, open shelves that both display materials and create pathways or separate spaces.
- Small poufs or ottomans that serve as alternate seating in quiet, cozy areas.
- Step stools near sinks that allow children to wash their hands independently.
Avoid/limit Restrictive Furnishings: Infants need to be held, rocked, and comforted to foster healthy social and emotional development. Avoid restrictive furnishings such as car seats, rockers, jumpers, and walkers. Restrictive furnishings do not help children develop balance. Weight bearing, and correct muscle usage is necessary for proper standing and walking skills. To support proper motor development, it’s essential for infants to explore their environment freely and get plenty of tummy time. Walkers are not permitted in family child care. Instead, provide low surfaces for infants to pull up on and cruise, and offer push toys to help them practice walking. You can also use push toy alternatives, such as a full laundry basket, kitchen chair, sturdy box, or other safe, fairly heavy items.
Feeding Chairs, Baby Swings, and Playpens: Licensing allows these restrictive furnishings, but for best practice avoid/limit their use. Young infants should be held for feeding. Once they can feed themselves and can sit up independently, they can be seated at a child-sized table and chair that allows their feet to touch the ground. Instead of a playpen, you can use a rug, floor mat, or thin blanket for playtime. A glider rocking chair creates a soothing, shared movement experience and is a great alternative to a baby swing.
Engaging Outdoor Environment: Having licensed outdoor space is optional for most family child care businesses; however, whenever possible providing space at home and/or in the community such as local parks for outdoor times is important and can be a valuable extension of the daily learning. Finding creative ways to provide motor activities, sand, and safe water play, areas for art, reading, dramatic play, science, and math are supportive of developmentally appropriate practices. Things to consider for enriched outdoor play by age are:
Infants and Toddlers:
- Spaces in both the sunshine and shade
- Places for eating or relaxing outdoors
- Safe spaces for crawling, such as on grass or an outdoor blanket
- Push and pull toys
- Cars and other riding toys without pedals
- Tricycles
- Bucket swings at a safe distance from other play
- Safe, supervised water and sand activities with buckets and shovels
- Natural materials such as leaves and flowers
- Drums and other musical instruments
- Building materials, such as large blocks and cardboard boxes
- Age-appropriate climbing equipment, slides, and rocking toys
- Different size balls for rolling and throwing
- Tunnels to crawl through
- Playhouse and other structures
Preschoolers:
- Climbing structures, slides, swings, and seesaw
- Playhouse and other structures
- Water table, sand table, or covered sandbox
- Natural materials (trees, stumps, boulders, water, rocks, and plants)
- Flower or vegetable garden
- Wheeled toys (tricycles, cars, scooters, and wagons)
- Play equipment (jump ropes, balls, bean bags, and Hula-hoops)
- Music and movement (drums, rain sticks, and other instruments)
- Playground parachute and soft, plastic balls for active games
- Loose parts that encourage children to build, sort, and create such as crates, logs, branches, and pinecones
- Balance beams and stepping stones for practicing balancing, turning, and starting/stopping
- Opportunities to run, jump, skip, roll, spin, and complete obstacle courses
Regularly assess and update your environment to ensure it meets the evolving needs of the children in your care. Stay informed about new educational research and learning materials that can further enrich your indoor and outdoor spaces and offer varied learning opportunities.
