Toys for Nursery - Age-Appropriate Choices

In general terms, children in the Primary Nursery go through two play stages, manipulation and imagination.  Children ages 18 months through 2 years are all about discovering the world and improving their own skills by manipulating themselves and objects; stacking, sorting, picking-up, throwing, pushing, and pulling.  Three-year-olds are exploring life through imagining and acting out the roles they observe in the world; mother, father, truck driver, policeman, fireman, farmer, and much more.  The following list will give you a general idea of how to select toys appropriate for the Primary Nursery.  Always keep in mind the safety and wash-ability of any toys that are used.  Gently used toys in good repair or new toys can be purchased with the approval of the Primary president using budget funds designated for the Primary. 

18 months to 2 years

Toys:

• Stacking and sorting
• Push or pull toys, especially those that make noises and have removable people
• Puzzles with a few large chunky pieces that are easy to grasp and fit into a specific space

Books:

• Books that improve vocabulary and awareness of the world without story-lines

Art Supplies: 

• A few basic colors of crayons (coloring will be in large strokes that frequently go off the paper)
• Chalk and a chalkboard
• Clay, such as Playdoh (if you choose to use this medium check-out the blog "Play Dough Play" for a recipe and suggestions to make this activity successful in the Primary Nursery.

3 years

Toys:

• Dress-up clothes and hats 
• Child size dishes, pans, and play food
• Tool sets
• Phones
• Dolls and clothing 
• Interlocking blocks that easily stack
• Simple puzzles with a few interlocking pieces to create a picture

Books:

• Books with a simple story-line especially with rhyming and/or words creating rhythm

Art Supplies:

• Glue sticks
• Colored paper
• Large beads for threading on pipe cleaners or laces

Keep toys with multiple parts together in baskets or bins and have a tote ready to take home toys that will need a trip through the dishwasher before the next nursery playtime.  Each Sunday a few toys (about two per child [example: four children = 6 to 8 toys]) should be made available at child-level on shelves or tables for the children to choose from.  Rotate the toys every few weeks to keep things interesting.  A few well selected toys will result in an organized environment where children are safe and happy.