Effective Playroom Design

If you are a parent you most likely say things like "clean up your room" "put that away" and "If I trip over one more toy I'm gonna.." a hundred times a day. You more than likely are also asked "Mom, do you know where my (insert toy name here)is, I can't find it?" or some similar phrase another hundred times a day. If you want to help your kids be more independent and responsible with their playtime, you have to help set the stage.

Room design for child care centers is such a critical component of Early Childhood Education, that there are 2 classes during the 2 year ECE program dedicated to setting up the classroom in such a way as to promote active learning.

Not only can an effectively set up play room at home promote early learning for your children but it will also help them develop a strong foundation for Independence and responsibility for their stuff.

Here is a break down of 7 simple, yet very rewarding, ideas on how to organize your children's playroom.

1. Sort and Label:

In order for your child to independently find what they are looking for when they want it, they must know where to look. This begins by making things easy to find. Start by getting some storage containers. I like the bins from ikea because they are sturdy, inexpensive and come in bright colours. Then assign a bin to a certain type of toy. Some examples of this are a bin for each of these common types of toys: lego, action figures, cars, beyblades, bakugans (I have boys so feel free to change these to barbies, polly pockets, zhu zhu pets etc). Once you have divided all the toys into their own bin you are ready to label. Labeling can be done a multitude of ways but I have found the for pre-readers the best way is to take a picture of the actual toys and tape it to the front of the bins along with a printed word underneath the picture. Attach a second copy of the picture to the shelf where the bin belongs on the shelf. If your children can read you can skip the picture and just label with the printed word such as how I have in my picture examples.

2. Toys and Games Too Big For Bins:

For all toys and materials that do not logically belong in a bin, assign shelf space for this toy and label the shelf. This way your child will know where to find and replace the toy after use.

3. Assigning Shelf Space:

Placing your materials on the shelf effectively takes some thought. The idea is to try to create a set up that works logically. You can also display certain toys in a way that encourages the child to choose these toys over others. In my example you can see that the low shelf has the board games, puzzles, lego and marble works on it. I chose to place those materials there to encourage them to sit down and play more board games together, engage in puzzle play and work on building with lego/marble works because those are great developmentally appropriate toys. The other materials they have were then assigned shelf space on the larger unit based on what they play with the most often, what toys I'd prefer to keep out of my younger child's reach and what toys belong closer together (ex. Big cars and little cars).

4. Art area:

Your child's playroom should include some art related materials. We used to have an easel in our playroom as well but I have since removed it as we were running out of room and my guys are getting too big for an easel now. We have a plastic storage unit with 3 drawers where I have sorted and labeled their books in the following categories: colouring books, activity books and stickers/sticker books. Inside the desk drawer they have pencil case boxes, one for crayons, one for pencil crayons, one for markers and one for school supplies. I allow them free use of child safe scissors, glue sticks and pencil sharpeners. You can offer what you feel comfortable with.

5. TV and Video Games:

Although you would never find this in a child care center, chances are this area exists in your home. It can also be properly organized to maximize the care of these materials. We choose to keep the movies and games in our living room because they still do not take proper care of them. They do keep the Wii accessories in their playroom though which are kept in a labeled bin. They also have a labeled bin for remote controls, so they wont lose them.

6. Variety or Toys:

It is important to have a variety of toys for well rounded play. Key types of toys include; blocks and building toys, art materials, games and/or puzzles, books, dramatic area (costumes/dress up/kitchen), and some toys of interest (beyblades, action figures, dolls). By offering a variety of types of toys your children will be able to explore and learn in a variety of ways which builds a solid foundation for all future learning such as reading, math, social development and problem solving.

7. Display Your Child's Art:

Have a dedicated area of the wall where they can display some of their art work from school or home that they feel proud of. I got a bulletin board for their playroom and they love hanging their special art on it.

Here are some pictures for you to see how my children's playroom is set up.


These are the 2 toy shelves in our playroom.



This is the shelf I use to put the toys I want to encourage them to play with on. The top is reserved for large toys that will not fit anywhere else.



Here is a close up of the shelf labels



Example of labeled bins and shelves



The storage drawer unit for sorting colouring and activity books. The desk is beside this and all the art supplies available to them are in the desk drawers (also labeled)



This is the storage bin I use for dramatic costumes and props. If I had the wall space I would have hung the costumes on hooks and placed only the props in the bin.



Notice the labeled bins for remotes and videogame accessories.



The art board that we display the surplus of kids art on.



Once your room is set up and organized take your children around the room for a tour. Show them the labels on the bins and the shelves and let them explore where all their toys can be found. Explain any 'house rules' you will have (ex. video games and movies stay in our living room and you need to ask before playing with play dough). Remind your children to put things away in their proper place after use.

If your children start asking you where things are, remind them of their labeled bins and remind them that putting things away is their responsibility. It may take a few weeks to a month to get used to it but be persistent and continually remind them about the benefits of a clean room (finding what you want when you want it for example). Remember to clear out old toys periodically as to not have an over cluttered room. We do a playroom cleansing before birthday's and Christmas as this is the time when they receive an abundance of new toys.

If you have any questions about playroom set up please post them in the comment section.