Toy-free time

Why toy-free time?

Playing is a basic need for children. There is a lot of useful play material and electronic media available, but these can hinder and impede healthy early childhood development. Children are exposed to all kinds of industrially manufactured toys on a daily basis, which leaves little room for their own ideas. Toy-free time is intended to bring children's creativity back to the forefront.

What do our children really need in order to master life independently, make decisions, solve problems, think creatively, live out their imagination, communicate with others, get to know themselves and empathise with others?

We want to counteract the influence of industrially manufactured toys for 2-3 weeks and give children the opportunity to discover their own creativity and imagination, to live it out with themselves and other children, and to indulge in everyday objects and natural materials with all their senses. Dialogue among the children is encouraged, ideas are formulated, rules are agreed upon, relationships are built, and help is sought from others.

The role of the teacher also changes – she is a source of inspiration, provides support, observes, documents and plays along.

How the toy-free period works

At the beginning of the toy-free period, the children are told that all their toys are going on holiday. Together, they pack up and stow away their toys or take them off the shelves. All that remains are everyday items such as pens, books, glue, craft supplies, building blocks, etc.
The parents also diligently collected materials for the children, as they had been informed about the project in advance: cardboard boxes, fabric, cardboard rolls, packaging, yoghurt pots, wool, packing tape, paper plates, old CDs, etc.

The Children of the Forest play mum, dad and baby. The father pushes the babies around the room in prams, while the mother decorates the flat with paper plates and string. They have been on the phone discussing when the mother will be back and when the babies will have to go to sleep. The father reads a story to the children.

A band has been formed with large cardboard rolls. The children hold their large rolls like musical instruments and sing loudly.

One child said: ‘I lie down on my stomach on the roll and roll back and forth on it, like on a sports roll. Or I dance with my roll like Rumpelstiltskin around the fire.’

From pizza makers and construction workers to Superman and ghost hunters, there was something for everyone – each according to their own ideas and imagination.

Conventional masking tape was used to measure the room of the Children of the Sea, wrap chairs and form newspapers into balls to play target throwing.

Large cardboard rolls and masking tape were used to create a motorway tunnel, through which cars then fell loudly into a very large metal tin. The tunnel sometimes had to be shaken because traffic jams formed inside it.

The older girls made horse stables with boxes.

A town was to be created with streets, houses, zebra crossings and a fire brigade, which no town should be without.

The younger Children of the Heaven had great fun stacking cardboard boxes. They examined the material of the boxes and cardboard rolls, their texture and sound. With a helping hand, they quickly entered the creative phase and found themselves playing role-playing games together. Three children formed a travelling band. With a guitar, drums and three flutes, they made their way through the room playing music.

During this time, many cars were created: one that flies the children home and a huge safari car with all kinds of little details. Our professional architects also planned and built a lot of houses. At lunchtime, the children were already working on their buildings and exchanging ideas in small teams about what they wanted to build.

Toy-free time is a special experience for children, educators and parents. The child takes centre stage with their wealth of ideas. The children communicated more, found constructive solutions and strengthened their independence. They have the opportunity to work with large and unusual materials.
This time therefore offers an important change from the regular daycare routine. During this time, there were hardly any conflicts among the children.

Toy-free time should remain just that: something special.