Play gear organization takes a back seat to other things in many early learning settings–with good reason. There are always many important things that need attention. Aside from meeting the here-and-now needs of children, there’s paperwork, cleaning, planning, and more to be done. A thoughtfully organized, systematic way of storing play materials is usually more aspiration than reality.

That said, there are important reasons for investing a bit of time and energy in organizing your program’s play materials. We’ll take a look at 7 of those reasons, but first a note of clarification about the level of organization that works best in most early learning settings.

On the spectrum of Disorganized to Hyper-Organized, a midway point of Moderately-Organized is a reasonable target. On the Disorganized end of the continuum, quiet kids get misplaced from time to time, and at least a couple kids are always missing a sock. On the Hyper-Organized end, teachers have panic attacks if a couple square unit blocks gets stacked where the rectangle blocks belong and hyperventilate if a couple mammals wind up in the dinosaur tote. Achieve a moderate level of play gear organization, and no one is lost, no one is breathing into a paper sack, and fully-socked kids are not twitching with anxiety about putting baby dolls in the wrong place at cleanup time.

Now, on with the reasons for play gear organization:

Predictability

I used to misplace my keys at the end of the day. A lot. I’d eventually find them in a jacket pocket, on the kitchen table, or dangling from a lock. Eventually, I wised up and installed a hook by the front door. No more lost keys–I always knew where to find them. A bit of organization makes your play space more predictable for kids. They always know where to find a tape dispenser, a pair of scissor, their shoes, or their favorite baby doll when items have a predictable home in your play setting.

Flexibility

Better play gear organization allows you to be more flexible and better at following the lead of children at play. For example, say a group of preschoolers has been watching blue jays dart too and from the playground bird feeder and decides they need to make wings and try to fly. If you can easily locate hunks of cardboard, bits of fabric, glue, tape, string, maybe some feathers, and the other equipment they request, you can easily support their attempts to fly.

An hour later, when they’ve decided they’d be more successful achieving flight with paper airplanes, you quickly provide a stack of paper and a couple books about paper airplanes from the classroom library. Not being able to lay hands on supplies when you need them hinders your ability to go with the flow of children’s interests.

Creativity

Better play gear organization also helps you support kid’s creativity. Kids are able to combine materials in interesting and unique-to-them ways when there’s a bit of organization. My favorite example of this is one of the many times I saw a lightbulb pop on over the head of almost-three-year-old Noah.

He headed to a shelf in the dramatic play area and grabbed a couple plastic Easter eggs, then headed to a tote full of loose parts to dig out an empty Hershey’s chocolate sauce container. With a smile, he placed half an egg on the top of the container, gave it a squeeze, and watched the egg half fly towards the ceiling. Almost immediately, all the other kids needed to do what Noah was doing. After a quick trip to the storage room for more chocolate sauce containers and eggs, everyone was happily launching eggs.

Efficiency 

Being organized makes you more efficient. You can’t use it if you can’t find it. It saves time during play–“That’s a cool idea. You want to do it too? Let me grab more containers and eggs.” or “You want to make wings and try to fly? Sure. Tell me what you need, and we’ll go to the storage room and get supplies.” Better play gear organization makes cleanup time easier, too. Understanding that the paint brushes always go There after they are cleaned and that the milk crates always get stacked Over There when the loose parts get put away makes things simpler for kids and adults.

Serenity

Attending to play gear organization also offers a measure of serenity to adults and children. A bit of order and predictability is calming. Chaotic spaces and hyper-organized spaces tend to be unsettling for most people, while moderately-organized spaces are more comfortable. Our minds are happier when there’s a bit of order.

Appearances

Besides being more functional, play spaces tend to look better when there’s a moderate level of play gear organization. While functionality should always win out over appearances in early learning settings, appearances do matter. It’s important that spaces look presentable when parents, funders, and other stakeholders visit.

Modeling

Play gear organization in early learning settings also models organization skills for kids. Watching adults organize, and spending time in orderly spaces, can passively influence children’s choices and behavior.

The Big Play Gear Organization Payoff

The big payoff is that these seven benefits add up to a more functional play space for supporting kids in leading their own play, exploration, and discovery. Play spaces with better organization are more user-friendly.

Brought to you by Explorations Early Learning
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