What Are Your Must Have Toys?

[Miss A]

I was a lead infant teacher in a center for 2 years, and you would think that I would be able to remember the top ITER-S toy categories for infant and toddler toys. For the life of me, I can not remember what toys we had in our room, or what was the biggest hit with the kiddos. I am looking to slowly add to my toy rotation over the next few months, and am looking for suggestions for children 0-2.

Here is a list of things I want to add or I want to get a new variety of:
Manipulatives
Fill and dump toys
Sorters and organizers
Gross motor toys such as climbers
Blocks
Balls

[Baby Beluga]

I briefly worked with the toddlers in a center (12 months to 2 years for us) I remember having:

*pegs and boards (lakeshore has a set made for 18 months+ and another set for 3 years+)
*pop beads
*giant star builders (the star points on these would break off easily though)
*plastic chunky cars
*jumbo nuts and bolts
*large foam blocks
*plastic animals
*Melissa and Doug chunky puzzles
*dancing scarves
*kitchen center - it was a small wooden kitchen with plastic pots and pans and large soft plastic food.

[LysesKids]

I was a lead infant teacher in a center for 2 years, and you would think that I would be able to remember the top ITER-S toy categories for infant and toddler toys. For the life of me, I can not remember what toys we had in our room, or what was the biggest hit with the kiddos. I am looking to slowly add to my toy rotation over the next few months, and am looking for suggestions for children 0-2.

Here is a list of things I want to add or I want to get a new variety of:
Manipulatives
Fill and dump toys
Sorters and organizers
Gross motor toys such as climbers
Blocks
Balls

I have a lot of wood toys & blocks that are Montessori style
Zany Zoo activity cube (Target); in fact I own a lot of the B toys inc cars & piano mat (yes "B" is a brand)
Play silks - used as a light blanket, for make-believe, picnics etc.
Soft blocks that have different push out triangle/square/round noise makers inside
15 different types of balls (soft fabric & rubber, all sizes);some even rattle inside
Indestructible book set (all of them ); they've lasted 6 years so far

[MrsSteinel'sHouse]

stacking rings- even my older girls love the M&D stacking rings... I got rid of the big heavy red ball on the top though because in my world that was an accident waiting to happen.
stacking cups- love these!
Plastic animals
FP Little people
Doll babies
Kitchen/food
Fisher Price "peek a boo" blocks

[Blackcat31]

More threads on must have toys/equioment

https://www.daycare.com/forum/tags.php?tag=toys+-+best+choice

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

The most played with items right now in my 2-5-year-old classroom are:

MagnaTiles (constantly played with)
Cars
Dramatic play (babies, baby clothing, toy food)
Sensory bin
Puzzles

For trays they are:
Peg boards (letters and numbers)
Alphabet matching popsicles
Rhyming/Matching set/Etc. puzzle cards
Geoboards

[AmyKidsCo]

Ditto MagnaTiles! My children from infant to SA love them!

Soft wool balls for throwing. Pushing toys. Containers for dumping.

[Annalee]

I love all different levels of puzzles....I love watching the kids problem-solve and move up the ladder on degrees of difficulty.

[sahm1225]

I was a lead infant teacher in a center for 2 years, and you would think that I would be able to remember the top ITER-S toy categories for infant and toddler toys. For the life of me, I can not remember what toys we had in our room, or what was the biggest hit with the kiddos. I am looking to slowly add to my toy rotation over the next few months, and am looking for suggestions for children 0-2.

Here is a list of things I want to add or I want to get a new variety of:
Manipulatives
Fill and dump toys
Sorters and organizers
Gross motor toys such as climbers
Blocks
Balls

What are fill and dump toys? I have bins for toys and they love to fill up and dump, but there's actual toys that are made for dumping?

[Chickadee-Tree]

What are fill and dump toys? I have bins for toys and they love to fill up and dump, but there's actual toys that are made for dumping?

We had these in the infant room at my old center

https://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Deluxe-Fill-Spill/dp/B000NV6BZY

https://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Deluxe-Fishbowl-Spill/dp/B000NV6BZE/ref=pd_sim_21_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=XXK10XBQHQW3XV8GR78Y

I also have a "Fill and Dump" Mega Bloks wagon (it tips, dump-truck style) that my current dcks love

[childcaremom]

Magna tiles
Sensory table stuff (I usually fill with rice and utensils from the dollar store)
wooden blocks
lego/duplo blocks
playsilks
playkitchen stuff

anything outside

[Unregistered]

Wooden puzzles
Sensory table
Kitchen/food/dishes

Trucks/cars

Duplo blocks and sets like Duplo zoo or hospital

Grocery cart-they love to fill them up and push them around!
Buckets like Easter or ice cream tubs with handles-they love to fill them up and carry them around!

Dolls and blankets & baby bottles & purses!

Board books

I have a rocking moose from Ikea they love. I have other rocking toys they love!

And the most loved for toddlers that toy that looks like a giant gum ball machine. Kids put balls in the top and there two different levers to push and the balls room down.

I also have a Melissa and Doug toy where they push wooden balls into this wooden box and they roll down a zig zag ramp. Any variation of ball /ramp toy. There's different ones out there!

[DaveA]

I would add stuffed animals of different sizes and a classroom pet to the list.

[Miss A]

I would add stuffed animals of different sizes and a classroom pet to the list.

We are a country daycare, so our "classroom pet" come in the form of a bottle calf, 12 red laying hens, 5 pigs, a dog, and 7 cats

[Josiegirl]

We are a country daycare, so our "classroom pet" come in the form of a bottle calf, 12 red laying hens, 5 pigs, a dog, and 7 cats

Wow who needs toys when you've got all those!! Seriously!! That would have been all my entertainment when I was a kid.

Pps have shared great ideas. Anything sensory minded(balls, soft blocks all with different textures etc.) soft babies and feeding dishes/spoons/bottles, strollers. Musical instruments, magnetic letters/animals/pictures of themselves laminated for refrigerator time. And books galore. My youngest dcks are 3 right now and it seems like they spent 90% of free play with dollhouses and people/animals.