I'm applying for a grant and my resource coordinator thinks I have a great chance of getting it. I need to list items I would buy with the money. She gave me some sites to look at to find things. My question is what toys, equipment etc are your favorites? I know that i want to list a sand/water table and a 6 basket storage container.

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At this point I spend my grant money less on toys and more on storage.

I do need to revamp my space though.

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I wondered how they felt about that. If I was less likely to get the grant if I did more storage type things. You didn't find that to be the case?

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I just got a grant. I spent it on another high quality area rug, as I rotate ours out for cleaning, large magnatiles and math manipulatives and some more kid sized furniture. (we now have comfortable kid size seating for everyone)

I REALLY want new shelving, but one shelf would eat almost my entire grant, and since I HAVE to match, I wouldn't KNOW I could get more, kwim? and then the time with mismatched shelving..... nope. I think I will build some instead.

I also REALLY want this rainbow stackable wooden thing and a bridge for outside. I talked to my new registrar today and she said I CAN do a loft without a soft surface underneath as long as the top rails have something above them (so, all the way up/'jail railings' or plexiglass.

I want a busy board, a magnet wall, and a all wooden toys, too.

One thing at a time.

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I was looking at this for storage since we do alot in my living room. Thought I could store toys in it and you would never see it and it would fit in really good with my decor since I have a piece that is almost identical right around the corner. It's at Staples for only $166! including the boxes.

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Our grants are through the child care Union. We can go through two companies or, be reimbursed. Initally it was only one company and I wasn't crazy about their products. Since we now get the grants a few times a year ( ) I chose to spend some of it on storage. I chose a couple of nice wooden shelves for the DC area and a metal storage shelf for the basement (where I store rotated toys)
But if you have to submit a proposal for approval I can see where you would ask for items exclusively for the kids.

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How do you guys find out about grants?!

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My state doesn't do grants. I'm jealous of all of you who DO get them!

A few things that are popular here right now: Crazy Forts, Brain Flakes, and a Hot Wheels Ultimate Garage (and the kids have ALL improved social skills since I added this-they enjoy playing TOGETHER, even the 18 month olds, and I really feels this has a value much bigger than I expected!). Some other things to consider: sensory items, manipulatives, and things that kids can use to do "experiments".

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If you don't already have them I'd get:
school grade dramatic play kitchen set
large unit blocks
small unit blocks
block play people
block play careers people
kids telescope and slides
textile letters, numbers and shapes
felt board
felt stories
sensory balls & blocks
wood puzles
woo pattern blocks
letter/picture match
jumbo magnetic alphabet
small dry erase boards/dry erase markers

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Train table has been my biggest and best item. Take the trains out for a week, then put them away and put any table top toys you have like animals, playmobil sets etc.

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I also love the train table and take the train off and put toys on it. Kids seem to play better with the toys at hip height

Fisher price doll house, people, and assesories - not the little people house/people.

Duplo sets like zoo, hospital, etc. the large square Duplo trays you build in are really great!

Melissa and Doug food sets-love the fruit and veggies you cut up. The M & Doug Kerig (sp?) coffee maker is so cute!

Those games where they pound the ball and it rolls down a ramp.

That toy that looks like a big gumball machine. Put the balls in and turn the lever and the balls roll down.

Oil pastels for drawing on black paper

High quality wood blocks and those nice smaller rubber animals

Those blocks with the see through colored plastic in the center

A light table

Sensory table with lid

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Tree rounds and magnatiles.
Lego duplo play set with people and furniture set up.

Most 3 items used in my childcare and couldn't live without.

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Nice wooden dollhouse big enough for more than 1 dck to play with at a time.
When we used to get grants these are some of the things I got:
Flannel board/chalk board on wheels, flannel stories
LT shelf
Book Stand
Dress up stand
Wooden toddler play kitchen with quality foods
Classroom size wooden blocks and people
Sand/water table
Big Books

Now I get annual awards for renewing my STARS and I spend that $ on:
puppets
different kinds of block sets such as the LT castle block set, house block set that fits with wooden blocks, sensory magnetic blocks, tree blocks
paints
floor puzzles
musical instruments

With all of that said, my (all girl)group's very favorite things to play with are the FP type farms, houses, buses, trucks, people, animals and a plastic dollhouse I bought at a yard sale for 10 bucks.
I have a giant tub of duplo blocks too and was lucky to have found that at a yard sale. The next year, same person's sale, I bought a huge tub of Little People sets. They love that too.

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1. Magna Tiles or Picasso Tiles.
2. Durable, washable nap mats.
3. Duplos

And the one thing I use most often:
A karaoke machine.
Sounds funny, but I use it to play CD's for circle time activities, a nap time noise machine (soft lullabies too) and of course to sing on.

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Child Care Aware in your state is the best resource for finding out about available grants

http://www.idahostars.org/?q=grants

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I've been working with my local Great Start Connect rep and she's helped me raise my Star rating from a 1 to a 3!! She told me about the grant. Lots of great ideas here, thank you everyone!
One of my thoughts was the light table. Do the kids like those or are they one of those things that looks great, but they don't play with?

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If I had only one item it would be magnatiles. We have maybe 5 or more sets of the larger 100 packs. They can build the best things with them together with a group or by themselves.

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Get a light table!

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Sand / Water Table
Unit Blocks - all sizes
Dramatic Play Area
Play Stands (Waldorf but really upgrades any space)
Nice rug
Light Table
Microscope
Audio Books / Children's Music
Membership to a local children's place (Zoo, Museum, etc.) if you take field trips.

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I have been reading in reverse order! Yes with a very little training, children love light tables. They are very versatile, art, science and writing are three categories I typically use mine for...

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So looking through these posts, I'm putting my list together. Some for sure things I'm putting on my list are:

Light table
The Magnetic tiles
water/sand table
outside playhouse (have to get approval)
Melissa and doug food sets/kitchen appliance sets

Some things I would like more information on from you guys are:
the telescope with slides. Where can I find that?
Audio books. Do you have a player and headphones with books or where do you get these?

I really want some sort of a wooden storage unit with bins and also without bins. Something like this pic. Does anyone have something like this and if you do, can you tell me where you got it and post a pic? Some look great but then the measurements they seem small.

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