Cranbrook-Frankland River Toy Library | Games/toys

Cranbrook-Frankland River Toy Library

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15.01.2022 The Cranbrook-Frankland River Toy Library would like to thank the Tambellup Cranbrook Community Bank for their donation of a COVID Cleaning Kit. We appreciate this kind donation and here are some of our littlest members practicing their hand hygiene! #Tambellupcranbrookcommunitybank

12.01.2022 We are open tomorrow in Cranbrook 11-12. Come in to loan toys, return toys and sign up if you're not yet a member. Also open on days/times when Kelly is in the office - (Wednesdays and Fridays, please text her prior to arrange - 0447 008 084) Open in Frankland River on Wednesdays after playgroup - contact Bronwen on 0408939049. We hope to see you at the Toy Library again soon!

11.01.2022 Did you know Bluey was created by a Dad being inspired by his daughter’s imaginative and often comedic play? Kids learn most of their skills through play, and here at the Toy Library we would like to help to inspire your children with different toys to let their imaginations run wild!

04.01.2022 My child is starting school next year, they need to be ready! A lot of people join toy libraries when their child is 3-4 years old, asking for items to help w...ith "school readiness". So what does "school readiness" mean? Most of these parents think it means resources that focus on letter and number recognition think flash cards, toys with letters on them. Any day of the week, you'll hear and see ads targeting parents - implying that if your child doesn't know the entire alphabet and can count to 20, and write them all, by the time they walk through those school doors, somehow you have failed as a parent. First of all - can we stop that now, please? You’ve been keeping at least one human being alive for several years now. You're doing amazing! Don’t let some ad designed to encourage you to buy something make you feel bad. To be ready for school, they need to be ready to learn. The great news is, all children are born ready to learn. All they need is to be healthy, safe, and interested. From a more practical stand point, there are a few things you can focus on to help make the transition easier when the time comes (and none of them involve flashcards): Fine motor development: Holding a pencil takes some serious muscles! Develop these through playdough, threading, and activities like tearing paper. Talk to your local toy library about suggested toys for fine motor strength. Gross Motor Development: Does your child have the core strength to sit up on the mat, or in a chair, for a period of time? Borrow stepping stones, balancing beams, kinder boards, ride ons anything that requires whole body movement. Turn Taking and Patience: Going from an environment where it’s just them and a parent, maybe a bonus sibling or two, to a room full of other children and only 1-2 adults is pretty full on! Board games are fantastic for developing these skills (and resilience!). An added bonus is most board games also develop maths concepts (counting numbers whilst moving pieces, recognising numbers on a die, etc), so you get more bang for your borrowing buck. Independence: Can your child take their shoes off and on by themselves? Can they go to the toilet independently? Can they use the zips on their bag? This is mainly fine motor development, but also ties into confidence and resilience. One of the best tips I was ever given for starting school was to take your child with you to buy their lunch box and make sure they can open it themselves without any help, and for a couple of weeks before starting school use it for regular lunches or picnics, so its completely familiar by the time that first day rolls around. Language and Literacy: Talking, and books. Books, and talking. Reading aloud to your child is one of the greatest things you can do for their development, even if it is the same book over and over again (although a bit of variety is good for your sanity!). By reading, you are teaching your child the basics of written English how a book should be held, that we turn pages in a particular way, that we read words left to right. Ask questions through the book to help develop comprehension skills (Can you point to the blue sheep?, Why do you think the green sheep is sleeping?). Toy libraries will have additional resources to help develop letter recognition but remember to keep it fun kids learn best through play!

03.01.2022 The Cranbrook-Frankland River Toy Library AGM is set for Wednesday 22nd July at 9:00am at the Cranbrook Hub. We would love to have as many members there as possible to let us know your thoughts on the direction of the library. Please don’t be afraid to come along thinking you will end up with an executive position, we are really just hoping to get as much input as possible.