Swan Hill Community Toy Library in Swan Hill, Victoria | Community organisation

Swan Hill Community Toy Library

Locality: Swan Hill, Victoria

Address: Inside the Swan Hill Regional Library at 53/67 Campbell St 3585 Swan Hill, VIC, Australia

Website: http://www.swanhilltoylibrary.websyte.com.au

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25.01.2022 World Play Day is this Friday, May 28! Play is the key to our health. Play to be... - physically healthy - mentally healthy... - socially healthy. Some ideas to be physically healthy could include: - take toys outside, play with them in a different environment. - Use boxes. What can your children make with them? Can they jump inside it? climb? crawl? - We live in such a great location, get outside and explore! Enjoy all those autumn leaves, roll in them, play in them, throw them. - Get creative and feel free to share you ideas with others below in the comments....

25.01.2022 Great news! Swan Hill Community Toy Library will re-open this weekend. Come along on Friday 11am-12pm or Saturday 10-11.30am. Stock up on new toys for your child to enjoy, learn & have fun with whilst playing. COVID-safe rules apply: - Sign in at the entrance to Swan Hill Regional Library... - Wear a face mask - Use hand-sanitiser - Social distance - Don't forget to clean all your toys Have you seen the competition we are running on our Swan Hill Community Toy Library Facebook page at the moment? Tell your friends.

19.01.2022 Today is the last day the Toy Library will be open for 2020. Could all members please return their toys We will reopen on February 5th 2021. We hope everyone has a safe & merry Christmas and we look forward to seeing you all again in the New Year!

17.01.2022 Toy Library Giveaway We thought this would be a good time to spread some JOY by giving away not one but TWO six month toy library memberships for you and a friend! TO ENTER:... 1 Follow us on Facebook & like this post 2 Comment below by telling us what is your child’s favourite toy at the moment? (feel free to include a photo) AND tag a friend who would also love to win a membership. Your comment will enter you and your nominated friend into the draw. 3 Multiple entries are permitted if a different friend is nominated each time. 4 Share this post for a bonus entry & share to your story for an additional bonus! Competition closes 5pm on Wednesday 23/06/21 and winner announced after 8pm that night. Please note: This competition is open to both members and non members. If a member wins, they will be given an extra six months on top of their preexisting membership. GOOD LUCK!

15.01.2022 Annual Toy Clean and Safety Check All members are encouraged to join us for ONE session. Sessions will be held on these dates and times:... Wednesday Jan. 20 10-11am Wednesday Jan. 20 7-8pm Saturday Jan. 23. 10-11am This year our main focus will be a stocktake of the toy collection. Please RSVP to Sharyn 0427847486 so that we know the numbers of helpers at each session. If you are unable to join us at these times, please contact Sharyn as there are a number of tasks that can be done at home to help us be ready for the new year. Thanks for your part in making sure that our Toy Library toys are safe and ready for our children to enjoy this year. We look forward to seeing you back in the Toy Library again.

14.01.2022 World Play Day celebrates children's right to play on May 28 every year. The International Toy Library Association (ITLA) formally agreed to celebrate World Play Day at the 8th ITLA conference in Tokyo in 1999. May 28th was chosen in recognition of the day the International Toy Library Association was formed in 1987.

11.01.2022 Today is World Play Day.... And it's looking a little different I guess due to Lockdown. But don't despair... we can still get creative to play, and what a great opportunity to be home with our families, spending time together so we can just PLAY! Even in lockdown, we can still access parks, so make the most of the wonderful Autumn weather, get outside and explore! Play to be Mentally Healthy: During this lockdown, be spontaneous, see what your child is interested in and roll... with it. Engage, inspire, challenge your child/ren to find different ways to explore toys and games they are using or have used. Being able to express feelings and emotions is crucial for mental health. Look for games or toys that have the potential to raise opportunities to express feelings. Talk with children about how they feel while playing, both positive and negative emotions (eg when loosing a game or waiting a turn). Could you write or tell a story together? 'eg. Sam is back at her house once again... She feels..." and let you child/ren creativity and feelings arise. Talk about how your children feel about the world nowadays and then challenge them to represent it in a drawing or song, or movement. Play to be Socially Healthy: Even in Lockdown we can still promote social play, cooperation and belonging. You could do a puzzle in a cooperative way. Remember play is crucial for social interactions, but also to relationship's among families. What ever you do this World Play Day during Lockdown, Enjoy! Feel free to post some photos of your day below and share the ideas.

11.01.2022 We have a winner Congratulations Joanita Van Gooswilligen You are the winner of our 6 month membership giveaway. ... Congratulations also to the friend you tagged - Megan Malan, you have also won a 6 month membership. Joanita’s child’s favourite toy at the moment is a little Spirit Horse Thank You to everyone who entered

06.01.2022 I think we can all relate to this. We have so many options; prams, wheelbarrows etc, at our local toy library.

02.01.2022 GREAT NEWS.... ***The Toy Library will return to normal opening times starting THIS week. - Friday 11am-12pm - Saturday 10-11:30am... * We will no longer be open Friday afternoons. * The Maximum number of people allowed in the Toy Library at one time will increase to 2 families OR 7 people. * Our last day for 2020 will be Saturday 12th December. If all toys could be returned by this date that would be great. * The toy Library will re-open again in early February 2021. * We wish to extend a huge Thank You to all the volunteers who have helped out with the roster so that we can remain open and operate during these challenging times.

02.01.2022 Does your child love the spinning apple at Riverside Park? Why not borrow this spinning toy from the toy library So why do children love to spin?... Children need the dizzying input that comes from spinning, rolling, and swinging. These important movement experiences help the child’s nervous system to mature and organise. Many adults eventually start to dislike the feeling of spinning or repetitive swinging, but for children, it is a crucial sensory and motor skill input. Don’t stop the movement Remember, if children incessantly spin in circles, it is because their bodies crave that stimulation. If they roll and tumble and stand on their heads, it is because they need that sensory fix. If they rock or rhythmically sway, it helps their bodies to organise and function. Create spaces where they can do these activities anytime the children need to. What does spinning do? The vestibular, proprioceptive, auditory, and visual senses work in concert. These fancy words are labels for sensory systems in humans that often work behind the scenes, taking in information and shaping the brain’s network. Spinning in circles is one of the best activities to help children gain a good sense of body awareness. Through spinning they figure out where their center is and then are more able to coordinate movement on the two sides of the body. Rather than making children susceptible to falls, spinning actually improves a child’s surefootedness, and it also improves their ability to concentrate in the classroom. According to Kawar, Frick, and Frick (2005), the centrifugal force experienced on things like merry-go-rounds activates the fluid-filled cavities in the inner ear. These sensors tell the brain the orientation of the head which develops grounding and sustaining attention to task. The vestibular system controls a person’s balance, posture, gaze stabilization, and spatial orientation. It also impacts impulse control (Angelaki and Dickman 2017). This nerve development is necessary for future tasks like following lines of text across a page (White 2013). Sometimes occupational therapists build spinning or rocking experiences into a child’s therapy if the child struggles with sensory integration. Credit: https://extension.psu.edu//betterkidcare/news/2017/spinning

02.01.2022 Who doesn’t LOVE water play during these warmer months Did you know the Toy Library has a range of water play items available for loan? Add some bubbles, food colouring, cups, balls, containers etc for a bit of extra fun! ... The benefits of water play: * Develop Motor Skills Water Play gives many opportunities to develop fine and gross motor skills across age ranges. Children will increase their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination through actions like pouring, squirting, scrubbing, stirring and squeezing. It’s an amazing sensory experience introducing them to textures (slippy, slimy) and temperatures. It will also help master the pincer grip which will enable them to hold a pencil correctly at school. * Problem Solving Skills Water play allows children to explore a substance and make discoveries about it. Observing a branch or paper float or sink will teach them, in a very practical way, how and why things happen. But above all, it encourages them to use their imagination, develops creative thinking which plays an important role in problem-solving. * Language Development Imagine the discussions you can have asking what they are doing. Imagine then, the number of new words they will learn while having fun with water and having conversations about it! Basin, Damp, Depth, Drain, Flow, Drenched, Drizzle, Sieve * Social Emotional Growth Water play releases energy, it can be both invigorating or relaxing and calming for young children. It increases their ability to concentrate on one activity when presented as a tranquil and repetitive activity (scooping, pouring and running their hands through the water). Gentle water play allows them to unwind, order their thoughts and relax. It also encourages role play and crucial social skills like cooperation and sharing. * Science & Mathematics Learning Water Play builds the foundation for understanding various scientific & mathematics concepts. It will introduce children to terms such as Full, Empty, Half, Less. You can measure, compare volumes and observe motion. You could count the rocks in the basin and notice the flow change as you move. What a fun way to work on Preschool readiness programs! Science is everywhere around us. At home, don’t hesitate to take buckets, cups, sifters, empty bottles, boats, etc in a shaded area out in the garden or on the balcony and participate with your children to their pretend play, they are learning as well as enjoying your participation! Never leave children unattended during Water Play. Credit: https://www.kidsclubchildcare.com.au/5-benefits-of-water-p/

02.01.2022 Here we go again.... The Toy Library will be closed during lockdown.Here we go again.... The Toy Library will be closed during lockdown.