In any setting, storage presents a challenge, but in settings without dedicated premises, practitioners need to be particularly creative to make less onerous the daily routine of packing up resources. However, good storage systems can improve the provision on offer as well as speeding up the packing process.
Storage equipment does not have to be expensive and selections of boxes and trolleys are available from most DIY stores. Containers that serve a dual purpose (for storing equipment and presenting resources to children) are especially practical.
For example, store dough-modelling tools in shallow stacking boxes with templates on the lids, so that when needed, practitioners have only to put the tools on the templates and place the lid in the centre of a table for the children to use.
Presenting resources in this way also adds a mathematical dimension to children's learning, as the children can match and compare the shapes of the tools as they remove them from and replace them on the templates.
Always label storage containers clearly with words and pictures so that the contents are obvious to adults and to make information accessible to children.
Here are a few practical ideas of how to use bags, boxes and other containers effectively around the setting to store equipment and to promote learning:
Office and mark-making areas
* Hanging plastic or fabric pockets provide useful storage for name cards.
If each pocket is marked with a letter of the alphabet, children's names can be sorted according to their initial letter. The pockets can be folded away easily after use and stored in a small space.
* An individual message box system is easy to set. Simply cover variety pack cereal boxes and mount them on a board or use small storage boxes available from DIY stores. Label each box with the child's name and special picture (this may correspond to the label on their coat peg). Children will need support initially to use the boxes to send notes and cards to each other but will soon be checking to see if they have any post as soon as they arrive at nursery in the morning!
Home corner
* Strong cardboard or wooden boxes used to store home corner equipment can also become props for children's play. Velcro stuck to the outside of the boxes enables staff to arrange and stack them quite securely to create open shelving for cups, plates, pans and food packets. Permanent resources can be templated on the inside surfaces of the boxes and used as 'shelves'.
Some plastic storage boxes can also be used in this way.
* Bags such as laundry and peg bags can be used for storage and domestic role play in the home corner.
Technology workshop
* Small plastic drawer units (intended for storing screws and nails) are ideal for presenting equipment such as treasury tags and rubber bands in the 'technology workshop' and can be attached to a wall or left freestanding. The drawers are quite deep, almost like a box, and can be removed.
* Materials such as plastic lids, wooden 'lolly' sticks and corks are easily visible to children if presented in shallow baskets on open shelves.
The baskets, even containing the materials, can, if necessary, be stacked after use and stored away in a relatively small space.
* Plastic or wicker waste-paper bins provide stable floor containers for items such as large cardboard tubes and paper rolls.
* Cardboard shoeboxes containing balls of string and wool are easy to stack, and if you thread the string and wool through a small hole in the box, children can cut off lengths by themselves without becoming frustrated by tangles.
* Include complete sewing boxes in the workshop provision for independent or adult-supported sewing and threading activities. Plastic hobby boxes are ideal for storing the kit, which could include plastic open-eye needles, pieces of open-weave fabric and plastic webbing, safety scissors and a range of ribbons and threads.
* Vegetable racks (plastic trays or baskets) make effective storage trolleys for recycled materials and offer easy access for children. Many such racks are wheeled, making them easy to move even when full.
Book corner
* Story bags, containing a storybook and appropriate props, provide an exciting stimulus for children. They are easily stored on hooks in the book area or in a store cupboard and can also be taken home by children overnight to share with their families. Books displayed in pockets with transparent 'windows' and hung on the wall will also guarantee to attract children's attention.
* There are lots of CD and tape storage systems on the market, some portable cases or boxes and others that are intended to be wall mounted.
Dough
* It is useful to have individual baking resource boxes for use in this area. Each plastic food container should contain equipment such as a rolling pin, biscuit cutters, plastic knife and a pastry brush and contents should be listed on the lid. Children will probably arrange their dough cakes and sweets in the emptied box.
Display
* Display cubes are easy to make by joining together five identical square pieces of plywood and painting them white. Display objects of interest on top of the box or attach interesting pictures and photographs to the sides.
Displays look particularly effective when objects are displayed on several boxes of varying size. At the end of the session, each display box can transform into a storage container for the equipment and be stacked away in the cupboard.
* Hanging wardrobe organisers and fabric 'shoe tidy' shelves are useful for displaying children's finished models or work in progress, such as Lego or Mobilo constructions. Also provide pieces of folded card and pencils to encourage children to write a card to identify their own work.
* Shoeboxes fastened together (with their open sides facing out) make effective display shelves for children's models in the technology workshop.
The beauty of using recycled boxes in this way is that when they become covered in glue or paint, they can easily be discarded and replaced.
