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    • Home
    • Our Toy Campaign
    • The TOYbrary
    • What We Accept
    • The Importance of Play
    • Community Play Dates
    • Teacher Toolbox
    • Support Us
    • Contact Us
  • Home
  • Our Toy Campaign
  • The TOYbrary
  • What We Accept
  • The Importance of Play
  • Community Play Dates
  • Teacher Toolbox
  • Support Us
  • Contact Us

The Toybrary

"Every child has the right to enjoy childhood. Toys must be free for all. There are many benefits associated with toy libraries such as financial, environmental, social, educational, etc. It is beneficial for society to make this set up as a part of their lifestyle. Though the concept of the library is much old-school, the application caters to modern society needs."  - Dikshi Aurora  

What is a Toybrary?

Play, Return, Repeat

Community and Social Responsibility

Community and Social Responsibility

 The TOYbrary is a toy lending program where parents, grandparents, and/or caregivers can go to borrow good-quality toys, puzzles, and games. These items may be borrowed and enjoyed at home—just like books from a lending library.  

Community and Social Responsibility

Community and Social Responsibility

Community and Social Responsibility

The TOYbrary builds community through ongoing social connections, exchanges, and healthy interactions. It also teaches children the value of honesty, taking and returning,

 and sharing. 

Reduce Waste

Community and Social Responsibility

Reduce Waste

 The TOYbrary helps reduce our environmental impact, prevent waste, and foster a sense of responsibility. 

Our #1 Commitment is Always Community

The TOYbrary is committed to the work of equity and inclusion. All families are welcome to the TOYbrary at Oh Happy Play. We enthusiastically and explicitly welcome all families -- especially BIPOC families, low-income families, families that include LGBTQIA+ members, families that include disabled members, and other families who may be excluded, overtly or implicitly,

 from some places and communities. 

Prescription for Play

The Brookings Institute

  

Prescription for Play

  • The concept of play as childhood right has been enshrined  within the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child since 1989.
  • Play IS NOT an optional childhood experience
  • Studies have shown that play deprivation, particularly during the period between birth and seven years, has been linked to impaired brain development, lack of social skills, depression and aggression.
  • Simple Philosophy – Since the time of the classic Greek philosophers, play has been considered the characteristic mode of behavior of the young child, an expression of the natural spirit of childhood and thus a key defining feature of childhood.
  • Play is the business of childhood, allowing children free rein to experiment with the world around and the emotional world inside them. While it may look like mere child’s play to you, there’s a lot of work — problem solving, skill building, overcoming physical and mental challenges — going on behind the scenes.
  • Play builds the imagination – Pretending, or imaginative play, is one of the cornerstones of a young child’s world.
  • Play promotes social skills as children engage in creating story lines to      accompany their individual and collective play.
  • Play advances physical development -Skipping takes balance, climbing monkey bars builds strength, and sports activities involve coordination. Large motor skills, such as running, throwing, and pedaling, improve first, but fine motor skills aren’t far behind. A 3-year-old carefully stacking blocks into towers is not only learning about gravity and balance but also developing hand-eye coordination.
  • Play helps kids work through emotions. Long before children can express their feelings in words, they express them through physical play, storytelling,  art, and other activities.

Copyright © 2023 Oh Happy Play - All Rights Reserved.

  • Community Play Dates

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Our address is 1876 Central Avenue, Dubuque, Iowa