Our Toy Library is a valuable community resource
A Toy Library is a valuable resource for our community, offering families the opportunity to borrow toys instead of buying them, saving money while promoting environmental sustainability. It provides children with access to a wide variety of toys that support learning, creativity, and development, allowing them to enjoy these resources at home as well. By combining our play space with the toy library, we create a welcoming environment where caregivers and families can connect, share experiences, and build lasting relationships. Borrowing toys also encourages sharing and responsibility, as children learn to care for the items before returning them for others to enjoy. This cycle of sharing strengthens community bonds and teaches valuable life lessons.
Why is Play Important?
​Play is super important for kids in many ways! It helps your brain grow by improving problem-solving and memory, so you can understand new things more easily. Play also teaches you how to work with others, share, and communicate, which helps you make and keep friends. It’s a great way to express your feelings and learn how to handle tough emotions. Play helps you grow physically too, by improving your balance, coordination, and strength, while keeping you active and healthy. Most importantly, play lets you be creative and use your imagination, helping you think in new and fun ways!
PRC’s Toy Library is the heart of our play space - where curiosity, exploration, learning, and laughter can follow you home.
Our library is a free service open to all Ottawa families, caregivers, and educators to borrow toys and educational materials. These libraries operate similarly to traditional book libraries, providing a variety of items like puzzles, board games, musical toys, costumes, and outdoor play equipment.
The primary goal of a toy library is to promote learning through play, encourage socialization, and provide access to quality resources that may be financially inaccessible to some families. Toy libraries also foster environmental sustainability by reducing consumption and waste, as toys are shared and reused by multiple borrowers. When a toy is part of a Toy Library, it has the potential to be used by many children and create an exponential impact.
Here's how:
- Multiple Borrowers: In a toy library, one toy can be borrowed and enjoyed by multiple children over time. As the toy is returned and re-borrowed, its reach continues to grow.
- Social Interaction: When a child plays with a borrowed toy, they might invite their friends or siblings to join in, further increasing the number of children who interact with that toy.
- Inspiring Curiosity: A new toy can spark curiosity and imagination in children, leading them to explore new interests or hobbies. They may then share their discoveries with others, causing a ripple effect.
- Environmental Sustainability: When one toy is used by many children, it reduces the need for each child to own the same toy. This promotes a more sustainable approach to consumption and helps conserve resources.
By extending the life of a toy and maximizing its use through sharing, we can create exponential benefits for children's development, social connections, and the environment.