Tag: Indoor Play Space

Creating an art cart!

curatedplayspaces


Ladies and gentlemen – the art cart. A perfect gift idea for the kid who has everything but doesn’t know where to find it. 😜 Giving is 1000% my love language – not physical gifts per say, but just the act of doing something kind for someone else. This holiday season I offered my services to a dear friend and we decided creating an art cart for her girls would be the perfect gift for me to give them. So today I headed over with a cart, paper sorter, and wide mouth mason jars (#theessentials) and turned their jumbled art supplies into organized creativity ready to happen.

  • BEFORE + SUPPLIES
  • THE CART
  • AFTER

Creating magic with light!

curatedplayspaces

For today’s playgroup session I turned our indoor clubhouse (as my boys lovingly call it) into a magical light box. We hung our Sarah’s Silks over one of the openings and placed a play invitation inside using all sorts of lovely twinkle lights, flashlights, and lanterns. The addition of the play silk was the first thing the kids noticed as they arrived and it was an immediate draw to climb the ladder to see what was inside. Next followed ‘oohs and ahhs’, and lots of work figuring out how the lights worked. Fast forward to tonight, and my Pilot was even more enamored to explore the space in the dark.

And listen, you don’t need a fancy indoor fort to create this magic. Throw a couple of tablecloths over your kitchen table and place a basket of battery operated Christmas lights and some flash lights underneath (don’t forget to sweep first ;). Find a big card box box and put your basket of lights in there. Or even just enjoy the light play once the sun goes down in a dark room (one plus to it being dark by 5.30pm).

Tape Measures | #unexpectedtoys

curatedplayspaces

My little guy is very into trains at the moment and a way of extending this play is with the addition of tape measures (this week’s #unexpectedtoys). Once we’ve built his big track and long train, he loves to measure and record how big everything it (we keep clipboards with paper and markers in the playroom for this purpose). Although it mostly looks like scribbles and his knowledge of numbers stops at 5, this early numeracy and literacy activity is a great introduction to all kinds of skills. So what are you waiting for? Grab some measuring devices, create a play invitation, and see where your tiny humans take it!

Play Space Refresh (because we all need a touch up every now and then)

curatedplayspaces

Children’s interests and development don’t stop changing and growing, which means play spaces aren’t ever going to be stagnant either. A service I offer to past clients is the option for me to come in and give their play space a refresh. I can help reorganize, update toys, pull items ready to donate or pack away for another baby.

  • BEFORE
  • AFTER

This morning started off with with one a refresh for a family I worked with last year. They were feeling overwhelmed by toys again and wanted things sorted before the next influx of gifts over the holidays. Because the bones were already in place, it was just a matter of downsizing, re-organizing, and creating a home for all the new items. After a couple of hours, we had an XL bag of items to donate, and a play space ready to be enjoyed again by everyone in the family.

  • BEFORE
  • AFTER

Scarves | #unexpectedtoys

curatedplayspaces

Processed with VSCO with nc preset
Processed with VSCO with nc preset

A lovely way to add some color to your play space is with scarves – today’s edition of #unexpectedtoys. Easy to thrift and available in allllll the colors, shapes, sizes, and fabrics, they are the perfect addition to all sorts of play. In small world/block play, they can become rivers, beaches, snow on a mountain, a roof for a building, or a blanket for a tired animal. In dramatic play they can be turned into capes, aprons, dresses, hats, tails, and long hair. Add them to your music area and they are the perfect accessory for dancing during jam sessions. We keep a basket in our play space and I always like to add one to the spaces I help curate too. Just make sure to steam/iron out the wrinkles every now and then to keep them looking inviting.

Mini Makeovers (LEGO edition)

curatedplayspaces

241fecd5-fcbe-4d25-9c60-ed4375eb4f9d

Sometimes folks hire me for a full play space makeover and sometimes they just need help with one aspect of their space. Lots of times that aspect is LEGO. I’ve written about LEGO organization before, but this is kind of my crack (it’s a little embarrassing how excited it makes me). The best way I have found to organize LEGO is by color and specialty pieces. This way it’s easy to find the pieces if your child wants to build a set and it makes free building a breeze too.

4c18feca-5cef-47c0-a272-d106a2cbf0fe
BEFORE

I’ll often find folks store all their LEGOs in one big box (*shudder*), but that does make it easy for me to scoop it up, bring it home, and get things organized. So if you’re looking for a little LEGO sanity, or even the perfect gift for the kid who has it all (the holidays are upon us), shoot me a message to get the magic started! ⋒ Swipe to see the LEGO before pic!

Gemstones + Crystals | #unexpectedtoys

curatedplayspaces

4bce7a7f-4a20-4887-b35e-3ebaeb542b21

GEMSTONES + CRYSTALS are this week’s #unexpectedtoys. 1) They are eclectic, beautiful, and they bring good vibes to your space (all the wins). 2) They are a lovely play invitation (who can resist?), open-ended and can be used in lots of fun ways in play. My boys have used them:

  • in their play kitchen as candy and other food,
  • in small world play as treasure,
  • as a fine motor tools (they love to pick them up with tongs and place them into containers and jars); and
  • as trash in their big rubbish truck.

I’ve bought them from Amazon, Energy Muse (these ones are for me, but somehow my kids always seem to claim them), and we’ve found they are often in gift shops when we travel (a much better option than plastic junk that is just going to be tossed).
So do your kids and your chakras a favor, and add a little gemstone magic to your home/play space. ✨

Sneak Peek | Evie + John’s new play space

curatedplayspaces

82e4c971-4b9a-4c5a-8f78-400e015971d5

A sneak peek of a fun play space we finished installing today. The family had recently moved into a new home and were trying to find ways to entice their kids down to the basement play space. The bunk bed from their old house was being used for play (and storage 😉 in the room, so we repurposed it by adding a railing up top to create a loft. The bottom became a cozy reading nook with added bookshelves, reading lamp, and twinkle lights. My most favorite addition however is the pulley system in the loft, which is controlled with the turn of a ship’s steering wheel. And at the end of the rope is a basket for all your little ones treasures (of course)!

Squeeze Pouch Caps | #unexpectedtoys

curatedplayspaces

In a new section we’re calling #unexpectedtoys, I am going to share some of my favorite everyday items I love to include as toys in play spaces. Today’s unexpected toy is (🥁drumroll please) SQUEEZE POUCH CAPS. I prefer the round variety, but it’s whatever takes your fancy. 🙂

They are plentiful (my kids love anything in a pouch), colorful, and super open-ended. Right now we’re using our cap collection in our play kitchen as food (they are great to pick up with tongs and spin in a salad spinner). They sometimes find themselves in small world play as stepping stones, rocks, or treasure. We use them as a tool with clay and play dough. They are perfect in a low mess mud kitchen as an ingredient to add to stews. The possibilities are literally endless.

So the next time your kids are binging on apple sauce pouches, give the caps a rinse, put them out as a play invitation, and see where the magic takes them.

Play spaces are not stagnant spaces!

curatedplayspaces

Processed with VSCO with q5 preset
BEFORE the play space ‘shelf shuffle’

Processed with VSCO with q5 preset
AFTER the play space ‘shelf shuffle’

You’ve worked your peach off and your tiny human’s play space is Insta worthy and beautifully organized. Bravo! Sit back and reap the rewards of watching your child play, engage, and not need you for awhile. 😉 But here’s the thing – remember that this space is not stagnant, and as your child grows and their interests change, so should their play space. You’ll probably know when it’s time too. Their interest in the space will wane, their need for you during play will grow, and you hear the dreaded “I’m bored” more and more.

  • You don’t have to go all out and replace and move around furniture (although it is true when they say change is as good as a holiday – haha), but you do need to be changing out toys, rearranging toy/materials layout to encourage and revitalize interest, and setting up new play invitations.
  • This can happen nightly when you do your space refresh (especially creating new play invitations – think setting up a train track for your child to find when they wake up).
  • Weekly – think the next time your child pulls everything off the shelves, instead of putting it back where it was, switch things up so new items are at their eye level.
  • Or monthly – pull and store some old toys, and bring out ones you had put away. And just like that, your play space stays fresh and full of life! 🙂