Tag: My Home

A Basement Climbing Wall | #mylittlehome

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A couple of years ago I had a sudden late night epiphany that we should build a climbing wall in our unfinished basement, and low and behold, Thomas made it happen. As we look to finish our basement this year, we decided it was time to spruce the climbing wall up too. Out came the white paint late last night (why do we always start these things around midnight?) and the kids got into the swing of things today too. What they don’t know is that we ordered some fun new holds from Atomic Climbing Holds, are making a huge sensory hammock for play, and have monkey bar holds to add to the ceiling too. Although we have a million other projects to finish up (looking at you kitchen + bathroom), we’re suckers for the fun stuff for our little humans. Can you blame us?

The next morning the kids woke up to a whole new space for them this weekend. We’re not quite done (sensory hammock and expanded section with Swedish ladder to come), but there is plenty there now to keep them busy. Who’s coming to play? 🙂

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Felt Pieces | #unexpectedtoys

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One of my littlest’s favorite gifts was a packet of stiff 8×12 colorful felt pieces (today’s edition of #unexpectedtoys). He loves to use them as part of his small world and block play, creating different landscapes for his characters to play on. Blue might be a swimming pool or an ocean when placed next to yellow sand. Green works well for grass and a place for the Paw Patrol to use the potty. 😉 Brown is dirt, and when he laid down all the colors it became a trampoline park.

To store when not being played with, I used a file organizer I had on hand and arranged them by color/shade to make it easy to find exactly the piece that’s needed.

Invest in a cordless stick vacuum (seriously)!

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One of the very best things you can buy for your play space (and home) isn’t a toy or storage item, it’s a vacuum cleaner – namely a cordless stick vacuum. Kids are inherently messy. They collect all the crumbs, dirt, glitter, and things you can’t identify 😳, and then deposit these all over your lovely floors and rugs – especially where they play. I talk a lot about play invitations and having a clean space is #1. The beauty of the cordless stick vacuum is that you can grab and go mindlessly, which means you will actually use it and often. I know this post might seem a bit silly, I mean come on, we all have a vacuum of some sorts. But for me, the day we bought our Dyson Stick revolutionized our home and my ability to keep spaces inviting. It’s also something even my littlest can use, which means my kids have learned to clean up after themselves too. 🙌

From little things, big things grow!

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This holiday season has been a bumper time for this little business. So many consults (yay!) and lots of installs for the new year. As things gets busier, I’m still figuring out the time juggle between working and mama-ing full time (any hot tips?). I so appreciate your patience as we figure out the best way to grow and make sure we’re giving you the best product and service, while still maintaining some resemblance of sanity at home.

My own outdoor play space has been in flux this fall as we prepare to do a major overhaul of the space. The cold wet weather definitely slows down outdoor progress, but we’ve finally got a (mostly finished, insanely huge) sandbox back in action. My playgroup crew were so happy to get back outside into it this week, and were even more excited to find that the slide now lands into the sandbox. Now onto the new mud kitchen and play structure. #cantstopwontstop

Creating magic with light!

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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

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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!

Create an impromptu obstacle course (outside and in!)

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It may be #Friyay but I’m already counting down the days til next Wednesday and our weekly #humpdayhangout (aka playgroup). We spend the majority of the time outside and the littles always flock to the sandbox and mud kitchen, however right now my play area is in flux and dismantled so we had to get extra creative this week to keep bodies and minds busy. Cue – the impromptu obstacle course!

Using wooden boards of different lengths, ladders, cones, a saw horse and blanket, cushions, a soccer goal, and a tight rope, + bubbles to celebrate reaching the end, we created a play invitation that everyone wanted to try (over and over again). This is something so simple and opened-ended you could set up at home too (inside and out). Get creative and let me know what you come up with, or even better, send pics!

Swings (you need one!)

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Planning an outdoor play space for your favorite tiny human! Make sure to add a swing (or even better, two). On top of the gross and fine motor benefits of swinging, it’s a really lovely social activity for friends of any age. Little ones will feed off each other’s giggles and glee, and older kids will open up and really chat! It’s also a naturally calming activity and amazing for sensory integration, so it’s no wonder swinging just makes you feel good!
Looking for the perfect place to hang a swing but lacking that magical perfectly placed tree branch? We had the same issue. The solution for us was to build a simple arbor to hang them from. To add some greenery we grew banksia roses up and over it – a really lovely fast growing thornless climbing rose. The arbor now also acts as the unofficial (and I think very beautiful) gateway to our boys’ main outdoor play area.

Clay | A fun first introduction (warning – its’ messy ;)

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48a885b8-b8ea-4985-a1ca-5efe5df5d1c1Wednesday’s are for #humpdayhangouts – a weekly play date I host with friends and their little ones. This morning’s session was taken up a notch with an unexpected acquisition of a lovely chunk of clay. I know your instinct might be to give each child their own little piece to work with, in the same way you would play dough, but I find that young children need a chance to fully explore the clay as a whole before they are ready or willing to create individually.

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For today’s play invitation I laid out a large plastic drop cloth and put the whole piece of clay in the center of it. Around the clay I placed various tools and materials – kitchen utensils, tongs, rocks, seed pods, little branches with leaves, a large log, yard flamingoes, and a bowl of warm water with little sponges. The children watched as I set it up and naturally were interested in taking a closer look. They took their cues from each other as they played and explored, learning about how the texture changes with the addition of water, or the ways the flamingoes beaks made such a lovely little finger sized hole.

fdf75f3d-8a92-4265-aaac-15965e140e37The first part of the play was really just getting familiar with the materials, then play arcs started to take shape. More tools were gathered from the sandbox area. The clay started to be shaped into things. Games started evolving. All of this with very minimal adult direction or interaction. Just beautiful independent social play with friends. #myheartishappy

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Loose parts in the sandbox | #unexpectedtoys

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It was out with the mud pies and stews today, and in with ravine digging, ramp building, and car racing. Today’s #unexpectedtoys were wood offcuts and old bricks. I took cues from my oldest’s spontaneous play (ravine digging) and brought over some loose parts I thought might extend his play arc. They were met with enthusiasm, and with a little trial and error and lots of big ideas, my boys worked together to build a ‘car racing water slide’ that kept them busy alllllll morning! #winwin

⋒ Don’t have a sandbox? No worries. Loose parts like scrap wood and bricks make for great play anywhere outside (and they’re free!). Build fairy houses for small world play, obstacle courses for gross motor play, faux fire pits for dramatic play. Your child’s imagination has no limit!