-Hammy and Snickers are 19 months old
I found these alphabet cards in the Target Dollar Spot a few weeks ago and put them up on both sides of the staircase. We talk about the pictures as we go up and down with lots of lingering and pointing. Especially at Mr. Gorilla whom Snickers loves. She beats on her chest with her tiny fists and says "ohhhh." She is too cute!
When you first enter the room you are in the "arts and crafts" area. I put laminate flooring in this section so that we could paint and glue and craft freely and not worry about spilled paint or play dough ground into the carpet. I got this table and 4 chairs (we have a red one too) from Discount School Supply, or rather, Santa brought them for Christmas. The kiddos can get in and out of the chairs by themselves but it has been slightly challenging teaching them that the table is not a dance floor!
I have hung a clear shower curtain on the walls to protect the (stupid) fabric walls. I need to grab another one at Dollar Tree or Walmart next time I go for the right hand side.
We will certainly be doing other things here at the table besides arts and crafts, sometimes my kids sit here and play with their quiet book pages I have made for them.
I have this stack of 15 drawers in the art area. I haven't settled on the exact way I want to store their supplies but I figure the more shelves and drawers the better. I have 6 more on the other side and want to make it another full stack of 15 drawers soon. We also have a 5x5 Ikea Expedit shelving unit that is in this photo just on the left. I am using that for more art supply storage (paint up high etc) and when we start Tot School I will be using the lower shelves for their Tot Trays.
We converted a train table into a light table following a tutorial from Play at Home Mom. This only got finished a few days ago even though it was in the works for a VERY long time. I am in love with it!
I converted one of our pack and play cribs to a ball pit when the kids were around 8 months old. I got 2 packages of THESE balls from Amazon to fill it up. The kids like it when the shark lives in there lol.
I really believe in having books in every room in the house and the playroom is no exception. I've been really fortunate in that my kids both LOVE to be read to and have since they were 9 months old. We started reading them the day we brought them "home" (to the Best Western) from the hospital and kept at it daily until one day it clicked and I finally got them hooked on books!
Mr. Wonderful made this sensory board/busy board for the kids when they were infants but it's still something they like to explore so we have left it. It's funny how most of the things with interesting textures that I chose to put on it are cleaning products haha!
Our sensory table. I am thinking this will go back outside as soon as spring really hits but for now it is in the playroom. The kids have been exploring blue and yellow this week, so that is what is in there right now. Next week I am switching it to purple and green.
Right now I have this set up as a block corner but my kids are not that into blocks yet unless I am building them towers for them to knock down.
Tiny bookshelf for a tiny nook!
Mr. Wonderful made this by framing a piece of sheet metal and screwing it to the closet door. We have quite a few magnetic things for the kids to use on here with plans to get or make more. In case it's not obvious *I* put the alphabet up like that...they did the numbers...nah!
Santa sprung for the PB Kids Retro Kitchen last Christmas. I love everything about it and the kids are really enjoying it so far. I am hoping they will continue to enjoy it for years.
I sewed all of this felt food for them between October and January. I went a little crazy. There is a lunch/BBQ set, a taco and fajita set, a breakfast set and a bunch of desserts. Mozzarella sticks with marinara sauce too that goes with a pizza set that is perpetually baking in the oven.
We change the day on the calendar and talk about the days of the week every day, they have no clue what I am talking about lol.
Right now I have some random things stacked here on this wall but I am planning on getting an Ikea Trofast shelving system for this wall in the next few months. I think it will be better to store things on and make things more accessible. Eventually I am planning on doing away with the lids for all the boxes. The lids are helpful now to keep down the mess for my kids who are in the dumping phase. At least they are working for now until they inevitably learn to get the lids off.
Foam alphabet mat. I feel like you can never have enough alphabets around. I've been lucky with this thing too, my kids don't tear it apart.
Our small light panel. Mr. Wonderful made the wood and plexiglass cover for it following the lead from the moms on the Play at Home Mom blog (link in sidebar.) He also made the low table for the kids to stand at/kneel at.
So there you have it, this is where we play for the most part. I have lots of projects I still want to do in this room and I know the room will evolve as the kids grow. I hope you enjoyed taking a peek at the things we've done in here and have found some inspiration for you own playroom. If you have any questions I hope you'll leave a comment.
What a wonderful play space! I can tell lots of love and care went into it. ♥ I love all the unique play spaces. Great job!
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