NATURAL CLIMBING SPACE
Mulch, wood stumps, cement stepping stones, and wood planks. It doesn't need to be complex! The most time consuming part of this project was clearing the patch of ivy that used to be here!
We (and by we I mean my husband 🤪) laid down barrier fabric underneath the mulch to prevent weeds peeking through. The obstacle course is a bit challenging for our 2 year old, but our 4, 7 and 9 year old love it. It's short, simple and entertaining!
360 DEGREE PLAY
This might be a real thing with a technical term… but I just call it “360 Play” from my own experiences. Something that I have really noticed over the past few years, is that my kids play a lot more with toys, activities, and spaces when they are accessible from all angles and areas. For instance, if the dollhouse is up against a wall on a table, kids will interact and play with the space that is eye-level and front and center mostly. This can get a bit monotonous. To extend their playtime and invite more creative thinking, I like to make a space/toy accessible from all angles and sides. This would be as easy as moving the dollhouse from the table against the wall, to the middle of the room and on the floor. Kids then will have the opportunity to play with the roof, back of the house, and all levels of the house– kneeling, laying on stomach, standing and sitting to play.
This way of play can be applied to many spaces and toys and activities – play kitchens, art centers, lego areas, etc. Even just moving a table from the side of the room to the middle and setting up an activity or laying out books and puzzles will open up so much more curiosity and inspiration for these little people. So move your toys and furniture out from against your wall unexpectedly and see what your kiddos do!
MAGNET WALL
My kids love magnets. Really LOVE them. I was getting a bit tired of stepping on them every time I went to open the refrigerator or dishwasher so I found this! An open space on the playroom wall and this magical creation known as, "Whiteboard Magnet Contact Paper."
This is so much fun for kiddos of most ages! This is truly one of our toys/activities that all of the boys can play with regardless of age. My older boys like to make designs, spell words and sometimes make a magnet army. My little boys like to find letter magnets and colors and shapes and just putting them up and taking them down is fun for them!
This took about 60 seconds to press onto the wall and has been through lots of magnetic play without budging. Washi tape does not work so well in our house, but that would be my first choice to make a border around the space to outline it. Instead we used painter’s tape and that has held up really well. We have NOT used this space for dry-erase markers. Nope. Maybe at some point when everyone is a little bit older… but definitely keeping markers off of the wall for now! You can also cut this big long piece into smaller pieces to add to an easel or space in the open for a more 360 degree play approach!
Magnetic Contact Paper
Magnetic Jumbo Letters
Magnetic Tiles
Transportation Magnets
Washi Tape
FELT BOARDS
Felt Boards. Are you a fan? We had this space up in our old house, and are still working to find the perfect place for it in our “new” (we’ve been here two years!) house. My oldest boys were super into vehicles and pretend play. A lot of the felt pieces we purchased were around this theme, but there are so many out there! I also made a lot of my felt pieces that were roads or houses, especially if it was something the boys asked for and I couldn’t find online or at stores! At times I would need to add a small piece of velcro on the back to make them attach more securely. After reading stories to my students, when I taught, I would allow them to explore and reenact characters and parts of the plot using the felt pieces. This not only is amazing for creativity and imagination, it also serves as a great way to improve and assess comprehension of a read aloud story or independent read. Hope you can find a place for this play in your space!
Felt Board: https://amzn.to/3HvrZmL
Community Helpers Felt Pieces: https://amzn.to/42fJpMh
Let’s Go Shopping Felt Pieces:
Velcro:
EASY FOAM CAR MAT
Do you have foam mats that baby or toddler has outgrown? You can make a play space out of anything! It's as simple as it says... foam mats and sharpie marker! This provides endless play and imagination flex for my 2 year old, 3 year old and 6 year old! The best part of this imaginative play is the clean up and storage! Just pull apart the pieces and stack them. My 6 year old LOVES putting them back together like a puzzle.
Foam mats: https://amzn.to/43bdAox
Sharpies: https://amzn.to/3MFMq2e
THE MUD KITCHEN
MUD KITCHEN FUN! We recently updated the gravel, made and painted a new pallet table and toddler lounger, and added new seats for a bigger space! Eeek!
The gravel definitely helps absorb some of the water and mud and the boys enjoy mixing it all up. We have multiple surfaces for mixing and creating and the sink is always filled with fresh water along with our step 2 pumper. We also added a drink dispenser sturdy enough to withstand 4 little people. They love turning the nozzle to pour and explore!
Pots and pans and utensils consist of dollar store items and old pots and pans from our college/apartment days! Nothing fancy! We also use a clear plastic shoe box/container as an "oven".
Now that my youngest isn't mouthing items anymore, I allow my boys to gather all sorts of "ingredients" and they name each one of their creations. I love giving them this freedom to be messy and it's easily contained to one section of our yard if need be!
We also have a bonus dirt planter with trucks, scoops and buckets! We refresh every couple of weeks with some raking and stirring up the soul.
Shoebox/container: https://amzn.to/3N1hUBh
Wooden ingredient house: https://amzn.to/3OJfY1p
Drink dispensers: https://amzn.to/3P4yJNh (glass)
https://amzn.to/3qnvQfR (plastic)
NERF WARZONE
This was a temporary revamp of our Sensory Gym space. Typically filled with swings, mats and climbing materials- we moved things aside to set up the ultimate Nerf battlefield! These inflatable bunkers are awesome! They can be used both indoor and outdoor and are super sturdy with a little bit of water in the base. It was an epic battle with the big boys and they were dressed in their battle gear as well!
Bunkers: https://amzn.to/41JGcUi
Battle Gear: https://amzn.to/3W67OC5
Shooting Target Stickers: https://amzn.to/42K0kr0
🅢🅔🅝🅢🅞🅡🅨 ⒼⓎⓂ
We lucked out when we purchased this home and the garage was carpeted! Immediately we knew that we'd be making an extra-fun space out of this area for our 9, 6, 4 and 2 year old. As summer came to a close last year and temperatures grew colder and days grew darker super early, we knew it was time to transform our space into a place to burn energy. We already had a climbing ninja net that was outdoors in our precious home. We scoured the local "buy nothing" facebook page and collected as many "hand me down" items as we could, but some things were worth the extra penny! Anything is possible with some ceiling anchors and crash pads! The highlights of our sensory gym include:
Ninja Net https://amzn.to/47BVNJz
Crash Pads https://amzn.to/47CuQ8m
Sensory Swing https://amzn.to/49YYLJG
Sensory Swing https://amzn.to/3Rnzcuw
Disc Swing/Climber https://amzn.to/3RmPdkp
Balance Board https://amzn.to/3GmXMVZ
Nuggets
Mini Trampoline https://amzn.to/41iTCZb
Pallet Pikler Triangle
Ceiling Anchors https://amzn.to/3N42QCz
Scooters https://amzn.to/47C4Ytu
We have a bin in the corner of the room to switch out rings and bars for monkey hanging, a crawl-through toddler tunnel, and scooters amongst other extra things!
I also have my elliptical stationed in the corner so I can get some exercise in as they do! (Hardly ever happens, but one can dream!!)
If you're looking for functional gift ideas or a "big group present" for your kiddos, this may be your answer! By far one of the best decisions we've made with a space given to us!
HEADQUARTERS
We revamped our under deck space to create a ℍ𝔼𝔸𝔻ℚ𝕌𝔸ℝ𝕋𝔼ℝ𝕊 for the boys! They've been all about playing "nature guys ", "army men ", and all other things that require a base camp HQ. Everything you see here was less than $15/item! They love the bell, push lights, and map holder the most! Everything is drilled into the siding, along with hooks to hold nerf guns and foam swords or any other essential!
❤️🔔🗝️🗺️
Push lights: https://amzn.to/464UVfQ
Hooks: https://amzn.to/3tdwWfy
Sign: https://amzn.to/45je2BH
Score Keepers: https://amzn.to/460KVnO
Bell: https://amzn.to/3reVjcw
Keypad: https://amzn.to/3rr2XR6