I'm so digging this foldable playspace for kids - the My Space. Pop it up and pack it up - it's playtime sans the spacial anxiety. Created by Liya Mairson, a designer who recently graduated from the Shenkar Institute for Engineering and Design. These phtotos of her cardboard playspace have been all over the web this week, so I hit her site and checked out the rest of her portfolio - she is one talented young lady ! (Have a look at her espresso+milk set. Awesome.)
Just in time for back-to-school the longtime staple gluestick of Italian classrooms is now available in the greener USA. Coccoina glue is non-toxic, non-solvent, and acid free. So nix the additives - this glue is made with ingredients we've all got in our kitchen pantry at the moment! Extracted from almond oil, this sticky stuff smells and tastes of marzipan - just in case you got yourself a preschool paste-eaters. : )
Freida's still a little young to be channel-surfing (though I'm sure my husband would love that!), but I can't say I don't see this as practical. I remember being a kid and trying to memorize which channels were what number etc. - tough stuff! Never mind the fact that most parents don't exactly willingly condone their little ones flipping through the tube... Landed upon this techy-tot solution: the iMote. This funky and colorful gadget comes with 100+ illustrated stickers (TV networks) for you to choose from, making this nifty clicker completely customizable to your preschooler.
Every once in a while I chuck out our playdough supply (it gets grimy and dirty pretty quickly when used often), and whip up a new batch. (Get the recipe here.) We've been working on Freida's colors (for now she knows blue, yellow, purple, and black... not bad!), so I veered from my usual "neon" coloring and broke out the primaries. And while I did end up staining my favorite board a bit, we had heaps of colorful fun!!!
Wanting to up the anti on this classic activity, I decided to add in another sensory factor; I gave the orange and yellow doughs a nice dash of orange/lemon extract (I though this may probe her to eat it, but she gave up on that months ago). This fun little addition made the simple playtime basic not just a terrific tactile experience, but a fun olfactory exploration as well!
Then we just played around... made some fun little creatures out of all those great colors + a handful of pocket trinkets.
She was really perturbed by the fact that the catterpillar had a penny in his mouth (I should have thought of that one while assembling them with her!)...
When we finally tired out, we retired the dough to their own little disposable Glad® containers for easy long-term storage.
Freida's first play kitchen should arrive any day now... I've got some high hopes for the entertainment-factor this kitchen will bring her, and I'm so looking forward to the long hours she'll spend playing mom/chef (whishful thinking, right??). Now that my little bugger is joining the jr. culinary world, all my play-food browsing/testing is bound to come in handy... gotta fill those little cupboards with plenty of nutritional basics & goodies! Here's a little roundup of my current play food favorites (not that you need more grocery shopping...)! Haba Biofino: (Almost) eatible food for the little dude - Haba has an incredible line of realistic looking and versatile play food options. By far, my favorite kid-kitchen collection.
Yellow Label: Whimsical and charming - hand-knit play food with rattles inside makes for a great toy from birth onward. Plus, they look super cute! I posted more about them here.
Mellisa & Dough: Can't go wrong with this classic! Beautifully painted wooden toys + the added bonus of fine motor skills development through their fun "cutting" factor. I also love their "food group" sets - wonderful for teaching early nutrition basics.
Ikea Duktig: Fresh food is on the market! New to Ikea, this line of felted play food seems wonderfully practical as well as totally affordable!
