Thursday, October 14, 2010

A Toy Story

Designing a space to encourage independent toddler play takes thinking like a Lilliputian. (Remember in Jonathan Swift's classic, Gulliver travels to the land of Lilliput where he meets people one twelfth the size of humans?) This past weekend, I was forced to see a room from the eyes of a year-and-a-half old little boy.

Prior to furnishing the room, it was an approximately twelve by sixteen foot caramel box with toys lined up around the walls. 


To entice a little guy to explore, the toys needed to be placed at his eye-level, easily accessible.  My daughter and I accomplished this by purchasing at Target two Circo bin organizers and two Circo book display shelves. 

We also got a Circo toy chest. 

Then to create a child-sized space, we purchased an indoor child's tent.

A bean bag chair gave the "men" a cushion for wrestling.

It was like Christmas morning for all of us.  We adults were gleeful with child-like delight when we saw this little boy literally prance from one item to the next scarcely able to contain himself.  What fun!  Happy boy! 
Happy Gigi!

1 comment:

  1. It's been a little while since I've stopped by your blog. Your grandson is adorable! I'm glad he likes his new playroom.

    And, I love the pictures of your son's outdoor facelift. When I drive around the development adjacent to LBC, I frequently wonder what some of those homes would look like with some alterations to the exterior. Apparently, the answer to my ponderings is that they could look wonderful!

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