Kids Playhouse Blog

Winter ushers in kids playhouse moments that may be hallmarked by lots of cold, fun, and snow! So, why not let the snow in? Not literally, of course. But, how about giving way for some really cool snowmen in your family’s kids playhouse?

Snowmen have been the cornerstone of the holiday season for hundreds of years. From rounded mounds of snow dressed in clothing and carrot noses to films of talking and dancing snowmen, children have a deep love for these jolly creations.

Here are a few ways that you can turn the fun up to a wild flurry in your family’s kids playhouse as your décor becomes overrun with fun, fat, and fluffy snowmen:

Spray some white, friendly snowmen on the windows of their kids playhouse using canned snow. Finish off the look with window safe markers. Let your child’s imagination rule the roost by having him or her draw a funny scene around the snowmen or wacky clothes on them. They may even decide to make a snowpeople village, complete with snowmamas and snowbabies!

For the winter months, change up the décor of the kids playhouse by adding a snowman motif that would include a border around the wall, snowmen curtains, and lots of plush snowmen scattered around the playhouse.

Make a funky snowman pillow with your little one. Using a white pillow case, pull the inside down about 3 inches and wrap it with a rubber band. Then, stuff it full of cotton stuffing or old sheets. Once it is full, wrap the middle with a length of ribbon to create a “belt” on the snowman. This will also make it look as if it has a midsection. Finish by closing up with the bottom with Velcro that can be stuck on like stickers. Then, draw on any facial features that you want. You could also add embellishments to the front to create the look of clothing.

Your family’s kids playhouse can definitely be holly and jolly for the holidays. A little paint, a little creativity, mixed with a little time, and your family’s playhouse should make it “cool” enough for any snowman that your kids want to hang out with! They are sure to have a ball!

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Did you  know a kids playhouse can be decorated with butterflies to suit any butterfly-loving little girl or boy?! In fact, butterflies are very gender neutral and are easily adapted for boys or girls when it comes to using them to make a play space more personalized and fun. When most people think of butterflies, they only consider its use for “girly girl” type of designs, but that is not the only way to accessorize with them. Check out these really cool ways to deck out a kids playhouse with these wonderful winged creatures:

For boys: Select butterflies that are true to life to create a very natural look for the kids playhouse. Your playhouse walls can pop in 3-D by adding those “life like” butterflies to the wall. It will look as if the butterflies are hanging out with your little boy in his playhouse. To make it blend even more, paint the lower half of the wall to look like tall grass and fields. Then, stick those funky butterflies to the walls.

Use colors of brown, tan, green, gold, and blue to give the kids playhouse a more masculine look. Set up an area where he can do some scientific investigations with real butterflies that includes a microscope and bug boxes for capturing butterflies. He will need a net and possibly even a camera.

For girls: Let pink and purple butterflies charge their way into her kids playhouse. There are so many fun and abstract butterfly decal sets that you won’t have to paint the butterflies on the wall yourself because you will be able to find a set at places such as the local dollar store. Go for really cool butterfly inspired curtains, rugs, knob and door pulls. Get really creative and let some sparkly butterflies hang down from the ceiling to look as if they are flying and flitting around the room.

Your girl will need her own butterfly wings, of course. Set up a dress up area where she can change into her butterfly costume. You may be able to find wings and a more elaborate costume at your local thrift store or at a yard sale, or you could always make her a set using your own creativity and craft skills.

Butterflies will make any kids playhouse a beautiful sanctuary for play, research, or just for admiring these graceful insects. Your child, whether it’s a boy or girl, can have a fantastic butterfly inspired kids playhouse. Just be creative, choose colors that are more suited to your child, and watch as hours just fly by because your kids will be having the time of their lives!

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Love a show? A kids playhouse will be the main attraction as your little ones convert it into a theater fit for any playwright or actor. Someone once said that life is a stage. For kids that enjoy making their playhouse a stage, this adage is even more true. For the parents and friends that will giggle, laugh, and smile as their children perform, this adage is priceless.

While it’s relatively easy create this theatrical environment, young children may need a little help from their parents. Here is how you can assist your little one with making sure that the show does go on:

1. You have got to have costumes! The kids with a box of dress up clothes. If you don’t have extra clothes lying around, then take them to a thrift store or garage sale where they can find plenty of clothes to use for putting on a play in their kids playhouse. Another option for costumes is to have the children make their own out of form, paper, and bits from around your home.

2. You have got to have scenery! The kids playhouse is a great setting for plays like Hansel and Gretel, The Three Pigs, or Little Red Riding Hood. Otherwise, use big posterboards, which cost roughly 30-50 cents each and create your scenery. The children may decide to make the scenery with a sheet or just to use the kids playhouse as the backdrop.

3. You have got to have performers! Your little ones will relish the time that they get to spend entertaining the audience. One of them can be a master of ceremonies, a narrator, and of course, an evil villain!! The sky is the limit as to what they can do when they take to the stage. By keeping the clothes inside of the playhouse, the children that are performing can run in and out of the playhouse, changing costume for each scene. That makes for an amazingly exciting production!

Putting on a kids playhouse production may be an event that your kids will never forget. Just provide them with a few items for costumes, scenery, and props and your little Thespians are sure to make everyone in the audience see their awesome talents. Don’t forget to record their works for future smiles!

Technorati Tags: Acting, Kids Playhouse, Theater

Pirates are popular with children and turning a kids playhouse into a pirate’s hideout cove is easy to do.  There are plenty of pirate movies and engrossing books like “Pirates Don’t Change Diapers” that kids have a hard time putting down.  So, bring that trend to your family’s kids playhouse!

Try these awesome tips to bring the playhouse up to p-AARRHH:

1. Add a telescope to the window ledge or porch railing of the kids playhouse. For any sea-faring pirate, a telescope is a necessity. Imagine all the foreign lands your child will see! Of course, don’t forget watching out for approaching pirate ships or spying on others that may be after their treasure chest.

2. Fill up treasure chests in and around the kids playhouse. Pirate costumes and plastic or foam swords can fill up one treasure chest while another may be used as a drink or snack container. To create a drink container “treasure chest” purchase one of those foam travel chests from a local dollar store. Together, with your child, paint it and embellish to look like a real treasure chest. Fill it with ice, drinks, and fruit snacks! Of course, you can’t forget about having a treasure chest that holds all of the real “treasures”. Your child may get really creative and keep their favorite books, games, or trinkets in the treasure chest or they may go the more traditional route and keep fake jewelry, golden coins, and dazzling crowns.

3. A flag pole and pirate flag readily transforms a kids playhouse into a fierce and mighty pirate strong-hold. You can purchase a ready-made pirate flag or you can make one. Making a pirate’s flag is simple. Purchase an inexpensive black pillow and some white felt. Cut the pillowcase down to the desired flag size. From the white felt, cut out a skull and cross bones and glue it to both sides of the black pillow case. Now, string it up the flag pole and everyone will know to beware of pirates!

Your little pirate’s kids playhouse could be the talk of the neighborhood.  You may even want to provide a water slide or water sprayer on the outside for those that have to “walk to the plank”. Have fun with it and let your children be as “arrhh-tistic” about it as they would like.

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A kids playhouse is a great platform to learn about history.  For a child, what better way is there to learn then when you’re playing?  Here are several ways to introduce your child to history and historical concepts using a kids playhouse:

Some outdoor playhouses are almost exact replicas of what a house was like in the era it represents.   If a child has a wooden playhouse that is reminiscent of a past Victorian time, a cozy 20th century cottage, a log cabin on a Midwestern prairie, or a quaint Bavarian villa, there are many different features and embellishments that it is likely to have that are of historical significance or represent a time that no longer exists.  Your child will love to hear what features make their kids playhouse so special or unique.

For example, some wooden outdoor playhouses are made to look like they were built from logs, or they have thatched looking roofs, or elaborate and decorative woodwork around the windows, doors and roof line. Parents can discuss with their children how homes were constructed with local building materials available at the time.  If presented in a fun way to their child during play, a basic comparison and contrast with today’s architecture, building resources and tools can be made.

Not every kids playhouse has electricity for lighting and not every main house had electricity either.  Your child will be fascinated to learn how past generations were able to do their school work and daily activities without electricity and other modern amenities like water, heating and indoor bathrooms available today.

Kids often are not able to relate to certain times in history and using a kids playhouse, they can have fun reenacting the life of a pioneer, a child from the Victorian era, or an owner of a castle in medieval times all the while keeping in mind what things were available at that point in time.

Your child will be captivated by learning how food was prepared and stored in the old days without having access to microwaves and refrigerators. How did people store their food for long periods of time?  You and your child can actually do an experiment to compare using food, such as a slice of bread or a piece of fruit, with and without refrigeration to learn what an advantage refrigerated storage was to people in the past (as well as today!).

Have your child put the food in a container inside the playhouse, without refrigeration, and watch how it deteriorates because of lack of refrigeration. Then have them put the food in an “ice box” or cooler to see the difference that refrigeration makes. Did the food spoil faster without refrigeration on in the “ice box”?

Because for a long time people did not have refrigerators, you can talk to your child about the many ways people in the old days were able to preserve their food. This could include: salting meat, canning fruit, and drying vegetables.  There will likely be many conversations around what people were able to eat and how they were able to eat without getting sick!

It’s simple and fun, using a kids playhouse, to help your child understand and learn history through real life lessons and play.

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Playing in a kids playhouse becomes more than just another fun session. Being outdoors and experimenting with the wonders of nature could spark an interest in children with regard to what they may want to pursue for their adult occupations. For some children, the time that they spend in their playhouse and the intentional and unexpected interactions that they will have with bugs, flowers, and our environment may be a springboard for a deeper desire to learn more about our world.

Kids Playhouse Outdoor Play

Here are a few nature based jobs that children may eventually strive to pursue based on the experience that they have through playing and exploring in their outdoor playhouse:

Botanist – From dissecting dandelions to analyzing mud, kids will find all types of ways to interact with nature. This seemingly basic interaction could blossom into a real love of plants and learning about how they grow and affect our lives. In time, this could lead to an interest in the field of botany or horticulture.

Florist – For many children, any “flower” that grows alongside their kids playhouse may be the prettiest flower ever, even if it’s just a weed. Children that notice the beauty in flowers may feel attracted to pursuing floral arranging as a potential job in the future. That little bouquet of pussywillows could be the spark for a budding florist.

Zoologist – Animals are everywhere. When children spend vast amounts of time outdoors, they are exposed to many different animals and life forms. Whether it’s a little earthworm or a bird that has fallen out of a nest, there may be many opportunities for a child to come in close contact with animals. For some children, this will lead to a strong desire to learn to care for them and learn about their habitats.

Playing in a kids playhouse can inspire children to gain a deeper interest in so many nature related fields. From the analytical to the creative, the possibilities are limitless as to how being outdoors will affect them in their long term career choices. What they end up making their life’s work…only time will tell.

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