Playroom Re-purposed

Recently I did something that made my husband nervous...I changed our dining room into a playroom/classroom.  You see, he is the designer in our household.  When we decorate our home, he is the one who has a strong feeling for how things should look and where things should go, and the purpose of a room.  But, one day while he was at work, I moved the dining room table out, and changed the purpose of the room.  We never used the dining room anyway, we ALWAYS eat in the kitchen.  I cant stand a room that is never used.  And now, it is always used. Plus, it cost no money, everything here we already owned.

science study

 People talk a lot about re-purposing things; clothing, furniture, yarn; I re-purposed a room.

easel for painting

In the Montessori and Reggio classroom, the environment is set up for the children to be able to chose what they want to do.  All the materials they need are there, and they are taught how to get things out, and put the materials away when they are done.   I cannot always be right there to help pour the paint or get the box down from a shelf for building blocks etc.  So, everything that is out in this room is ready for use.  My children know where the paint is, and how to carefully pour it- and how to clean it up (they hate dirty brushes, and love to clean them and watch the water turn colors...)

colorful blocks, play silks

 In the Waldorf classroom, open-ended toys are stressed, allowing the child to use their imagination to create the experience.  These toys are about the child, not about the toy...

crystals, rocks, and bones for studying

What to do with all the treasures we bring home from nature walks?  Admire them, catagorize them, learn their names and features, draw them in our nature study books.

reading space

Everyone likes to sit here and listen to the fish tank purr while they look at books borrowed from the library.  The children are in charge of the fish too, they feed them and clean the tank.

writing letters

Thanks to the awesome Playful Learning Blog and book, I created a letter writing box for my kids.  They always want to send letters to friends, but we never have everything together.  Well, now we do!

Of course, we need a yoga mat and a few yoga book and games because I love yoga, and so do my kids!

art/writing table

This is an old table I hacked the legs off of and it became a desk.  In the drawers are art supplies, so it works nicely to hide what otherwise looks like clutter.

In the end, my husband was not very upset, and even liked my re-purposing!