When we moved to our new house last year, one of my first priorities was creating a playroom in the crunchy, Waldorf style. Having attended a Waldorf Playgroup with The Hamster for 2 years, I was familiar with their play space philosophy and eager to try my hand at creating one featuring natural materials and providing lots of room for imaginative play...well, almost.
Not QUITE crunchy, I have my own philosophy on toys. In other words, we have our share of plastic and metal playthings, which I have no intention of abandoning. So they too, had to find a home in our new playroom.
Since a secondary goal was to find a place to keep the mountains of toys we’ve somehow accumulated (maybe this was the first goal) storage was on the top of my list. In Waldorf playrooms toys are kept in open baskets on low shelves. That worked for me – I was never that fond of the “plastic bin” look.
Then…research time! I seem to be completely incapable of starting any project these days without referring to the Internet, so I began. The playroom image in my mind, featuring natural wooden shelves and Lazure painted walls was reinforced with I clicked on pictures of “perfect Waldorf playrooms” – beautiful, calming, creative…expensive.
Some of the expert tips though, resonated with me.
Provide an area with some open space that will allow for free play.
Make conscious choices when painting and decorating walls. Waldorf recommends lighter, peaceful colors.
If possible, have toys visibly displayed and arranged on low, open shelves. This allows the child to see and choose toys with which to play.
Make Playstands w/ Canopies the Center of a Playroom
Make a Nature Table – I wrote about those here.
Create a Doll Corner – In our case, boy child, we bought a firehouse, then painted it white, so it serves as a variety of things.
Hang a Coat Rack - Coat Racks are great for capes, crowns, hats, and dress-up clothes. A nicely displayed coat rack will invite your child to lots of role-playing possibilities!
Create Theme Areas - Some examples are a housekeeping area with a play kitchen and/or ironing board, an art area with an easel, apron and paints. How about a story corner complete with a bean bag and your child's favorite books?
I was able to incorporate most of these ideas into our playroom. The low shelves feature, silks, fabric scraps, pipe cleaners and wooden beads, as well as a cash register, small cars, rocks, shells and feathers. Various dress-up items hang on hooks on the walls. An art area, doll corner and music center are tucked into odd places.
By a fluke, I was able to acquire play stands at a garage sale. I then brought down some old white particle board bookcases and installed commercial carpeting- double layered over the art area. (OK- not too Waldorfy – but practical.) The wooden kitchen set was the only big purchase. At least it came assembled!
I chose not to paint the walls,(Lazure or otherwise) instead opting to slowly decorate it with children’s drawings. The sharks and hanging fish shown in these pictures are leftovers from The Hamster’s Reef birthday party last month. I can’t bear to take them down yet.
Now completed, the playroom looks suspiciously like the one that I enjoyed as a child. Add in an Easy-Bake oven (..on The Hamster’s list. I’ll buy it once they finally make one in blue – or at least not bright pink) and a knitting machine and it’s my playroom all over again. Maybe that’s because electronic toys were in their infancy when I was in mine.
Do you have a playroom for your children? What were your goals? What resources did you use to put it together?
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