Playstands?

[sweetpeppers]

They seem like the thing to have. Tell me how (or if) your kids really use them. Do they end up just being glorified bookcases? That's what I'm afraid of. Tell me everything they use them for.

[aprons_and_acorns]

The favorite way to use them at our house is as a playhouse. We have a piece of cotton fabric about 45" wide and 16 feet long that can drape over the whole thing and it feels like a cozy little hideaway. Sometimes we fill it up with pillows as a story nook and other times we make it like a little housekeeping area. Yesterday DS had a friend over and they made one playstand into a puppet theatre. Other times they are a play store with one playstand for merchandise and one for the checkout. For a while they sat on either side of DS's bed as bookshelfs and a place to eat breakfast in bed (). They spent a few months in the basement after we re-arranged the house and when they came out they were "new" again.

Oh yeah, sometimes he lays them down sideways and they are a car or a boat for him to drive. That's all I can think of for now . . .

Actually I thought of one more thing. We took one of them outside earlier this summer so DS and his friend could have a pretend lemonade stand. It was fun

[dogretro]

We just got one for our 1 yr old and it is a toy shelf and a little hideaway. I placed it so that the arch almost touches a wall, draped the canopy over it & clipped part of it to the windowsill, and put some blankets and a little pillow in there. She sits under it all the time and plays w/ her baby dolls

[Melaniee]

Yes, they get lots of playtime here. Though we bought them after Ds was already in school and had played with them lots there. I still think any child can think of things to do with them though. You can set it up a few ways at night, too.

[MamaInCA]

I recommend them, although they are pricey. Ours have been used in all of the aforementioned ways... also a hotel, fort, tent, beds, etc. They are a nice way to store toys - easy access, lots of options, and the kids enjoy rearranging things and making them their own.

[RollerCoasterMama]

Ours are still newish and DS is only 2.5. Right now they're really a play-house/store/toy-storage. But he really likes having the shelves. I keep the shelves fairly empty with baskets on the floor so that he can use the shelves in his play.

He really enjoys them though. Our cost about as much as the commercial ones but were made by a guy on etsy from reclaimed barn wood. They turned out lovely, have a bit taller canopy and LOTS of character.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30975615@N08/3681897252/

[sweetpeppers]

Originally Posted by 3901sca

Ours are still newish and DS is only 2.5. Right now they're really a play-house/store/toy-storage. But he really likes having the shelves. I keep the shelves fairly empty with baskets on the floor so that he can use the shelves in his play.

He really enjoys them though. Our cost about as much as the commercial ones but were made by a guy on etsy from reclaimed barn wood. They turned out lovely, have a bit taller canopy and LOTS of character.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30975615@N08/3681897252/

Those are beautiful. I would be making my own, so I'm not too concerned about the cost. I just don't want to spend all this time making them, and have them not be used.

[RollerCoasterMama]

Originally Posted by sweetpeppers

Those are beautiful. I would be making my own, so I'm not too concerned about the cost. I just don't want to spend all this time making them, and have them not be used.

I think if you adjust their use to your kiddos' ages, you will see them be used for a long time. Right now, they're being used with the play kitchen. When he's past play kitchens, I plan on turning them into a reading nook with pillows and/or a hideaway. I like to think we'll keep them forever, but it depends where we are living. If I have space to have a play-room for the mythical children that MIGHT visit! :P

[athensmama]

Resurrecting this. I did not post the original question, but I would love to hear from anyone about their playstands. I am still on the fence. We do not identify strictly as Waldorf, but dd (4) and ds (14 mos) and I participate in a Waldorf-inspired group twice a week. I fell in love with the Camden Rose playstands a couple years ago and each Christmas think about finally getting them. I think dd is really at a great age now for them and have been mulling it over now for weeks. Please speak up if your children do not use them as you thought they would. I promise not to tell anyone ; ) I have heard that parents often buy gifts for their kids because they themselves are in love with the things or the idea of the things, and I don't want to do that. In this case, there is no denying that I am totally loving the playstands. It is quite an expensive gift and so hard to just plunge in with these things holding me back.

Anyone have any more playstand love (or just lukewarm thoughts) to share?

[PabloHoneySF]

My honest response....

We got the Camden Rose playstands 2 years ago and they didn't really even get close to the amount of play they should, given the cost and space they take up.

My boys are 4, 3 and almost 1 and lately my 4 year old has taken to using one stand as a puppet theatre, so maybe now is about the right time for them to be used. For a long time they were just a very pretty house for the kitchen set. Maybe if we had more room where they can be set up in the center of they would be more than just toy storage shelves. I had problems for awhile with my middle son continually climbing them as a jungle gym and I got tired of pulling him off of them (they're sturdy, but not THAT sturdy).

I am one of those parents that got them with the idea that I loved them and the idea of them. I'm not sorry that we have them, but I wish they were played with more. My rationalization for them in the beginning and now is that they do make lovely (if expensive) shelving .

hth

[athensmama]

Thank you for your reply. My 14 month old is a climber, and I would NOT want to have to patrol the playstands (no matter how beautiful I find them! guarding them would be a major drag)

[mamaUK]

How about this play-frame instead? I think if you have any sort of wood work skills they would be quick and easy to make...I am thinking of buying them from here but haven't taken the plunge yet!

[LuxPerpetua]

My dd is SUCH a climber and we live in a small space so we've opted against playstands. However, we bought a gorgeous fir wood bench that is very "natural" looking (lots of knots and bumps and no straight edges, etc.) and she loves it. She climbs on it, turns it over to use as a boat, rides it like a pony or car, uses it as sled, etc. It's heavy and sturdy but light enough for dd to maneuver (sp?) on her own (she's nearly 4). I got it at Tuesday Morning and it's made from Chinese fir. As she gets older I've thought of putting fabrics on it to use as a puppet theater, etc. And when dd's in college I can use it as a bench.

ETA: It cost $80 at Tuesday Morning, just in case you're interested and have a TM store near you.

[athensmama]

That sounds really nice, Lux. My dd has been using the kitchen chairs to play "castle" and an Ikea chair she turns over and has claimed it to be the Amazon river. Not sure how she got that, but it sounds good to me ; ) My husband and I are supposed to settle this once and for all this weekend! Palumba has the playstands on sale until 11/1 for anyone interested.

When did you get the bench at Tuesday Morning? We have one in our town. I haven't been there in ages.

Thanks for sharing : ) I like the practicality of what you have done. What a great piece of furniture you will have saturated with the memories of dd at play! I really like that idea!!

[PabloHoneySF]

Originally Posted by athensmama

That sounds really nice, Lux. My dd has been using the kitchen chairs to play "castle" and an Ikea chair she turns over and has claimed it to be the Amazon river. Not sure how she got that, but it sounds good to me ; ) My husband and I are supposed to settle this once and for all this weekend! Palumba has the playstands on sale until 11/1 for anyone interested.

When did you get the bench at Tuesday Morning? We have one in our town. I haven't been there in ages.

Thanks for sharing : ) I like the practicality of what you have done. What a great piece of furniture you will have saturated with the memories of dd at play! I really like that idea!!

I think "furniture architure" is actually pretty excellent

We toured a waldorf preschool and there weren't playstands at all but the kids were building forts, etc out of wooden chairs. It would seem the most logical and natural thing to use regular furniture to stimulate their imagination...

[LuxPerpetua]

Originally Posted by athensmama

That sounds really nice, Lux. My dd has been using the kitchen chairs to play "castle" and an Ikea chair she turns over and has claimed it to be the Amazon river. Not sure how she got that, but it sounds good to me ; ) My husband and I are supposed to settle this once and for all this weekend! Palumba has the playstands on sale until 11/1 for anyone interested.

When did you get the bench at Tuesday Morning? We have one in our town. I haven't been there in ages.

Thanks for sharing : ) I like the practicality of what you have done. What a great piece of furniture you will have saturated with the memories of dd at play! I really like that idea!!

Hmmm. I think it was about a month ago. It was fairly recent. It looks similar to this but prettier: http://www.vivaterra.com/pls/enetrix...332071&dummy=0

[mamaUK]

Originally Posted by mamaUK

How about this play-frame instead? I think if you have any sort of wood work skills they would be quick and easy to make...I am thinking of buying them from here but haven't taken the plunge yet!

duh, it would help if i put a link in there!

http://my-kea.co.uk/children.html

The play frame is the first pic and it can be folded away if you don't want it up the whole time!

[SageR]

My kids don't play with our stands at all. They are just lined up against the wall with their toys on them. We made ours so the cost isn't a big deal; mostly I'm annoyed that we have these items of furniture that can only be used for a few things.

I love that my-kea stuff. Once my dh has finished the current projects on his list I'm going to have him make a plain bookshelf, a bench like Allison described, and a play frame. Then I'll sell the playstands. I know some kids love them, just not mine!

[Melaniee]

My kids use them all the time for anything and everything. They were 2 & 6 when we got them. They're buses, cars, houses, kitchens, stores, gymnast bars (ahem, I don't encourage that), step stools. Sometimes I set them up as a house or something at night so it's different in the AM. We just have two basic ones but lots of silks, cloths and clips. They make cute little houses for Dd to play with her dolls in. We're, sadly, not home a whole lot during the school year but they still get play. On holidays they get even more.

For their birthdays I will usually set it up kind of like a mini royal throne/palace for them with a gift on a pillow inside. I cover them and use them as a backdrop on Easter and put their baskets on a table in front (you know, for the pictures. LOL).

[polishmom]

I had my dh build a set of playstands a couple of years ago. We had it set up with a canopy and all of their toys on the shelves in baskets (similar to what a lot of you seem to have) and my kids 5,4,3, and 1 used them some.

But, then I got tired of having to constantly pick up/ organize their toys on the shelves, so I found new places for all their toys. I left the playstands completely empty, not even a canopy on top of them. They loved it! They play with them all the time now.

Most often, they will turn them on their side (so flat on the floor) and pretend to be in a boat/ rocket ship/ bus/ bed.....They also actually stand at them now and build with blocks, play with their wood figures. I think before I cleared them off the kids just thought of them as being a shelf, not something to use for play.