Small Spaces

Our kids love small spaces. That's something that Fritz and I, in our state of being big and tall, don't remember very well. But the boys keep reminding us.

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What makes small spaces for my children tricky, is that they like to be in small spaces right next to me. So, despite the fact that Noah set up this rabbit cage home in his closet, he has no interest in actually being anywhere near there himself.  Only for the rabbit.

Fortunately, Noah DOES deliver water and toilet paper to the rabbit regularly.

The stairs are a favorite playing ground in our house - I think because the boys have such a good vantage point - AND, each stair is a relatively small space.

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Per multiple suggestions, I'm trying to relax about the stair play, although I REALLY DO WISH THEY WOULDN'T PLAY THERE. In fact, I'm even trying to go with the flow. Here, I moved the play kitchen into the stairwell.  And the boys? Well, they made the space feel smaller by surrounding themselves with the dining room chairs.

We've received a couple of tent-type structures as gifts. The boys love them! It's convenient to (sort of) be able to move them around the house with us. The problem is that the poles and connectors keep breaking. I haven't yet found good replacements for play tent poles and connectors. And it just slays me to have these cool tents that can't be used because of some little broken plastic connector. If anyone has hints on where to find cheap plastic tent pole replacements, please share! But it must be cheap, flexible plastic - fiberglass poles don't bend enough, at least for the frog tent below.

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We've had much better luck with these 8 inch heavy duty waffle blocks. Ours are on loan from my college roommate(!). I'm pretty sure they no longer make them in this size, which is sad, because they are perfect for building small spaces and they are almost indestructible. But you can still find them on ebay.

One more thing I wonder about: if we designed more small spaces specifically for kids, would they play in them? I have the distinct feeling that it's also the inappropriateness of the space that makes it fun. Sheez, I was always chasing spiders out of this window well so Noah could stand there.

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Then there is this rather dangerous corner behind the couch that hasn't been childproofed because Mattias can't get back there yet. Fritz insists (for 7 years and 4 homes) on a weird 25 degree angle between wall and sofa, and I have yet to talk him out of it. Ahem, WHO is the architect? Fritz likes to hide the stereo back there. (See: storage problems) Noah likes to hide himself back there.  Consequently, I spend a lot of time chasing Noah out of the space.

See, Grandma? I took the photo stealthily this time so Noah wouldn't think I was encouraging such behavior.  That's why it's not even in focus - I had to hide the camera while telling him to get out and then SNAP! a photo. Gosh, maybe all these dangerous places are fun for Mommy, too.