If you want to set up a functional playroom that has lots of storage and is also aesthetically pleasing, then you can't go past Ikea. The Swedish giant are masters at storage for small spaces and famous for beautiful neutral scandi designs that will suit any decorating style. I've put together a list of clever Ikea playroom storage solutions and how to hack each one to make the playroom of your dreams.
These Ikea items are great for creating open ended Montessori style play spaces and each piece can be hacked for multiple storage or display uses. Only 3 of the 10 items are actually toys or traditional toy storage, but they all work amazingly in a playroom {or childcare centre}. You just have to think outside the box and see the play potential.
If you want to bring the magic of advent alive, but don't want to create a DIY advent calendar or buy a gimmicky chocolate filled one, then these reusable wooden advent calendar toys and nativity sets are a great way to build the excitement for Christmas and create a magical family tradition that can be repeated each year. The kids will love unwrapping a new piece each day in the countdown to Christmas day, and by December 25th they'll have a beautiful complete wooden toy set.
There's nothing more exciting than waking up each morning in December to reveal a surprise from the advent calendar. Make your coveted Christmas memories even more precious with a gorgeous wooden advent calendar, toy set or nativity set that can be reused each year as your children grow.
I love spending hours getting lost down the Etsy rabbit hole searching for the best handmade toys for kids. It's my favourite form of window shopping and I come across so many awesome quality products and stores. This post includes the best Halloween toys for kids that I've found from artisans on Etsy this year.
Wanting to add more open ended toys to your playroom, daycare or classroom, but don't know where to start? I get it, there's so many options it can be a bit overwhelming at first. To help you get started, I've put together a list of the top 12 open ended toys every playroom should have. They're also great for kindy and prep classrooms as well. No matter what age your kids are, these toys will grow with them and can be used in many different ways as they get older and develop more skills.
The Ikea Duktig kitchen is the perfect play kitchen for so many families because of it's compact and minimalist design. It's a great space saving option, especially for families living in apartments and small homes. It's neutral Scandinavian design also makes it the perfect blank canvas for an awesome Ikea hack. You can literally transform it to match any style or decor, so it'll blend into your home or playroom seamlessly.
The play kitchen was one of the first Ikea items we bought for the kids and it's hands down been our best Ikea purchase ever {and trust me, we've got a lot of Ikea products in our playroom}. Our kitchen has been going strong for 6 years now and both of our girls still play with it daily. It's one of our best open ended toys, sometimes it's a kitchen then other times it's a supermarket, bakery or coffee shop... the possibilities are really endless with a little imagination.
If the plain colours aren't to your taste though, don't worry, I'm going to show you 13 different ways you can transform the Ikea Duktig kitchen into the play kitchen of your, I mean your kids dreams. It doesn't matter if you're going for a retro, modern, farmhouse or vintage vibe, by doing some, or all, of these hacks you can turn the Ikea kitchen into the ultimate play kitchen for your space. You can even transform it into a mini replica of your actual kitchen.
Without a doubt one of the most popular wooden toys available is the Grimms large rainbow. But why are Grimms rainbows so popular? Should you buy one? Who are Grimms? and how do you play with a Grimms rainbow?
Don't worry, by the end of this post I'll answer all your questions and you'll know everything you need to know to determine if you want to add a Grimms rainbow to your home, school, or early learning centre, as well as over 50 ways to play with a large Grimms rainbow. Plus I'll let you know how to get my rainbow play ideas PDF booklet so you can have loads of rainbow play ideas printed in one handy place.
WHAT IS A GRIMMS RAINBOW?
Grimms Spiel & Holtz Design {more commonly known as Grimms} is a world renowned family owned German toy manufacturer. They've been designing, manufacturing and selling wooden toys since 1978 and they're now stocked in boutique toy stores all over the world. Grimm's specialise in open ended Montessori and Waldorf inspired toys made from sustainably sourced wood. The Grimms rainbow is arguably their most popular and well recognised toy.
My penchant for online shopping, coupled with the occasional opportunity to review toys for the blog, means I've pretty much been the toy queen in our house from day dot. When it comes to toys, my kids always come to me {possibly because I'm a girl and like the same things as them, or maybe because I hardly ever say no}. Anyway reasoning aside, for years daddy's been sitting on the sidelines patiently biding his time, waiting for the day he could finally introduce the girls to Lego and reign supreme in the toy department. He's literally been counting down since they were born. What he wasn't counting on though was me discovering a product even more awesome than Lego and totally stealing his thunder! Whoops... I almost feel bad about it {ok not really, because you all know how much I absolutely love wooden toys}. I've found the most amazing wooden alternative to Lego and the best part is it's now available in Australia.
WHAT IS MOKULOCK?
Mokulock pieces are wooden interlocking building bricks made in Yamagata Japan. In Yamagata 70% of the land is mountainous and the residents co-exist with nature, dependent on cultivating the forest for resources. Trees cannot thrive when they're close together in the mountains as not enough sunlight can filter through, so to ensure the survival of the forest as a whole, in the winter forest thinning occurs utilising the snow as a cushion when the trees are felled. The wood used for Mokulock bricks comes from the felled trees that are unsuitable for making furniture or architecture.
Mokulock is made from 6 different types of wood; Japanese Cherry, Japanese Zelkova, Japanese Bigleaf Magnolia, Birch, Hornbeam and Maple. Each individual brick is carved from a single piece of wood making them all unique with a different grain, texture and colour. No 2 pieces are ever identical, which if I'm completely honest would normally irritate my OCD, however I find the unique markings quite fascinating. Another plus is no chemicals, paint, glue or finishing oils are used in the production of the bricks, making them even more eco-friendly.
BRING NATURE INTO YOUR PLAYROOM
Research has confirmed wood has a calming, comforting effect. Mokulock is an organic, eco-friendly alternative for those who love the appeal of Lego, but hate plastic. It provides a multi-sensory play experience without the overstimulating bright colours and cold, hard feel of plastic. Instead Mokulock is warm and textured with subtle colour variations and a natural aroma, allowing sensory input without causing sensory overload.
Mokulock provides hours of open ended creative play that naturally aids fine motor skill development as the pieces are carefully manipulated into place. These bricks never get boring because they can literally be used to construct an unlimited number of designs, inspired by your child's imagination. As your children grow the complexity of their designs will evolve too.
The first time we played with Mokulock bub was coming up with ideas of what to build on her own then asked me to build one and she would copy. We did trees, people, houses and a pyramid all initiated by her. She got a bit frustrated when she couldn't get the bricks to join together perfectly the first time, but her stubborn streak is a blessing in disguise because she kept going until she mastered it. She's now asking me to search out more complex design ideas so we can build animals like dragons and crocodiles. Keep an eye out on Instagram to see all the creations we come up with.
MOKULOCK IS FOR EVERYONE
Whether your children are building simple towers or intricate multi level buildings, there's a Mokulock set for every member of the family from inquisitive toddlers right through to the biggest construction lovers. Although the regular Mokulock pieces are small and best suited to children aged 5 and over, they're also available in bigger sizes so younger children can join in too. And of course adults can play too!
MOKULOCK
The regular Mokulock brick sets include full {8 studs} and half {4 studs} sized bricks. Mokulock sets are available in 24 pieces, 36 pieces, 48 pieces and 60 pieces.
TSUMIKI
Block pieces in the Tsumiki sets are 8 times bigger than regular Mokulock pieces. They're similar in size to Duplo and designed so young children can start learning how to build with interlocking blocks. Tsumiki is available in 28 piece or 56 piece sets and come with additional eye stickers to help bring kids creations alive.
BUBU
The Bubu car is the only Mokulock set that includes wheels and bevel cut pieces. The set contains 14 pieces designed to build a specific wooden car which is the perfect size for little hands. However, the pieces are compatible with all Mokulock bricks, so it can be used in conjunction with other sets to build even bigger vehicles.
KODOMO
Kodomo literally translates to children in Japanese and these sets are designed to add a little bit of magic. The Kodomo sets include regular Mokulock bricks in full and half lengths with the added bonus of cute eye stickers to help bring kids creations to life. Kodomo is available in 34 piece and 60 piece sets. For your chance to win a 60 piece set enter the giveaway at the end of this post.
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After playing with the regular Mokulock bricks I would suggest they're great for children aged 4 and up {we don't have Tsumiki, but I would assume they would be good for 3+ as they're similar to Duplo}. I always supervise her while playing with them, moreso because I need to keep her younger sister away from them as she still mouths everything. Word of warning too, you will need to keep them away from adult males, if you ever want to play with them again. The good news though is that he has forgiven me for stealing his thunder and now enjoys regular building sessions with bub. It's actually really lovely having a toy they can both play with and enjoy simultaneously. Mokulock gives them the option of working together for a common goal or alongside each other and it's been great watching them bond over a shared interest.
WHERE CAN YOU GET MOKULOCK IN AUSTRALIA?
The entire Mokulock range is now available from Oskars Wooden Ark, Australia's newest online destination for quality open ended wooden toys. Growing up in Germany, owner Simon was surrounded by many high quality wooden toys thanks to his kindergarten teacher mother, which cemented a deep love of handmade wooden toys and open ended play from an early age. He and his wife Thuy recently opened Oskar's Wooden Ark {affectionately named after their son} after emigrating from Germany to Australia, in the hopes of bringing the wonderful handmade wooden toys he enjoyed playing with growing up, to children here in Australia. You can read their entire story here.
Oskar's Wooden Ark specialises in wooden toys, stocking popular wooden toy brands Grimm's, Ostheimer, Wobbel, Grapat, Mokulock and Magic Wood, who's products are sourced from sustainably managed forests in Europe. Wooden bricks, rainbows, cars, animals, Nins and wobbleboards are just some of the iconic toys that grace their online shelves. Each product is unique with individual grain marks made by nature. They're also great for developing fine motor skills, high contrast vision, letters, numbers, counting, mathematical reasoning and language development whilst engaging children in hours of open ended play.
To celebrate their opening and Mokulock being available in Australia, they're offering all Finding Myself Young readers 10% off* all Mokulock products. Just use the code finding_myself_young when checking out at www.oskarswoodenark.com.au. You may even be lucky and get a special Mokulock wooden key charm with your order.
Thanks to Oskar's Wooden Ark I also have a 60 piece Kodomo set of Mokulock wooden building bricks to giveaway to you! To enter simply follow the prompts in the Rafflecopter widget {so I can contact you if you win} and comment below letting me know what your kids would love to build with Mokulock? You can also enter over on Facebook and Instagram for additional chances to win.
TERMS & CONDITIONS
Competition commences upon publication and ends at 11:59pm May 10th 2018. One winner will receive a Mokulock 60pc Kodomo set RRP $89.90. Finding Myself Young will not be held liable should the prize be lost in transit. Competition is open to Australian residents only, excluding ACT. This competition is a game of skill and will be judged as such. All mandatory entry steps must be completed to constitute a valid entry. Incomplete entries will be deemed invalid and excluded from judging. Entries can be made via www.findingmyselfyoung.com, Facebook and Instagram and one winner will be selected from the total entry pool. Winners will have 48hrs to respond or prize will be redrawn. This competition is in no way endorsed, promoted or administered by Facebook or Instagram.
* Discount code is valid 8th May 2018 - 10th May 2018
Disclosure - I was gifted Mokulock wooden building bricks for the purpose of review. All opinions expressed within this post are based on our experience building with Mokulock. I did not receive payment for this review.
Hi I'm Toni. I'm passionate about learning through play and creating a fun filled childhood for my two girls. I'd love to share our play and craft ideas with you too.
All activities and crafts featured on Finding Myself Young should be done under adult supervision.
In Love. Funny. Creative. Honest. Trustworthy. Loyal. Outgoing but Shy. A mum. A friend. An Aunty. A Daughter. Appreciating the little things. Smiling on the inside. Finding Myself Again xx
