Play in the Garage

In the fall, my husband and I took our twin boys to a playdate with a playgroup I was assigned to through my local mother of multiples club (another perk of joining a chapter near you!).  Since it was autumn, they had everything set up for pumpkin decorating...in their garage.  Brilliant!  There were tarps laid out, held down by mini hay bales (so cute), and paint, paper plates, brushes, stickers, and tons of mini pumpkins.  There were also a few ride-on toys for when attention spans waned.  This was a great example of using your garage for play, especially for projects that might get messy and hard to clean up if you did them elsewhere.

We normally keep our cars in the garage, so there isn't quite as much room, but inspired by my new friend, I pulled the cars out for one morning and parked them in the driveway.  I removed hazards, like our ladder, and stuck them in the laundry room temporarily, and put several ride-on toys and bikes in the garage.  This was in preparation for another set of twin boys who would be visiting us for the morning.  Running around in an enclosed space with trikes seemed perfect for four 2-year-old boys!  Unfortunately, we never even ended up out there because time flew by, but I think it might have worked out well.  

Some of you might not have a garage, and for some of you it may be either too hot or too cold to really let your kids play in it.  I have seen some people set up a gated play area in the garage and open the garage door to keep air circulating on a hot day, and let their children play in the shade of the garage.  For others the garage might be a fun novelty on a rainy day.  (All of this is assuming you can or are willing to move your cars outside.)  In any case, if you do have a useable garage, using it for play can be a great way to extend the "square footage for play" in your home!

Ideas for Garage Play:

• Use it as a space to ride trikes, bikes, and other ride-on toys.
• Draw with chalk on the floor and either leave it or let the kids hose it off.
• Bring out toy cars and/or trains and tracks and have at it!
• Set up a play "house" with cardboard boxes and duct tape.
• Kick a soccer or kickball around.
• For younger toddlers, set up foam tiles and a gate, throw in some toys, and let them play while getting fresh air.
• Keep a play kitchen in the garage.  (My aunt currently has my old play kitchen in the family lake house garage, and my boys even liked tinkering at it while we played in and around the garage and driveway this summer!)

For some more inspiration, here's a link to my Pinterest board:  Play In The Garage.  

Happy playing!