Playsilks: The Prop that Packs a Playroom Punch

Since beginning this blog a few years ago and sharing my love of playful parenting and teaching, I am often asked questions from fellow parents and teachers about playroom setup. Some of the most frequently asked questions I get are ones about what toys and props to invest in and include. We are living in an era of option overload and the toy aisles in stores are just one example. Stocking a classroom and playroom that is ready for learning and exploring can be consuming--both financially and mentally! How do you save your sanity and your savings account? And furthermore, if you are trying to live a lifestyle of frugality and less consumerism/materialism, how do you maintain a healthy balance? And lastly, in a world full of fancy electronic toys that promise to meet developmental needs throughout childhood, how do you choose what to stock your shelves with?

I don't have a simple solution. Nor am I a perfect example of the practice I preach of living with less. We started off very meagerly here and we have come to acquire a lot of toys! Sometimes at night, I think Melissa and Doug should come over and help clean up their mess (or at least contribute rent money). We have doting grandparents, loving aunts and uncles, generous friends and we are also parents who love to play and want our children to have the very best and sometimes are swayed by thinking that comes from the cute little play set in Walmart or a flash sale on a long wanted product off Amazon. Additionally, while I have some types of play and play props I really love and favor, I am not rigid. I do think there is a significant value in creative play with open ended materials. But I do not think that play with pretend food or dolls with faces or a fireman costume is valueless. We are a both/and kind of home. There's a plastic ice cream set AND pom poms in the kitchen area. There are natural wood circles and plastic blocks in the STEAM drawers. My kids play just as much with cardboard boxes as they do with the toys that come in them.

But what if I had to choose? What if I had to pick one or even a few play props that really pack a punch? And what if they also needed to be something that wouldn't break the bank? Drumroll please....

I'd like to welcome my good friend, the playsilk to the center stage! Including playsilks in a variety of sizes, colors and even patterns to your play area can be a great way to meet a variety of play needs across a wide span of ages (from infancy up). And I'd even open that up to include not just the traditional playsilk, but portions of fabrics of all kind. Playsilks are a popular item particularly in nature based, Waldorf and Reggio inspired environments. There are some well known and loved resources for purchasing such items online and they are not cheap! There are also ample tutorials accessible online to dye your own silks at home. I am here to say with confidence that I have now made the investment in "real" playsilks and included a variety of scarves, scraps, blankets and textiles rescued from thrift shops or even my own closet. They all receive equal love and attention from my children (even if I really really love the exquisite texture and craftsmanship on the set of 3 hand-dyed commercial playsilks).

But either route you take (and even if you also take both), what is so great about the playsilk anyway? Why is this such an asset to your play space? Well, playsilks are a prop that packs a playroom punch. They can be used in a variety of ways for a variety of purposes across a variety of developmental stages. Take a peek at some of the ways they have come into play in our home:

From infancy and through the early months, silks and fabrics add an element of texture, light, color, height and wonder as little hands grasp, grab, pull, pinch and explore...

They are the perfect backdrop to a nature table that celebrates a seasonal shift...

...a soft and sunny space for small world play...

...and on a larger scale, the perfect backdrop to an indoor sunflower house...

...outside they build the perfect bonfire...

...inside they're used to build a "pizza oven fire..."

...that brave firefighters must put out before they are then transformed into a delicious and enormous pizza for everyone to safely enjoy!

...they are a cozy bed for a boy and his baby...

...and skillfully sewn with a magic wand into...

...the perfect impromptu fairy garden costume...

Yes, playsilks play a plethora of important roles in a playroom--some rehearsed, others improvised in the moment. Where there's a need, there's a playsilk, indeed. They are versatile loose parts. They expand sensory skills in the infant years. They build fine motor skills as children begin to grasp and then to connect and tie and untie and disconnect... They expand creativity and abstract storytelling skills as they are manipulated into costumes and stories, settings and props. And if you don't really know what to do with a long piece of silk other than to tie it like a cape, don't worry! Your children will show you!

So while I sometimes have a bit of guilt over the sheer quantity of toys and supplies I've acquired over the years of being a play at home mom, I don't feel guilt over the well stocked basket of silks and fabrics. And I don't shrug off that lone scarf in the corner of the thrift store that just really speaks to me from the 50 cent bin or the moment I pull an old tichel back out of the donation pile to set up on our nature shelf. They may eventually end up back in the bag of items towed in my car trunk for over three months before they make it to Goodwill, but for now they may be a backdrop to a puppet show or even a puppet. Or a pizza. Or an apron. Or a kite or the flames shooting out of the bottom of a rocket ship headed to Outer Space to visit S's imaginary friend Jerome while he is on a family vacation to Mars.

Happy Playing!