WHY WE LOVE OUR PLAYROOM

When we bought our house we immediately knew that the formal dining room would be a playroom for the kids instead. And I am so happy with that decision. My thought process was "when will we really use the formal dining room?" Christmas, Thanksgiving... only rarely. And thankfully we have enough space in the kitchen for a table and 6 chairs and thats exactly what we did. And truthfully on days like today when we can't go outside because it's raining all day, I am happy with my decision. The kids have so much fun in the playroom and I love decorating it and making it my, I mean their dream playroom. 

We have a basement but it's just for storage as it is not redone but a basement as a family room is also a great idea... you have the space and you can make another living space that is comfortable and perfect for hanging out. But that is not our case so we work with what we have:) 

The playroom is spacious and we have board games, crayons, books, a play kitchen and bins with their favorite toys. We do make sure to clean out the toys and donate them every season. It's days like today that I appreciate having a separate room for the kids to play in so that the toys are not everywhere around the house. 

A big parenting tip? Add cleaning the playroom to the kids' chore chart... Ben and Emme know that whatever mess they make while playing they have to pick up. So it's a great way to teach them responsibility while having them help me around the house a little. I am big on teaching the kids early on and instilling values. I make sure I tell Ben (and even Emme) how blessed he is for the extra things he has that are not necessary in life and how he should never take these things for granted. 

If you are looking to decorate a room in your house and turn it in a playroom here are 5 tips to make sure the room is safe and still fun for the kids:

1. Make sure the furniture is safe and if anything worries you, drill it to the wall. 

2. Make little stations, I have a craft/art corner, the kitchen and a bin corner with all the smaller toys. This helps keep everything in place and organized.

3. I don't keep anything dangerous in that room, sharp corners, heavy items, etc... this helps me relax while I work or cook and know that the kids are safe in there. 

4. The most important thing is to TEACH the kids how to take care of their things, that includes toys and show them the value of everything they have. So that they are careful and don't destroy walls or items. 

5. Make it fun but also make it a learning room... everything in our playroom has learning possibilities and this makes me feel great as a mom... they have fun and they are learning at the same time. 

I hope to share a full playroom tour update soon. I wanted to share a little bit about why we love our playroom so much and why I was happy to turn my formal dining room into it. The kids are only little for a short time and we must learn how to enjoy these little moments in life. 

Have a happy Tuesday babes! By the way, if you aren't following me on Facebook, you should! I will be doing 3 FB lives tomorrow that all you mommies will love! Follow me HERE.