Editor's Note: I met Meredith Sinclair, M.Ed., at a Women in Toys Gala a few years ago and we immediately bonded over our shared love of play and appreciation for the value of play in children's lives. Meredith is a a play expert, blogger, television contributor, and spokesperson for The Toy Industry Association's The Genius of Play campaign. She's also a columnist for Chicago Parent magazine, and is a regular family lifestyle contributor to the Today Show and Fox & Friends. As a former elementary school teacher with a master’s degree in education, she is passionate about improving people’s lives by spreading the gospel of play. She writes about play, parenting, and more at MeredithPlays.com.

Her first book, WELL PLAYED: The Ultimate Guide to Awakening Your Family's Playful Spirit is out today. Here's an excerpt I chose to share with Savvy Aunties - creating a Play Crate for when your nieces and nephews come to visit. There's more on this idea, and many other great ideas, in the easy and fun-to-read guide book. WELL PLAYED is full of games, projects, adventures and fun - not just for your nieces and nephews, but grownups, too!




Play Crates

When I was teaching elementary school I often created thematic bins of play-based learning activities we called “centers” or “stations.” Do they still do centers in elementary classrooms? I hope so, because guess what? Kids flipping LOVE centers, or what I now call “play crates.” Play crates are simply homemade bins or boxes of fun, constructed around a playful theme. There is something unicorn-magical about having a box full of play-based, thematic goodies to dive into, matched up with a simple prompt for playfulness. It’s MAG-I-CAL, I tell you.

These make-ahead fun-bombs take very little time to assemble but are like a shot of good tequila when no one is feeling very playful or creative, and the walls of your home begin to feel like they’re closing in on you (I’m looking at you, Chicago winters and really every dang overscheduled night with kids) . . . can I get an amen!?

When making your own play crates, you’ll want to include activities that your younguns can do independently, plus some stuff that you’re secretly stoked to do along with them. Remember our earlier chat about the awesome benefits of playtime for YOU? Yeah, I was serious about that. It’s cool to be self-serving when it comes to play.

Hit up your local Michaels craft store or whatever big crafty place you have in your ’hood, and choose items that play well together to create a themed experience. Pack the materials into the play-crate containers of your choice, pop them on a shelf, and BAM! Instant playfulness when you’ll need it most. The possibilities are endless. You’re going to have a good time putting these together, I promise.

Martha Stewart and I have just about one thing in common. Our \initials. Please know that I am missing the perfectly-crafty-in-every-way DNA possessed by Ms. Stewart. I am no expert in the “maker” movement, and most of the stuff on Pinterest scares the hell out of me. Therefore, when my boys were little, I cheated my way through the craft store as much as possible. I gathered fun ideas for my play crates from teacher resource books, favorite online sources, and craft store idea sheets, as well as tricks I picked up from my days teaching elementary and preschool children and adapted for my own.

Play-Crate Houses
Use whatever you’ve got handy to house your play crates. It doesn’t have to be a “crate,” I just like how that name nearly rhymes. I am a sucker for rhyming and awesome accurate alliteration.

Here are some play crate containers I think are simply swell (see what I did there?):

*Gallon-size zip-top bags
*Sturdy shoe boxes
*Pringles cans
*Tennis ball cans
*Plastic takeout food containers (well washed)
*Photo boxes
*Under-the-bed plastic bins with lids
*Zipper pouches you get with bedsheet and comforter sets
*Small wooden crates from the craft store

The best part of the play crate is that it shows up when they least expect it, proceeds to be the life of the party, and then disappears for a few weeks or months, making them long for its return. Not awesome qualities in a significant other, but super-awesome attributes in a “We’re bored!” pinch. Trust me on this: Play crates are totally worth the preproduction.


Here’s a list of simple play crate ideas you can whip up in a weekend:

FOIL AND SCOTCH TAPE SCULPTURES

* Rolls of inexpensive aluminum foil
* Various kinds of tape (colorful washi tape, Scotch tape, duct tape)
* Play prompts written on note cards, like “Create a new kind of dinosaur,” “Construct a shiny new house for your fairies,”“Build a skyscraper,” or “Make your favorite zoo animal”

DIY PUPPETS
. . . Because Puppets Are Just Weird Enough to Be Delightful

* Brown or colored paper lunch bags
* Old, clean socks
* Stickers
* Googly eyes
* Various kinds of tape
* Glue sticks
* Yarn, twine, or raffia
* Ribbon scraps
* Cloth remnants
* Markers or crayons

POPSICLE STICK STRUCTURES

* Popsicle sticks
* Tongue depressors
* Toothpicks
* Glue or a mini hot glue gun
* Small cardboard base
* Your stellar architectural skills

The possibilities are seriously endless when it comes to the kinds of play crates you can create. It’s also fun to get the kids in on the action of producing them with you. Kids are always more invested and interested in just about anything if they help to create it. It’s totally okay if they know what’s coming down the road, and it doesn’t lessen the excitement on the day you decide to pull one out to play. Let the interests of your kids be your guide. Then scour craft books, parenting magazines, and online sources like Pinterest.


Adapted from WELL PLAYED by Meredith Sinclair. Copyright © 2016 by Meredith Sinclair. Reprinted by permission of William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Book images: HarperCollins.
Photos of Meredith Sinclair: Melissa Song Photography
Published: June 7, 2017