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One of my most popular posts ever is my Play ( and learn) Room post where I walk readers through all the elements I think are essential for a playroom. The playroom in that post is designed for a young toddler and preschooler, the post explains what toys we had in our playroom and why they are important for learning. Here’s the thing my playroom looks very different now that my toddler is a preschooler and my preschooler is in 2nd grade. I am not ready to give up on this room though, it’s a happy room and with a few changes and a good clean my kids are completely in love again. This post is about how to set up a playroom your kids will use once they have outgrown your existing one. I knew I had to share the changes with you.
In this post a lot of the toys my children use and love are listed with affiliate links.
In the original post ( read it here) I listed these elements as the must have for a good playroom for very young kids :
- Blocks
- Books
- Table and chairs to create on.
- Dress up
- Practical life
- Puzzles
- Musical instruments
- A comfy place to look at books
- Art on the walls.
Here is how I have changed the room as my kids have aged. The main elements haven’t been deleted just adapted.
Our block area no longer has Little People Builders 
, Automoblox 
and see which could stay on and which would fall off. No prompting just access to the right toys. One toy that has been a favorite from day one and is still is LEGO
and DUPLO 
Our book nook is pretty much the same although most of the board books are gone ( a few favorites remain) and more non-fiction and chapter books have made their way on to the shelves. 
One notable difference is our craft table. 
The table is the same but now it’s filled with art supplies within reach. The only thing that I don’t have out and available are liquid tempra and sharpies. Once my daughter is past her finger paint to whole body paint stage I will have it within reach. 
The sharpies… I’m just not ready yet. I have art daubers, markers, colored pencils, crayons, glue, googly eyes, buttons, gems, scissors, paper and more all out ready to be used.
Our kitchen area is filled with a lot more food, tea sets, and crocheted sushi. But we play grocery store with the cash register
The instruments have been moved to my toddler classroom where they are enthusiastically used! If your kids don’t use toys get rid of them no matter how awesome you think they are. You can pass them on to a friend or just put them away for a while and see if absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Some of the things we have added is the easel
The easel gets used for drawing, writing, and even as a place to hang paintings to dry. You might recognize our cutting station which is used often and a great way to use scrap paper and broken beaded necklaces. It’s also a fun challenge. 
The space hasn’t changed dramatically but what’s in it has evolved slowly.
Do you have a playroom? How has it changed as your children have grown? Tell me about it in comments.
Sarah says
Love it! Where’s your art table from? What are it’s dimensions? I’m considering a new and bigger art table. My kids are at the table all.day.long! As they are getting bigger. Current proximity is causing some friction!! Thanks!!!
Allison McDonald says
The table is from IKEA – you buy the top and legs separately. I think in total it was about $45!
Amber says
THank you for posting this! I am so glad I found this because I am going through a similar situation with my daughters who are about the same age (pre k and 3rd grade). I have a really hard time getting rid of toys especially the fun educational ones! I would like to one day start my own in home preschool, so maybe I’ll save them for that. Thanks again 😄
Allison McDonald says
You are so welcome!
Linda Baker says
I did a very similar playroom for my grandkids, ages 1 year to 12 yrs. It is functional, festive and fun. Needless to say they all love visiting Oma!
Alex Rose says
Linda, could you post a picture? I’m trying to make the playroom work for an 8 year old and a 2 year old. Would love to see what you did!
savanna says
I would love to know what type of play kitchen you have! I ordered one off of amazon and it was adorable but too tiny for my boys (ages 3 and 5). I would love to find a larger replacement!!! great ideas!!! thank you!
Allison McDonald says
You can find a link to it here in our Holiday Gift Guide. We have had it for 5 or 6 years and LOVE it.
https://www.notimeforflashcards.com/about/holiday-gift-guide
Victoria says
One of the major changes we made as my boys got older (they are 5 and 8) is creating a separate “art center.” Our playroom has a comfy couch, books, a shelf of toys and a giant “train table” my father built. It almost never has trains on it, but often holds a board game or Lego creations. The couch divides the playroom from the art center, which has another table (a full-sized kitchen table) for art, plus a large shelving unit full of art supplies.
Juliana says
Hi, I have a question, if you would help me I´d be really pleased. I have an 8 y.o boy and a 3 y.o girl. each one has its own room, with their toys, but they end up playing most of the time in the living room, where there is a TV, even if it´s not on. At that very room I could separate a small space for them to play. There´s also a garden and a backyard. Where would you say it would be the best place for me to set up a playroom for them? Thank you.
Allison McDonald says
I would do it where they play the most!
Elissa Jones says
I LOVE the reading area you have! We just moved this summer and I have a much bigger playroom and the possibilities are endless! I am so excited to set it up well and a tad bit overwhelmed with all the ideas I have…thanks for sharing what works well for you and your kiddos!
Emily Jones says
Some fantastic ideas here! I have just enough room left in my little boys bedroom to implement some of these ideas. I have gone with a bright blue aeroplane theme as his bed has taken centre-stage in the room (similar to this; http://blog.cuckooland.com/cuckoolands-guide-bedtime-stories-aeroplane-collection/)
Christina says
Do you know the name of the idea table and legs when searching on the Ikea site?
Also, I have a 5 year old son and 3 year old daughter. They have a huge playroom with lots of toys but it seems like they never want to go up there and play without me. Do you have any suggestions?!
Lauren says
I love this! My husband and I recently created our own play room for our daughter, you can see what we did here at my blog: http://www.mathmomwithablog.com, I loved these ideas and I do strive to have more educational things in our house. Thank you for your post, it was a wonderful read!
Cyndy says
I am nodding at your changes. I care for my now “nearly 3 year old” grand-daughter and have had to continually change our play space to accommodate her changes in development. Her play space started out as a nook in a repurposed storage room in our lower level. Then we took off the door and expanded to the extra wide carpeted hallway outside the room. Soon an adjacent bonus/guest room was repurposed to provide more real estate for her toys and play. Now I’m in the process of reorganizing the whole area because the initial storage room area that was her “kitchen” has become too cramped. That room is, however, the perfect space to corral mess so it’s now in the process of becoming our “Art Café”. Thanks for great ideas!
Marwa says
Hi
I love your playroom
I only have a question,i live in an appartment not a house but i still can make a separate playroom, a bedroom, a living room;my question is can i merge the living room with the playroom.
I feel that i must be with the kids at their playroom although they can have some play by their own while i am having my time.
So whats your opinion and advice
Thanks
Allison McDonald says
Are they still little? I think you can put your playroom wherever works for your family. My kids end up playing in ours and our family room but I also encourage them to play alone.
Kristen says
Would you please tell me where you got the numbered flags or how you made them? 🙂 Thanks!
Allison McDonald says
I made them and here is the full tutorial:https://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2011/08/easy-diy-number-flag-banner.html
Sheena Stoner says
We have our playroom/school room on the main level of our home and I love it! Even when my kids are playing alone, I love to be able to see them, and hear them…it is so precious! And I love having everything in reach. My problem is what to do when we have visitors? We have a pretty good understanding among ourselves about where things go, and not being destructive, but not everyone else does and I don’t want to always feel stressed when friends come over. Any suggestions on how to keep things accessible to my children, but not have every item strewn from one end of the house to the other by little friends?
Allison McDonald says
Near the end of a playdate I usually offer a snack but not before everyone helps clean up, it’s an easy way of transitioning. The other option is to remove half of the toys so that the mess is more manageable.