The imagination is a powerful tool. One of my objectives in raising my children is to stoke the fire of their imagination. Imagination ignites creativity and curiosity. Imagination enables the innovative application of knowledge. Our kids need both! What I love about the development of the imagination is how natural and fun it can be. A child’s play is one place where the seeds of the imagination grow. When a child reads and learns about something new, they work it out in meaningful ways through their play. As such, I like to keep open-ended toys around our home – toys that can be used in a limitless number of ways.
As I continue to share about things we love in our home, no conversation would be complete if I didn’t mention our all-time-favorite toy – PLAYSILKS!!! Any of you who have been around here for a while know that we love incorporating dramatic play into our everyday learning. There is something powerful about walking out and experiencing what we are learning. I keep a costume bin upstairs, but most frequently, the boys will raid the basket of playsilks we keep at the bottom of the stairs.
I just love how this pile of silks has transformed their play and our learning adventures in so many powerful ways.
A play silk + the imagination of a child = endless possibilities!
So I wanted to share a bit today about what they are and why we love them so much!
WHAT IS A PLAYSILK?
A play silk is simply a silk square (most commonly 36×36, but can be purchased/found in other sizes. Durable, beautiful, and useful in so many ways, play silks are an affordable way to inspire creativity and pretend play often absent from today’s toy box. They are probably the most used toy in our home and promote open-ended and imaginative play in a way that scripted toys simply cannot.
Now those of you who have priced play silks are probably scratching your head when I say affordable… We’ve used a few random silks we’ve found at thrift stores but the size, color/design and quality just don’t grab my kids attention like our play silks do and they quickly fell apart. I bought a set of 20 from A Toy Garden many years ago because the cost per playsilk was so much lower. We gave our kids a few at a time each year for Christmas. It also ended up being my go-to gift when for children’s birthdays. I gave away my last two silks on this blog a few years ago because they were girly colors and I was certain that I would only be a ‘boy-mom’. Hahahaha…
Play silks are perfect for: playing peek-a-boo, a doll blanket, sling, wings, a cape, a river, a turban, pirate’s headscarf, skirt, toga, belt, knights uniform, fort, or anything else a child dreams up… They are compact and weigh next to nothing, making them a popular addition to the suitcase when we go on trips.
When I wrote my series on Open-Ended Play, I wrote about the how our playsilks inspirie creativity. I just love watching them unleash their imaginations and see what they creatively come up with. This is important for any age, but it is really critical during those preschool/kindergarten years!
As my kids get older, I’m finding that we still use our play silks all the time. It is fun to see them get incorporated into our homeschool days.
Here are some peak into some of the ways our boys have played with them:
The boys loved pulling them out last year when we dramatized the crossing of the Delaware (blue play silks) and huddling around the fire (orange play silks) at Valley Forge as we studied the Revolutionary War… Ahhh, yes. We play with them every single day.
You can purchase playsilks here!
I’m celebrating the move to this new blog home address and and having a ‘house-warming’ party! We’ll have a few giveaways posted each week in March as I share about things my family loves! Check out the opportunity to win
Educating the Whole-Hearted Child (through 3/20)
Arizona Homeschool Convention and Curriculum Fair pass giveaway (through 3/20)
Linked to: Hip Homeschool Mom’s Giveaway Day.
Oh, my goodness…. my four would use these in SO many different ways! Capes, princess dresses, tents, just to name a few!
Oh my goodness – what an awesome toy! How would my girls NOT use these would be an easier question to answer – or at least shorter. 🙂 They would love to use these for dress up, for carrying stuffed animals, for table cloths during picnics with imaginary friends….the list could go on forever! Thanks for this awesome giveaway!
we still have the two from TicTacs birthday oh, so many years ago 🙂 we play with them often. they usually end up as superhero capes of some sort, mostly because they have knotted ends that i cannot get out for the life of me… any suggestions for unknotting them???? caviar the cat has also worn them as he has been flown around the room 🙂
We love playsilks. Love. My daughter has been using them since her first birthday and years later they are still in heavy use. And seeing that they can be shoved into a small bag, easy to transport.
Lately all of the blue-tones silks have been used to make rivers and pools for fish and mermaids. And the silk clips help turn them into great forts.
-Jennifer
We love dress up, and it would likely get used for dresses, robes or capes, by any of my three. They would also most certainly use them tied together as a tent or a a sail on a ship. The possibilities are endless:-)
Right now we’re still playing peekaboo, but my Tiny loves to check out the texture of things and I suspect these would be a big hit.
Also, I love the blog. Keep up the awesome work, Heather. 🙂
We have never had silks but I’ve always wanted to try some. Our kids are constantly pretending to be pirates, knights, princesses and superheroes. They would love this addition to their toy box.
My 9 year old daughter would love them. Also, my 2 1/2 year old son loves to wrap things, play peek a boo, and loves the textures of things. I can think of many ways to use these.
We are in our first year of homeschooling and props are very helpful! Learning basic geographic terms (peninsula, island, river, tributary… etc) would work well here.
I also have a 4 year old girl and I can think of about 10 ways she’d use them on day one- new ‘skirt’, wedding veil, baby blanket, superhero cape, etc.
My girls would love to use them for their babies (stuffed bunnies).
My littles love to play dress-up, so I can see them using the playsilks as robes, capes, or wings!
My kids would love some playsilks!!! We already have 2 35x35in squares, and they get used for everything!!! My son’s favorite activity is to wrap it around himself and pretend to be an animal (usually a crocodile. Sometimes horse, mouse, bunny, etc.). 2 more playsilks would be wonderful!!! They are a bit too expensive so for now my plan is to add 2 new playsilks every Christmas.
Btw, I’m so happy to have found your blog. We are a Waldorf inspired home. I have yet to find an earthy-mama blog that also emphasizes Christianity.
We would love to win!
My girls love playing dolls, so this would great for them to wrap them up, make little carriers or even tablecloths. My boys are always needing capes and superhero costumes.
I can see the boys using them as capes to imitate the various Super Heroes and the girls would use them as dresses, baby blankets or use them as water/rivers. So much fun! I’ve been eyeing these for several years now and really hope I snag a couple! The kids already grab any spare scarf that I have!
Silks are enjoyed in our house! I would love a green to use as the grass for my daughters Easter basket. No mess & a great gift. Thank you for teaming up!
Using blankets as a train – tent making – princess gown – SuperMan cape . . . Oh! I can only imagine how my olders would dress up my youngers with these creative things!! Great giveaway.
My kids would adore these! They have brilliant imaginations…. I am head over heels excited to see what our future play holds. 🙂
My girls would love to play dress up with them.
WOW! The play silks look like so much fun!! I can see my son using them creatively outdoors in some way. Perhaps to recreate a tornado blowing through a field? 🙂 Thanks for the giveaway!
My daughter loved her playsilks. She would use them for dress up, to create forts and scarf dancing! We both love playsilks! great giveaway!
My the year old came up with this phrase, “Happy blue bunny!” (or pink, green, etc) that she says to friends as they depart. She is so creative and I’m sure she would come up with a blue bunny game. And she would wrap up the cats, dress the dog, dress up her brother and he would write a brilliant play incorporating the silks for costumery.
they’re the BEST for dress-up. they can be head scarves, belt to hold a scarf, gypsy skirts, and on and on!
My girls would use them in all kinds of ways: dance streamers, dress-up clothes, horse reins, rivers, roads, tails, flags, doll clothes, and probably many more ideas that I can’t even imagine.
I’ve just been eyeing the playsilks – my 2 year old is just starting to get into pretend play and dress-up – these would be perfect!
My children are 6 & 9 and they would definitely turn those play silks into capes, lakes, crowns, fins, mountains, animals, rocks, etc…. Play silks are such a wonderful toy that can be used for so many different things!!
We have playsilks that we dyed ourselves with Kool-aid! My girl loves pretending she’s a bird and that she can fly with her playsilk wings. 🙂
my 2 little guys use silks as sword holders….and of course they are the best for building forts 🙂
I have six year-old twins and a 3 year-old who I can see using these to pretend to be Jedi knights saving the galaxy!
They would build forts and play dress up!
My children LOVE playsilks for playing all kinds of imaginary things. They have been capes, blankets, even scarves!
We just love play silks at our house! 🙂 Our kids would use them for dress up, and our girls especially would use them as baby carriers. 🙂
Jessica
What creative kids you have my friend! I suppose it comes from having a creative Mama…yes? 🙂
Random question…unrelated to this post…is that grass real?? It just intrigued me to see it looking so perfect…I had to ask.
Blessings to you!
Camille
No, that grass is not real. My dad turned the backyard into a giant putting green. He loves golf and just about every man or boy has just loved pulling out the putters at their home. 🙂
Too funny! It wouldn’t last here with all the rain we have. I think it’s a great idea…and so clean! 🙂 Have a happy day.
My kids have made up so many fun games the last few dreary weeks of winter. Turning our house into a “hotel” has been my favorite…it included maid service!!
Oh these look like fun…so simple! My oldest daughter is turning 3 soon and just beginning to get into dressing up and really using her imagination and creativity in play. I imagine now would be a good time to get something like this so that it will last and be used for many years to come! Based on the play that she is starting to do I am sure she would start by using it for peek-a-boo with her sister, blankets for her babies, a door for her couch fort/car, dressing like a super hero, dressing like a princess and putting it on my head 🙂
Thank you for introducing me to playsilks five years ago! They are a staple in our house too and I would, of course, love to add one or two more to our collection! 🙂
My girls LOVE to play dress up, but so much of what we have has gotten tattered so quickly. Now that we have a boy, something more versatile would be great to have, too–he doesn’t really need to be running around in a Cinderella dress. Love your blog!
I’ve never heard of these, but they look wonderful! I know that ALL of mine from the baby up to my tween would love to play with these! thanks for this giveaway, heather.
Okay, I have three year old triplets (and a baby) who would LOVE to get their hot little hands on playsilks!!! My kiddos have great imaginations and I can already see girl 1 turning them into princess dresses, girl 2 using them to make a wrap/carrier for her favorite teddy bear, and boy using them to fly…or try to:) Baby will probably just love touching them and watching me wave them in front of her. Oooh, we would looooove these! I found your blog today and really enjoyed your homeschooling post…thank you!
Don’t forget to pack some for play in Florida — when not on the beach or in the pool.
What a great idea!!!! Thanks for sharing. I will have to “follow” you to get some other ideas. Wish I had 20 . 😉 God will supply our needs…. 🙂