The Camp Ground

As Camp Campbell approaches I need to get my game face on and get the house prepared for a summer filled with fun, learning, and, let's be honest, a little bit of chaos!  When Clif and I were idealistic first time parents, we swore that we would never have a playroom.  Our kids will play in their bedrooms; our kids will never take over the house; our kids will never have that many toys.  Then came the first Christmas, and the first birthday, another Christmas, and the second birthday.  By the time we found out Cody was on his way, all of those arrogant sweet, ridiculous naive expectations went out the window.

Side note-new parents should NEVER swear that they will or will not do something.  The moment they do they seal their fate, and the opposite will happen.

Shortly after Cody was born, Clif and I had a heart-to-heart and decided it was time for us to do the unthinkable--convert our back living room into a playroom.  I hit up Pinterest for ideas and Craigslist for cheap furniture.  After about five months of organizing and planning, the camp ground is finally done.

I really wanted the playroom to be engaging for the boys but not a complete eye sore for adults, so I decided to find furniture that would allow for maximum storage with minimal display.  I think we have just enough toys out to make the room inviting for the little ones, but not so many that I feel like I need to clean up constantly.  I try my best to rotate out the toys that are on display, so things feel new and exciting for Colt.

Because Cody is very into toys, entertaining him is pretty easy, but the boy does appreciate a change in scenery.  I decided to do little stations for him that allow him to have different views from various areas of the room.  The first station consists of play mats.  These are fun because you can attach toys to the mats which keeps these toys in place.  Here we work on tummy time, sitting up, and general floor play.  Since Cody is rather large (20 lbs. at 5 months eek!), he still hasn't mastered the art of rolling over, but he's working on it!  The next station is his Baby Einstein jumper.  The jumper is located on the opposite end of the room.  Here he works on leg strength and plays with toys attached to the jumper itself.  He especially likes to be here for music time, so he can "dance" with us.  Next, we have his Fisher Price infant to toddler chair where Cody usually sits for story time and arts and crafts.  There are a few toys hanging above him, and he does a little mini-crunch each time he tries to sit up (he's working to change that keg into a six pack!).  Last, we use the Bumbo, Boppy pillow, or just lay on the floor and play with some of his loose toys in the middle of the room.  This is great for free play time. Of course, Cody's favorite place to be is attached to me, so he spends a lot of time in the Ergo carrier, too.

My favorite area of the play room is our felt board.  To create this, I attached felt to the TV stand and velcro to any of the pictures I wanted to hang up.  The left side of the board is our learning board.  Here we post pictures that coincide with the curriculum we're following.  You can find out more about the learning poster here.  We refer to the pictures throughout the day.  I hang the pictures low, so Colt is free to interact with the board thus giving him the feeling of control over his learning.
My favorite part of day is when Clif comes home and asks Colt about the pictures on the board.  Whenever Colt can repeat the words/concepts we've learned, I know the day was successful.  Remember, my one of my major goals with Colt is to work on saying initial sounds in words.  My hope is that by the end of the week he says one or more of the words correctly.  Learning new concepts is always a plus, but for me sounds are the primary goal.


The right side of the board really reflects my inner teacher.  I saw this idea on Super Nanny and decided it would be the perfect way to keep Camp Campbell organized.  Here we have our agenda.  Each picture represents a different part of our day, and I typically do not deviate from the schedule.  In my experience, schedules make children of all ages feel safe; children that feel safe are more receptive to taking the risks that come with learning and trying something new.  When we are done with an activity, Colt removes the picture from the board and places it into the envelope.  You can see the end of the day is when he can watch TV.  By this time the board is almost empty (except for the learning side), and I flip up the felt so he can watch a show of his choosing--my money is always on "the monkey" AKA Curious George.

Note: I am a high school English as a second language teacher, so a lot of these things may seem a little ridiculous or over the top to others, but to me they are second nature.  Perhaps having a posted schedule is not a necessity, but it is comforting to me.

We've already had the first day of camp, and the camp ground seems to be working out just fine.  We have enough space to play and learn.  Colt is doing a great job with the felt board.  We are establishing routines and expectations.  Overall I'm really happy with the way this space has turned out.  I think we're going to have another great summer at Camp Campbell!