40+ activities with play side

In my opinion, play silk is the most magical toy in existence. Give children play silk in their hands and you'll be amazed at what they do with it. With a little imagination, the silk cloths transform into 1001 things. Play silk is the perfect example of an open-ended toy. It is nothing, yet everything at once. In my opinion, it's a toy that belongs in every family with children, in every preschool, kindergarten, and childcare center. In this blog post, I'll share my play ideas with play silk, divided into three age categories for their application.

All ages are indicative, as every child develops at their own pace.

Play side is sensory toy
Play silk is a wonderful sensory toy. Have you ever felt pure silk? It's so smooth, has a beautiful sheen, and moves very gracefully. Playing with play silk can help your child de-stress. Your child receives a lot of stimulation throughout the day. And sometimes that bucket overflows, or you want to prevent it from overflowing. Playing with sensory materials can help your child calm down. By fidgeting, using their hands, and stimulating their senses of touch, they can more easily distract themselves. Yet another reason to incorporate play silk into your daily play.

From +/- 3 months
From 3 months onwards, your baby will start exploring the world more with their hands. You'll likely have more tummy time, and your baby can stay awake a little longer, giving them more time to play. From 3 months onwards, you can introduce the play side:

• Tie play silk to a teething ring. Or buy a Teething ring with play silk . Wonderful to explore with your mouth, and the silk is a super nice and soft material to feel. Babies love it!
• Tie a few knots in play silk. Babies are often interested in different textures, so the difference between the soft silk and the hard knots will be very interesting.
• Neatly roll up the play sides and place them in a basket. Your baby will love nothing more than pulling them out one by one. My daughter really enjoyed this activity until she was 18 months old. And this is also perfectly fine if your little one only plays on their tummy.
• Peekaboo! We played peekaboo endlessly with the silk. It's nice that the silk is a bit translucent. That often makes peekaboo a little less exciting.
• Hide toys. Hide your little one's favorite toys under a play cloth. Your child will be so surprised every time they pull the cloth back and the toy is back! At first, you might have to pull the toy out yourself until they get the hang of it.
• Tissue box. As soon as your little one can sit, it's a lot of fun to put the play side in a tissue box. Trust me. Your little one will be pulling out the wipes countless times.
• Explore hands and feet with play silk. Loosely tie play silk to one or two ankles or wrists and start exploring!
• Play sides for a baby gym or climbing frame. Tie all the play sides to a baby gym or climbing frame and place your child underneath. Fun guaranteed!
• Sensory play bin. Sensory activities are popular, but can sometimes be challenging for young children. But it can be very easy. Take a flat bin or tray and place different materials inside, such as play silk, sensory bags, and large wooden coins and/or balls. Let your child explore the different materials and textures.
• Play silk in a ball with holes or a whisk. Believe me... your baby will love taking them out.

From +/- 1 year:
Most children start walking around the age of one. Whether your little one is already walking or not, you can still incorporate the playful side of things into your daily play.

• The tissue box was a real hit here until the age of 18 months. But from the age of 1, you often see children putting the play side back in the tissue box.
• Learning to walk. Silk moves beautifully and gracefully. That's why babies love to walk around with it. And it's lightweight, so it's easy to carry during their first steps.
• Swing and sway. Because play silk moves so beautifully and has a wonderful sheen, children love to swing and sway with it.
• Walking around hidden with play silk. There comes a point when children enjoy walking around with a cloth over their heads. With play silk, it's a bit safer because your child can see through it. This way, they bump into tables and cupboards less often.
• Blankets for everything and everyone. The doll, a favorite stuffed animal, for themselves. Even Mom and Dad get tucked in regularly.

From +/- 1.5 years
Around age 18, I noticed our daughter was playing with the silk differently. She was increasingly incorporating the silk into her imaginative play. Suddenly, I found the silk used as a tent for her stuffed animal, or she used it to wrap a present. Suddenly, the possibilities were endless.

• Dress up! Dressing up with play silk is so much fun! Is it a scarf, hat, dress, or skirt? Or a magical cape?
• As a flag. Tie playing silk to a stick and you have a beautiful flag!
• You can also learn colors well with play silk. Start with three colors, spaced slightly apart. Walk with your child to a color and name it. Repeat this with the other colors. Once your child understands this, you can have them walk to the color you name. Moving helps your child remember it better.
• Color sorting of Rainbow playset . Grab a rainbow set of your favorite wooden toys. We're using Grimms rainbow figures. Have your child match the colors.

• Collecting colors. Create a color-collecting game using items from around the house. Start with one color, and you can add more later as your child gets the hang of it. For example, put down red and together find all the red objects in the room you're currently in. You can use this in any room in your house.
• Fly with play silk! "Mommy, I want wings." It's happening! Tie them to a wooden ring your little one can hold, and off they go! The wings flap gracefully.
• Dance with play silk, because it moves so smoothly! Put on your favorite playlist and go!

• Building structures. Incorporate play silk into your creations. Make a beautiful block tower and place the play silk on top. Or place it underneath as grass or water. Or incorporate it between the stones of a castle you've built.
• Tablecloth. During a tea party, a playdough is often used as a tablecloth. Very cozy!
• Build huts! You can also build huts with the smaller version (55x55 cm). Tie them together or create a cozy tunnel between the table and the sofa. The sensory bags are also handy for keeping the play side in place.
• Decorate a birthday chair. Play silk isn't just fun to play with, it also makes a great decoration. I tie it to the chair when the kids have a birthday.
• Go on a journey of discovery. Be sure to take play silk outdoors on a journey of discovery. Silk shines beautifully in the sun, and discover how it moves in the wind. Children love it!
• Stringing. Take a play silk and large wooden rings, which you then thread around the play silk.
• 

From +/- 2.5 to 3 years

• Making play gifts! Gather all your favorite toys and make them into gifts together. Then unwrap them and be surprised by the lovely gift you've received. This is a great way to practice role-playing. How do you give a gift? What do you say, and how do you thank someone? Our daughter really enjoys doing this.
• Tie a bunting. Play gifts also require a bunting. Tie a bunting from play side. Fold one play side in half diagonally to form a triangle. Tie this to another play side folded into a triangle. Make the bunting as long as you have play sides.
• Learn to fold . Fold play sides together.
• Making numbers. Once your child shows interest in numbers, you can make them together. Start simple. You make the number and your child names it. If that goes well, you can make them together on the play side. Once your child has mastered that, you can name the number and your child makes it on the play side.
• Making shapes. You can also do this with shapes. Make a square, circle, triangle, etc. together.
• Decorations for the seasonal table.
• Touch & Guess Game. Place 5 items under the play surface, without your child seeing them. Your child will feel and guess what's underneath. Is your child still nervous or finding it difficult? Let your child take control and let them hide items, and then you have to feel and guess what's underneath.
• Making skates. Tie the play silk around your feet and you have skates! And an extra play silk acts as a scarf. Be careful! Play silk can be slippery on the floor (which is why it's also great for skating ;-) )
• Knotting bracelets. You can make bracelets by twisting two colors of play silk together and knotting them around your wrist. Or tie thick knots with one color and then tie them around your wrist. Our toddler really enjoys this.
• Make a puppet theater. Use play silk as a curtain. Grab all your favorite stuffed animals and dolls and make a puppet theater. You can do this, but of course, the children can too.
• Washing play silk together. An activity involving water is always a good idea. And you can also do this together in a fun way. Also read my blog post about how to wash play silk .

From 4+
Once your child starts primary school, you can use play silk to encourage playful learning. And role-playing remains a daily success.

• Making letters. Once your child shows interest in letters, you can make them together. Start simple. You make the letter and your child names it. If that goes well, you can make them together using play silk. Once your child has mastered that, you can name the letter and your child makes the letter using play silk.
• Braiding. Braiding is also a skill you learn, and with play silk, you can have a lot of fun practicing!
• Endless role-playing. Like shoes, water in a swimming pool, a bag to hold all your holiday gear, a tablecloth, a cape, gifts, or a sleeping bag. I could go on for hours.

Play silk is available in 6 colors in my webshop . Each play silk is made of 100% pure habotai silk and measures 55x55 cm. They are hand-dyed with natural dyes. For the littlest ones, there's also a wooden teething ring with a play surface, measuring 28x28 cm. All packages are plastic-free and I offset the CO2 emissions from shipping your package.

Wishing you lots of endless fun!