We love that play couches are so versatile and can be in used in endless ways. The opportunities to play expand even more when we combine play couches with other popular children’s toys.
Play couches are fantastic for kids of all ages so the accessories we use with them will change based on the child’s age. We have chosen to highlight toys that share a lot of our philosophies regarding open ended play and so these add-on toys will be used differently for kids of different ages.
1. Pikler Triangle
The Pikler Triangle has soared in popularity in recent years, especially during the pandemic when playgrounds were closed. It is a wooden A shape with bars going across it for toddlers to climb over the triangle. It often is sold alongside accessories like a ramp to attach to the triangle for more variety.
The Pikler triangle is a great piece to use as a base for a slide. By placing the large connected foam piece on top of the triangle it is an easy option to hold the slide in place. We have found families also love to connect their Pikler triangle as a ladder beside their play couch builds.
2. Wobble Board
These boards are made out of wood and sort of look like a bendy skateboard. They are commonly used for kids to stand on and practice balancing. However, when flipped over into a concave position they make fantastic slides. We commonly see wobble boards being used to slide off Barumba Play™ couch pieces when stacked into towers. We also think they make great bridges to drive cars along.
3. Felt
Felt crafts have been around forever but are finding new use with the rise in popularity of microsuede play couches. Felt can be made into nearly anything and plenty of makers on sites such as Etsy are creating beautiful felt designs that can be used to create scenes with your play couches. Besides imaginative play scenes featuring animals and mythical creatures, we see play couches being used as a learning surface with felt letters and numbers. We also have seen some amazing roadways which offer another interesting way to combine with toy cars.
4. Silks
Play Silks are really classic ways for kids to play. While one child uses a silk as a roof on a fort, another uses it as a door or a floor. We love toys that don’t have a right way or a wrong way to play. Silks also make great dress up accessories in pretend play.
5. Ball Pits
We have seen some beautiful ball pits hitting the market this part year in a variety of fabrics and colours. Kids love to jump off towers into their ballpits or even turn their playcouches into slides and land right in them. Some creative families have even turned their playcouch pieces into the ballpit and filled it with balls!
We firmly believe that open-ended toys make some of the best investments as they allow families to own fewer toys as the toys they do have keep being re-invented in new ways as kids get older. They also allow siblings of wide age ranges to share more of the same toys, resulting in less clutter in the home. And who doesn’t want that?