some ideas

• wooden blocks with patterns on all sides, to match, to build with; or could be soft (foam?) blocks covered in patterned fabric
• learning tools that have another use: matching game that is also a place mat (is this disruptive to dinner?), or maybe it’s a poster, the pieces can be taken out of a frame to play with and then placed in the frame to look at, or hang
• sheet sets: half of the kids took photos of their beds. playing in their rooms, on their beds, more then just for sleeping, could be a point to encourage imaginative play…
• blankets for blanket forts: the idea of collaborative play, pretend play, making and doing
• removable/restickable vinyl stickers for walls, kids can create their own unique wall patterns with the components provided

more notes on fort blankets

• using words/typography/hand drawn lettering; possible words: invisible, hide, play, make, create, build, fortress, castle, pretend
• a forest made from simple shapes: squares, circles, triangles
• a pattern of windows
• the idea of structure: bricks, wood, forest/trees, chairs, pillows, couches, stacked furniture, scaffolding, framing
• monsters, animals
• fields, mountains, hills, clouds, ocean, water
• mazes & secret passageways
• incorporate numbers
• maybe its a set of blankets, which includes a small booklet to explain context, that they are meant as a jumping of point for pretend play, to encourage imagination and make-believe
• some of these ideas could work well with a number of media, like sheets or wallpaper. through the probes i’ve noticed that the way kids play and pretend is not linear at all, so the idea of having fun, playful visuals that surround them makes sense