Here is a project for new parents, who, after
spending most of there $$$ on diapers and formula, find it
difficult to spend more on expensive toys! The playhouse costs
next to nothing (well under $20.00) and is as much fun to make,
as it is for your child to play in.
Caution : Be very careful when using knives around small children, little hands move quickly!!
At least three large
pieces of cardboard are needed, to build the playhouse.
1 piece - 73 1/2"
by 29"
1 piece - 75" by 34 3/4"
1 piece - 29" by 46"
After you've gathered the required materials, the main sections of the playhouse must becut out. Here is my best effort at providing the actual dimensions for the various pieces that need to be cut. - dimensions -
For this you will need
a large flat area to measure, mark and cut the various pieces. A
good place might be the garage floor, or driveway, or any large
room that has ample floor space.
Caution : Be careful
not to cut the cardboard directly on carpet or any other valuable
surface!!
I recommend cutting out all the pieces, prior to attempting to assemble the house. While you are cutting the pieces, you should also think about where you want any doors or windows to be. It's a good idea to sketch the future doors and windows prior to cutting them out, that way , you can avoid unnecessary mistakes.
I added one large arched
shaped door on the front (large enough for me to crawl part way
inside, so I could later re-enforce the joined sections with
tape). Also, on the front I added a small window above this door,
by making a vertical cut and then adding two horizontal cuts, at
the top and bottom (similar to a sideways "H").
I added a medium size open window on
the left side, and a small round porthole just large enough for
my son's face, on the right side. On the back I made a smaller
door so he could crawl through the house, and another small open
round window above that door. Just enough openings to let light
inside, but not so many that, that he couldn't play out of sight
or hide inside the house.
After all the sections are cut out (including the windows and doors), you will want to move the pieces to the room that the playhouse is going to reside in.
The finished
house will be too large to move from room to room, unless you
have very wide doorways.
The playhouse is assembled by laying
the sections side by side, starting with the front (or back),
then lay one of the side sections next to it so that the 22
1/2" edges are aligned (be sure to have the best sides of
all the pieces, either all up (or all down). Then use long strips
of the tape to join the pieces together (tape both sides of the
joined pieces, for maximum strength, the sections will need to be
moved and flexed during assembly).
Alternate the sections so that you end up with a "front-side-back-side" arrangment. Once the four sides are joined, you should be able to stand them up and fold them into shape, to get an idea what it will look like.
The floor should be added next, take the floor section and align one of the edges to one of the four joined wall panels (lower edges). The floor should have 2 sides 29" long and 2 sides 34 3/4" long, the 34 3/4" side will align with either the front or back panel's lower edge, the 29" side of the floor will align with one of the side panel's corresponding edges. Only attempt to align and tape one of the floor's edges at this time. Tape the aligned edge into place (again, both sides for maximum strength).
You are now ready to fold the sides into an open box shape and tape all the remaining corners and joined edges. It will probably be necessary to climb inside, to tape the inside edges. You should now have a structure that resembles a house (without a roof), which, of course is the next step.
To add the roof to the playhouse, you simply fold the roof section in half as shown in the dimensions diagram, and place it on top of the four walls. Then starting at one side, use the tape to cover all the edges that need to be joined. This is where you will have to crawl inside (to tape the inside joined edges).
I had a piece of cardboard
left over, so I cut a square hole in the roof, (near the peak),
Then I folded the extra piece of cardboard into a rectangular
tube (the same size as the hole I had made, and taped it into
place. This formed a chimney, adding another source of light for
the inside.
One recommendation I will make is that you re-enforce all of the edges of the doors and windows with tape, (if you decide to paint the playhouse, then re-enforce it after the paint dries). Toddlers love to chew on these edges and cardboard and water don't mix well. Also if you paint it, you'll want your child to chew on the tape - not the paint.
We decided to paint our playhouse, my wife had some
non-toxic white poster paint, which she used on the outside. At
the "dollar store" she picked up a bunch of black magic
markers that we used to color the roof black. W painted the
chimney red and colored in bricks with the magic markers. My wife
added some grass around the bottom, (with green paint), And I
sketched the honey pots, which we both painted. My wife also
added the tree (and the bee's) shown in the last photo.
I decorated the inside of the playhouse with some doubles of family photos, and some pictures cut out of National Geographic and lots of Elmer's glue. I made a collage of pictures on each of the walls. Again, the amount of time you spend on this project is up to you, the importent thing is that it gives you a good reason to interact and play with your toddler.
"Things to do with
toddlers and twos" By : Karen Miller, ISBN 0-910287-04-X
"Family fun activity book" By Bob Keeshan (Captian
Kangaroo),ISBN 0-925190-29-2
"Free stuff for crafty kids on the Internet" By Judy
Heim & Gloria Hansen, ISBN 1-57120-080-0
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