At Darah’s school, work is completed on small child-sized tables that are placed throughout the room. Children are not assigned to a table, but are free to choose any free spot to sit in for each lesson they work on throughout the day. They feel comfortable freely moving about the classroom because everything there is on a scale that works well for 2 year olds. The chairs, the tables, the shelves, the sink….everything is just the right size for the kids!
This really got Tim and me to start thinking about how our own house is set up, and how monstrously huge many items must seem to Darah. While it isn’t practical for us to give her miniature versions of everything, we thought that if she had a table of her own, where she could easily seat herself for activities throughout the day, she might really enjoy that and get a lot of use out of it. We were definitely right!
To find a quality wooden table, we turned to Magic Cabin. If you aren’t already familiar with this site, definitely bookmark it, because they have a WONDERFUL selection of quality toys and accessories for kids. It’s impossible for me to browse the site without finding at least 10 things that would be amazing to own and that would promote learning, laughter and the use of imagination.
We received the side table from the child’s Adirondack collection that Magic cabin has and decided that it was the perfect size for a small table (a bigger table might be more useful to some, but we have a small house, so we took that into consideration when making our choice). The table arrived in a flat box and needed some basic assembly. It actually made for a fun project that Tim and Darah worked on together (she LOVES to “fix things” with her daddy!). It was all put together in 10 minutes. We actually decided to remove one of the wooden pieces on one side to make it easier for Darah’s legs to fit under the table. It now sits in our kitchen/dining room, right up against the wall and by her pictures of bones, which is something she is currently really into.
As soon as her table was ready, she asked if she could eat meals at her table and do lessons there. She actually refused to sit with us at the “big” table for 3 days and had all her meals at her own place! Now she’s back with us for meals, but snacks and lessons are still happening at her table. It’s great to see her confidently approach a space that she knows is her own. I’ve also seen an increase in her playing with her lessons that we have on a nearby shelf. That makes sense, because now she has a place to take them and work on just like she does at school.
We are extremely pleased with the quality of this table and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for something similar. We would also recommend Magic Cabin as a great resources for children’s playthings. Definitely check them out; you won’t be disappointed! They are having a post-holiday sale, so you just might find something for a steal!
Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win this fantastic Adirondack side table from Magic Cabin! Woo hoo!