My kids are all about designing dream houses lately – or, I should really say, dream mansions! My siblings and I used to do this as well, although our goal was to build houses that were 100 stories high. My kids are content with sprawling mansions, but they put everything you could possibly need inside – so that you never have to leave your house (mansion). The out-of-control luxury of it all is part of the fun – nothing matches the impossible when it comes to creative fun for kids!
This is the current favorite mansion. The kids were drawing details for each individual room on separate sheets of paper, but I couldn’t find those when I was taking pictures for this post. While there are multiples of several rooms, we are all sleeping in one single bedroom – shown above next to the playroom, living room, kitchen, and indoor plant room.
The original mansion has had a couple of wings added on. I love that each child has their own closet inside the Rock Room. You will notice that the house has at least two quiet rooms, created just for one of my kids who is particularly sensitive to noise.
Wouldn’t you love a swing room? I was impressed that they thought to include a news room!
2014 After School Party HOSTS
The Educators’ Spin On It
Planet Smarty Pants
Boy Mama Teacher Mama
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Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational
The Measured Mom
This Reading Mama
It’s time to link up your elementary school aged activities! By doing so you are giving the linky hosts permission to feature your post and to pin it to our After School Activities board on Pinterest. Last week I loved this printable addition game from The Measured Mom, this Race Around the Clock game from Deceptively Educational, and these easy ways to add music to your homeschool (or afterschooling) from My Sweet Homeschool.
MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
The strategic potties are very thoughtful ;)
I remember doing this as a kid, and also working on the house budget…
My son would love that LEGO room. Love that they have even thought of the pets and included an animal exercise room. So awesome!
I thought the animal exercise room was fun, too!
I use to LOVE doing this!! I can’t wait to see what my boys come up with. Great reminder of a great idea!!
It is such a neat window into kids’ minds and interests!
I want a swing room too!
A swing room would be awesome.
This is really fun. I think I would like the quiet rooms too :)
My son like to do this too. The most recent one he made was a ship and it had a coffeemaker room and a system for getting the coffee to the different rooms. So maybe this ship was for me!
Your son’s ship sounds amazing!
It is a lot of fun! I still remember the ones my kids did a few years ago after we read about Thomas Jefferson designing his own house.
I will have to tell my kids about Thomas Jefferson designing his own house!
With a mansion like that, who’d ever want to leave??! I will have to alert Ben to the necessity of a swing room in our renovation plans….
That would be amazing!
The kids actually did have the goal of making a house they would never have to leave :)
They really did think of everything!
I was impressed with the thoroughness of their plans!
So fun! I have to ask my 7 year old to design one :) Love the zoo and a huge library!
I would love to see Smarty’s dream house plan!
I like that the kids and grown-ups get separate clubhouse rooms :) I will show this to my kids.
Aw so fun! How old were these kids? You think a four-year-old is too young? It’d be fun to show them sketches of homes and let them go at it with their versions :)