If there’s one truth universally acknowledged it’s that kids take up space. Whether it’s them being in your bed at 4am, or a Lego takeover of your living room on a Sunday afternoon, kids fill up your home as sure as water fills the space it’s given.

Deep down, we love their uninhibited desire for play to reach beyond the confines of their room and it’s hard to resist, no matter the noise or the minefield of toys that threatens to gouge the soles of your feet.

But even if it takes over the living room, we often confine play to particular parts of life. Yet letting play spillover into the rest of life - from eating, to bathing, to dressing - is often the best way for kids to learn, and to fill our homes with joy.

This week: Creative play spaces in small homes, LEGO 🤝  hospitals, and plastic waste (yes, we went there!)

- Brook

More than meets the eye

If you're new to this newsletter and are wondering what this is all about, check out the GRASP story here to understand more about what we're building and why.

In short, we're not just writing a weekly newsletter for fun. We want to bring inspiration to anyone who has kids in their life.

Tidy up time

Letting play spill into different areas of your life doesn't mean you have to sacrifice your style for the sake of your kids toys.

Even in small London flats there are creative ways to encourage independent play while keeping things tidy. Here's some play space storage inspiration that might also help your kids grow in contentment and enjoyment of their toys.

LEGO scanners

Lego are building scanners. Not to scan your Lego (though this app Brickit does do that and tells you what to build!), but to give to hospitals to help kids undergoing MRIs. These custom models let kids see under the hood of the machines and understand what will happen to them in order to make the experience less scary. 

Waste not, want not

Where does all your household waste go? We did the digging to understand more about what really happens when you separate out your rubbish for recycling.

It's quite literally a messy business and the lesson is - reducing and re-using is going to do a lot more good than recycling. 

Know a person or a brand we should feature?

We've enjoyed sharing our new series - The Village People - and we're busy compiling our next round of interviewees. While we do that, why not tell us who we should talk to? It might be you, or anyone that makes a difference in your kids' lives. 

We'll also be bringing you some features on our favourite brands and local hotspots. If there's a shop or a brand you love let us help spread the word with an introduction.