Do you think a dollhouse means just playing with dolls? Little did I know that playing with miniatures was actually building essential life skills, including the highly esteemed STEM skills!
Assembling my own dollhouse kit included ‘building’ furniture, ‘laying’ shingles, adding carpet, flooring, wallpaper, and more. This was actually teaching me about architecture, math, and design, fostered creativity, and helped build my confidence.
Women are nearly half of the US workforce but only 27% of stem workers
United States Census Bureau
Since then, I have moved on to activities on a bit more real-life scale. Yet, the common thread is that I’m willing to try things I’ve never done before. Baking a souffle, re-wiring a light, mixing concrete, refinishing an antique desk, or sewing a dress all began with making my own things in miniature.
My dollhouse lived in an unusually high disaster zone: tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes often struck my poor, long-suffering miniature family, but they were a plucky bunch and enjoyed frequent remodeling updates!
A properly chosen dollhouse provides:
- An outlet for future engineers
- Opportunity to explore circuitry and construction
- Introduction to Architecture and Design
- Develop fine motor skills
- Expand social skills and emotional intelligence
- Encourages imaginative play
- All this learning, and it’s still FUN!
Growing up, there were many building-style toys for boys, but not for enticing girls or the non-traditional to STEM. Although, all kids love miniatures!
“…science and technology occupations, particularly in engineering and computer science, are among the highest-paying and fastest-growing occupations”
STATS Canada
I loved my dollhouse. It was a Victorian, assemble-yourself wood dollhouse with window casings, stairs, and shingles. I spent hours making my own flooring and furniture, painting, wallpapering, assembling stairs, sewing curtains, and making clay kitchenware. None of it was perfect, but it was my creation.
Skill Development Expanded
STEM
Build your own style dollhouses provide the platform for introducing these skills to any kid. It’s not just about playing with dolls.
Age-appropriate dollhouse kits allow for creativity with design and construction (like assembling wood parts) and the painting, wallpapering, or flooring; there are basic to mid-level, very low-voltage wiring kits.
You learn about design and architecture as you see the pieces fit together – some things must be put together a certain way for the building to be solid, but other things (like what shingles to use) can offer creativity with some art and design.
There are endless possibilities – build the framework of a basic dollhouse, and you can add window casings, fences, gates, gardens, counters, and flooring – these things often require math for measurements, and so forth.
Emotional Development
Playing offers children opportunities to explore real-life situations, emotions, and dynamics in a way they feel safe. Acting out everyday situations like arguments and cooking helps children rehearse and understand life.
Issues and problems encountered in real life can be processed and acted out through a dollhouse family, where emotions and difficulties can be explored and discovered on a small scale.
Social Skills
Learning to play and share with your siblings, other children (and even their parents sometimes) is essential for getting along with people. Kids learn through playing with a dollhouse by cooperating, sharing, playing side by side, and interacting.
A free flow of conversation, idea exchanges, and different perspectives (like offering opinions on how to decorate or settle doll-family disagreements) all occur through this fun play.
Spatial Awareness and Fine Motor Skills
Learning where to place furniture so that the door of the fridge doesn’t hit the table or the toilet is placed where you can reach the toilet paper helps children to understand the position of things in space.
Moving parts (like opening little doors) or placing people and items around the house (like setting a tiny table) requires delicate hand-eye coordination and muscle control.
How to Choose A Miniature Dollhouse?
There are many miniature kits available. Choosing the right one depends on your child’s age, interest, aptitude, budget, and intent (temporary interest or long-term goals)
We sorted through some easily obtainable options, from toddlers to older kids. How to choose, why certain features are beneficial, and what to look for when selecting a miniature house, check out Dollhouse Kits for Kids
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