You have seen the beautifully designed Pikler triangle and you understand its benefits for infant and child development. You are ready to buy one, make one, or you already own one, but then the concern comes about what if your child doesn’t want to climb, gets too big to climb, or loses interest in climbing.
I also thought the same thing. Afterall, they are sometimes quite the investment (unless you are super handy with wood and power tools). I wanted to make sure I was spending money on something that could be versatile and be used for longer than a few months.
We have had our Pikler triangle for five months now and we have used it in many ways beyond climbing. We do not discourage climbing, in fact, many of the play set ups do encourage climbing. If you want to know more about the benefits of risky play, be sure to read our post HERE.
I have found that the Pikler is very versatile and here are just a few ideas of how to use the Pikler beyond just climbing.
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Velcro
I am a huge fan of adding Velcro to make a DIY toy or to create a fun fine motor activity. I wanted to make a vertical play surface using Velcro, but I didn’t want to damage the walls. That’s when I thought to add Velcro to the Pikler.
I have stuck Flannel board story pieces to the Pikler and also one of our favorite loose parts…lids. Ruby loved pulling the lids off of the Pikler and I loved how this easy activity didn’t ruin our walls.
I imagine there are many different options for what you could stick onto the Pikler with Velcro. I would get started with open-ended materials like loose parts, especially ones you can find around your home.
See our Loose Parts for Infants and Toddlers post to learn more about the benefits to learning and development and subscribe to our email list to get your FREE list of loose part ideas.
Tape
Tape is another one of those loose parts that we love to use in multiple ways. Adding toys or even tape alone to the Pikler gives another way to play. Taping toys to the top also encourages climbing if that is your goal.
If children have to climb and then pull the tape or the toys then it encourages coordination and lateralization of the brain (using both sides of the body on one task engages both sides of the brain). So, find something that is of interest to your child and tape it at different heights or down the middle.
String Loose Parts
You can also string loose parts instead of using tape. This idea came from when Ruby liked to spin a toy on her activity table and I wanted to recreate that on a larger scale. I also thought using small pieces for fine motor development would be safer if strung on the Pikler so she couldn’t stick the small pieces in her mouth.
She loved moving the pieces from side to side, especially the small straw pieces. It gave a new way to manipulate the wooden rings and the paper towel rolls too.
We have also used links, shower curtain rings, and infant wrist shakers on the rungs of the Pikler itself.
I have also seen people use the rungs of the Pikler to string different things to make a large scale abacus. If you have an older child that might be a fun way to do some addition, subtraction, or pattern making. @beyond.our.play created a large abacus using cut up pool noodles, check out their other ideas HERE.
Photo credit: @beyond.our.play, check out their other ideas HERE.
Scarves
Another way to encourage climbing or crawling is by adding scarves to the Pikler. You can tie them so they add a sensory tunnel type of experience or you can drape them over the top to encourage climbing and pulling similar to the tape.
Another way to use scarves is for weaving. Weaving is a great fine motor and coordination skill for preschool and school age children. Starting large, like with the Pikler, is helpful for the developing muscles of small children. It is best to start large then work towards smaller movements. This is the case for drawing, writing, stringing, and other fine motor movement activities.
For this activity I would suggest long scarves or thick ribbon to weave through either side of the Pikler. You could set the Pikler on the side (as seen in the picture) for horizontal weaving or you could leave it upright for vertical weaving.
Photo Credit: @beyond.our.play from their Pikler Play Ideas Post
Ramp Provocations
Many Pikler triangles come with a ramp and I would highly suggest getting one with a ramp because Ruby loves to climb up the ramp more so than the rungs of the Pikler. There are also many ways to utilize a ramp.
You can roll cars or balls down the ramp, you can create experiments with things that roll vs. things that don’t roll, velocity, or inclined planes, you can create a ball run/maze, or you can do some car/ball ramp painting.
Create a Cozy Cave
Building forts is one of my favorite childhood memories. I loved taking sheets and couch cushions to create a cozy cave. The Pikler is a perfect frame to create endless opportunities for building forts or simply creating a cozy reading nook.
My 7 year old niece came over and spent hours creating, playing, and redesigning a play fort from the Pikler. I had the blankets thrown over the top and that was enough provocation for her to scour our house for materials to create a fort that included a bathroom, bedroom, and snack area.
As I observed this imaginative play between a 7 year old and a one year old, I knew that the Pikler stands the test of time and is versatile and open-ended enough to encourage problem-solving and creativity beyond the toddler years.
Light Provocation
Once you have the cozy cave made, you can also include a light provocation with a light table, flashlights, or lamps. We used our DIY light table and it really enhanced the colors and encouraged play. It was a great way to play with the light table.
Be sure to check out our post “Quick, Easy, and Affordable DIY Light Table” for a full tutorial on how to make a DIY light table that won’t break the bank. If you would rather, you can find light tables on Etsy HERE.
This is just a start to I’m sure a long list of possibilities of open-ended play that is not climbing using the Pikler.
If you are looking for a great Pikler triangle, I highly recommend the one we bought from the sweetest family in Turkey. It came all the way from Turkey to Las Vegas within a week…during a global pandemic. I was totally impressed by their constant communication and customer service. Not only is their customer service superb, the quality of their product is phenomenal. It is a sturdy, foldable, and beautiful Montessori climber. I looked around quite a bit and their prices are comparable to others.
Click HERE to check out the Pikler Triangle you see in these images.
Please share with me and others ways you use your Pikler climber for ways other than climbing in the comments below.
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