Natrual Playscapes

Today I am excited to share with you the beginnings our our natural playscapes.  Oh we do have a sandbox, swing set, swing on a tree, and various outdoor toys, but I find that time and time again the children are always choosing more natural areas to play in.  Most of the time it is our flower beds or the planters at the front door.

Earlier in the spring we created a Fairy house.  You can see more details in this post here. The boys often check in on the fairies and still do play a bit with them.  We have had a few toads stop by to visit too.  I also find that the fairy house is a great way to welcome new children to our Home Daycare, as it is interesting for them and opens up dialogue.

In order to create more natural play spaces the boys and I chose an area in the back yard for their own garden.  I am very impressed that with minimal help the boys used my gardening tools to remove all the grass,  brought 2 loads of dirt from the compost, collected rocks and made the border.

 I'm not sure if we will get around to planting any flowers in there.  For now we have been rescuing stuck trucks and making mud soups.

Across our laneway we have used some logs to make a stepping path.  We just mowed a larger area around this area so it does look a little bare.

Next to the stepping logs is the balance beam and ramp.  There is a lot of bouncing and gymnastics that happen over here.  My boys are learning a lot about lining up and taking turns when others come over to play.

We have more plans to turn the last large slice of a tree we had cut down into a table for the kids.  Next to the balance beam is also the future home of next year's vegetable garden plot.  We look forward to sharing our updates with everyone!

We also love collecting nature items we find around the property.  TJ was collecting nuts from a tree to create 'golf ball soup'.  We took the soup for a walk so it could see the world and be introduced to our laneway.  I just love his gentle nature and the way he sees the world!

How are you playing outside?  Any suggestions for us?