Kids Outdoor Play Ideas
Our school has an Outdoor Learning Committee that I am a part of. We all feel very strongly that the environment where the children play outside is just as important as the environment inside our school. We have worked hard to make our playground an area where the kids can run, exercise explore and yes...learn! Outside play plays an important role in children's development! They are working gross motor muscles and getting must needed exercise. They learn how to solve problems such as when social disagreements arise. They learn empathy as they help friends who get hurt. They learn to take risks and see where their limits are and feel empowered as they take those risks and succeed. They create games and role play. They learn science concepts as they discover things in nature and learn to look closer and ask questions about what they see as they discover new things. They learn kindness as they try to save an insect in danger or nurture a plant. They are literally learning about life and life skills as they play outside, so we knew the environment needed to support that. We had an area that we were having some problems with in the middle of our asphalt area. We wanted to turn it into something all of the kids could explore and benefit from and decided to create a Barefoot Sensory Path. We came up with a design and my husband figured out how to make it so that it would be sturdy and last. Our amazing PTO gave us funds to purchase the materials and we had fun shopping at Lowes for items that would provide the sensory experiences we were hoping for. Our team came in on a Saturday and went to work. Our maintenance team had dug the area down four inches so that it would be even with the asphalt. We put down a layer of paver sand, and then the 4x4's. We glued some materials to 2x2 pieces of plywood. The sections were all 2x2. We filled the sections with paver base and tamped it solid. My son even came and helped! Here is the finished frame. Of course, we had to test it out! Here is the finished path!! We were so excited for the kids to try it! It was a huge success!! The kids absolutely loved walking on it with bare feet, crawling on it and feeling with their hands and even laying in it enjoying the warmth radiating from it from being in the sun. Another new area we created was an area to create roads, ramps, etc. using scrap wood, cars, signs and other loose parts. This lovely lady below had the vision for this area! We also added an area to really work those gross motor muscles. Mr. Doyle created a boundary to keep it all contained to one area. We filled it with stumps, logs, and large branches. The kids have created obstacle courses and love lifting these up to show how strong they are! They jump, balance and create here. They collaborate and problem solve. They use both critical and creative thinking skills. This is a great area to develop 21st Century Learning Skills as they play! For our nature lovers, we have an area with plants for them to explore and observe. Some are edible such as peppermint and fennel. We have cone flowers, milkweed, irises, sunflowers and more. This area is a great place to explore and observe insects also! Here are some other things on our playground where they can let lose and have fun! Our playground is still a work in progress! We have many more ideas that we want to implement some day! One step at a time!
Fully customise your play area with more than sixty pieces of play equipment and apparatus that can be incorporated into your design.
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Transform your science and math, reading and writing, imaginative play, and arts and crafts all through garden-based activities. The Garden Classroom offers a whole year of outdoors play and learning ideas, however big or small your outdoor space – and comes with a lovely, free gift. Welcome to The Garden Classroom Your garden, no matter its […]
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This isn't just any garden; it's a whimsical garden wonderland designed to spark joy and ignite your imagination.
Kids Outdoor Play Ideas
We don't know what it is about tree stumps that we love so much - maybe the natural texture, the joy of reusing materials, or the fact that they're completely f…
Be inspired by these totally amazing ideas for outdoor play spaces, with dens, nooks, climbing structures, mud kitchens and more for the backyard play area!
Providing open ended play materials is cost effective & allows children the opportunity to direct their own play. Find out how to get started & what to use!
Mud Kitchen Role Play Area Add a couple of signs to the role play area or mud kitchen. Have a look at the Mud Kitchen section in the heading. Mud kitchen
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Prescott Farm Environmental Education Center is building an outdoor playscape.
Use this just-for-fun word search worksheet while reading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The activity features character names and important elements of the book. Puzzles make fun no prep activities for early finishers, bell ringers, morning work, handouts, homework, lesson plan supplements, sponge activities, introductions to new topics, classroom themes, and sub files. The words included in the puzzle are: Archibald Craven, Bedridden, Ben Weatherstaff, Cholera, Colin, Dickon, Dr. Craven, England, Health, Hunchback, India, Key, Magic, Maidservant, Martha, Mary, Misselthwaite, Moor, Mrs. Medlock, Mrs. Sowerby, Orphan, Portrait, Robin, Roses, Secrets, Tantrum, and Yorkshire. Puzzlers must look in all directions to find the hidden words. Solution included. You might also like: • Gardening Word Search Activity • Little House on the Prairie Word Search• • Island of the Blue Dolphins Word Search We love FEEDBACK! And you earn CREDITS! • Log in to your Teachers Pay Teachers account. • Click on the drop down menu “My TpT”. • Select “My Purchases”. • Choose ratings and leave feedback. • Know that we love you for it! ♥ ♥ ♥ Puzzles to Print guarantees you the highest quality crosswords, word finds, cryptograms, Sudoku and number puzzles available.
Transform a patch of grass into an oh-so-enchanting play area with instructions from HGTV.com.
The outdoors is natures playground, it’s filled with all sorts of natural resources for kids activities and fun…..look around, see what you can find…… there’s loads of things to make in the great outdoors.. Here’s some ideas to get you started. Have fun with Blossom Art. Be a...
A sensory garden is designed to activate the five senses with some cool garden landscaping. Check out this post to see ideas on how to create your own.
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One thing I’ve learned over the years is that often the most simple activities are the best. This week at Art Play Group we made Nature Soup, a concoction of lemons fresh from our lemon tree, rose petals, rocks, leaves and water with assorted shades of food coloring. Let’s just say it was delicious! I […]
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It is really hot here in Florida – not like regular summer hot and humid, this summer is a hot, sticky oven. At my age, I only spend time outside early hours or just before sunset. My skin wi…
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This isn't just any garden; it's a whimsical garden wonderland designed to spark joy and ignite your imagination.
