Paths and walkways are an integral part of every garden. They allow you to get from one place to another easily to maintain the garden. But paths and walkways don't need to be only practical; they can easily become decorative and beautiful. This can be done by planting interesting plants…
Discover 30 enchanting backyard play areas, each offering a unique blend of fun, creativity, and learning. From DIY sandbox corners to modern play structures and cozy nooks, find inspiration to transform your outdoor space into a children's paradise. Perfect for toddlers to older kids, these ideas are budget-friendly, engaging, and safe for endless playtime.
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!
We created this city space alongside a house renovation that includes full length glass doors across the rear of the property, meaning the garden is always on show. The epitome of in/out living, this garden, would thoroughly become another room of the house, and with growing children to satisfy, we needed to make the most of every inch.
Everything you need to know about building and starting a raised garden bed! This post will help you begin with confidence!
Add interest to the children's outdoor play areas with this inspiring educator compilation of simple mud kitchen and digging play spaces for children.
The best backyard playground for kids doesn't have to cost a fortune. These creative ways to build a play space that's free or inexpensive are sure to impress and provide hours of fun for your children.
Summer is finally here and I am so excited to spend some time outside making family memories. My latest Pinterest obsession has been fun and unique ideas for outdoor kid’s play areas! John Woodford loves to be outside as much as possible and I can’t wait to put some of these ideas together! I can’t
Have you ever had a house with a carport? I’ve lived in so many different houses over the course of my life, but this is actually the first time I’ve had a house with a carport. The upside about ours is that during the warm months, I can use the shade of the carport as a work…
THESE 12 CREATIVE OUTDOOR PLAY SPACES WILL MAKE YOU WANT TO BE A KID AGAIN
Would you step through these portals?
A huge collection of ideas and inspiration for reusing tyres in outdoor play creatively & safely. Save money on outdoor play equipment by upcycling!
Trädgårdstips och pallkragar inspiration finns här! Snygga tips hur ni kan placera växtlådorna för en lyxigare trädgård
C is for Crafts: Homemade Handprint Garden Stones - Get ready to have fun and get messy with this tutorial on how to make your own decorative garden stones.
Paying attention to garden edging can truly transform the overall look and feel of your outdoor space. These ideas provide both...
The verdant family garden of passionate self-taught gardener Anastasia Elias in Melbourne's eastern suburbs - created from scratch in under two years!
There's a learning curve to raising veggies successfully. This newbie's advice will help make yours less steep.
How I created a Modern Black kids playhouse complete with modern house numbers, string lights and more
With a little creativity and some simple techniques, you can transform your chain link fence into a beautiful and unique addition to your yard.
Learn how to make grass heads with your young learners! Perfect for PreK, Kindergarten, and Preschool, this activity will have your little ones giggling with excitement as they grow.
When you garden with a matrix-style design, different plants can play different roles in the landscape. Learn more here.
Looking to have a garden in the future? Here are some layout ideas of how you can make your garden look whether you live in the city or country.
Amazing retro residence designed by Sarah Gallop Design situated in Vancouver, Canada.
Spring is almost here --- time to wake up from my hibernation and get these little cubs of mine outside! The warm sunshine never fails to make me want to spruce up our outdoor play spaces. We like to keep outdoor play, well, natural I suppose. So when I am planning outdoor play spaces for
Everybody wants a backyard oasis to call their own at the end of a long day. But when you have kids, it can seem like all of the options for creating a
Some plants grow well together and not so well with others. Companion planting is a simple and highly effective way to naturally improve plant growth. Here are the rules to follow.
Cut and come again flowers are long blooming annuals that produce new stems all season long, rewarding the gardener with a bountiful harvest.
Dog Paws Stepping Stones: I wanted to put stepping stones from our walk gate and could not find ones I like so ...... I made them. The idea I had was to make dog paws and as the idea evolved personalizing them with all of our past and present pets became a part of it. Making…
Discover kid-friendly and family-friendly outdoor spaces with these fun ideas from HGTV.com.
Are you looking out for ways on How to Make a Spider Plant Bushier? Here are the top tips and tricks to make your dull plant thrive!
A huge collection of ideas for creative outdoor play areas shared by early years educators. Try them in the backyard or daycare spaces!
Painting the Town creative team member Kristine Storm has started a new interactive art project called Community Kindness Rock Garden. The garden is positioned outside of the Rangers station at Washington Lake Park and is filled with all sorts of rocks with kind words painted on them. The park staff added a thousand unpainted rocks […]
