An Updated Peek in Our Play Garden

 Yesterday, I posted about my favorite take-alongs to inspire outdoor play in children (and adults!) and today, I invite you to our little apartment front yard for a peek into our play garden. I know, I know...January is not a month that makes you think about outdoor play or gardens, for that matter. Indeed, our weather has taken us through multiple seasons in the course of one week! I spent a chunk of time clearing the remains of our unplanned tomato forest out of the garden while the boys were resting yesterday (and we are very likely going to have another tomato forest this summer with all the tomatoes that went to seed!). My husband took Y to do the grocery shopping and I spent some time at home with just S. He was ecstatic! While we both take turns going out with the boys one on one, for S, an afternoon at home with just me was like hitting the jackpot. We decided to start by playing outside. He put on a tie for the occasion. I let him lead the play and even lead the way as we "walked hula hoops" that became a dog and a cat and traveled around our neighborhood. When it comes to outdoor play, everything you need is truly already there. Anything you add is icing on the cake.

In the Spring and Summer, our play is more about water and bubbles and creating potions and mud pies. In the Autumn and Winter, our play is more about foraging and collecting. All seasons can inspire movement and exploration. Use of loose parts both found in nature and from around the house can inspire a world of play outdoors. Hula hoops and gardening tools might be likely residents in a family yard. I also include some less typical loose parts to the scene and watch in awe as the world of practicality and imagination collide...

 Baskets, containers, planting pots and tins provide a practical means of storing materials and also a way to collect and transport objects from place to place. As a little girl, I loved collecting leaves and grass inside a basket to make pretend salads. Tools like rakes and shovels and a pair of children's scissors are on the ready.

Some baskets and containers store our many treasures collected and found in nature, like pine cones, acorns, seed pods, rocks, sticks and interesting twigs... Even some of our tree cookies have made it outdoors for use in dramatic play or building activities.

One of S's very favorite outdoor "toys" is a child-sized broom I found at a secondhand store last year for a couple of dollars. He loves sweeping!
Around that time I also found a large ziplock bag of cookie cutters on sale secondhand and snatched it up for using with playdough and art. Then I wondered to myself what kind of play might happen outside and filled a basket with a selection of metal cookie cutters in our garden. I can already imagine how they might be used in the dirt and mud. Perhaps the animal shaped ones will be used in dramatic play. Perhaps Y will explore how they sound when clanked together...

S often uses the water table as a mud kitchen. Tea parties and baking cupcakes are popular outdoor activities. A selection of inexpensive bowls and baking tins found at a thrift store make for great dramatic play. They also are useful for collecting and transporting and (apologies in advance to our neighbors) make for a wonderfully thrilling sound garden when explored as musical instruments using large mixing spoons (recycled or purchased secondhand or at a discount store).

And who says Winter isn't a great season for outdoor play? Imagine the interesting ice shapes that could form from pouring water into one of these baking tins? Add in some leaves and pebbles, twigs and acorns...

A simple garland made from twine and clothes pins hangs against the wall of our staircase inviting little hands to hang leaves, flowers, perhaps some ribbon and fabric or a small tin can... It's really a lovely way to look at our "treasures," and a practical way to hang a leaf or flower to dry before bringing it indoors to use in artwork.

These are items that we leave in our play garden. Using materials from around the house or purchased secondhand is an economical way to inspire outdoor play while not breaking the bank and worrying about how the outdoor elements might take their tole. This is a great way to give thrift store purchases like baskets, baking pans and kitchenware a second life! Sometimes, we might still bring something interesting from indoors outside with us, like we did yesterday with this impromptu sidewalk art:

Chalk pastels that rarely get attention inside found new life on our front sidewalk along with some recycled picture frames (with the glass and back removed) to create our "work space." 

Setting up an inviting play garden definitely comes at a price: your little ones will probably have a hard time coming inside when it's time. That being said, the price doesn't have to affect your wallet. 

Happy Playing!