Tuesday 02 November 2010
Thanks to a recent pupil-free day, my children had the opportunity to have a play date in our backyard with a group of kids of varying ages (from 2 – 12). I encouraged them to make cubby houses, and gave them them access to the following materials:
one sheet
string
scissors
anything already in the backyard (rocks, sticks, bamboo, etc)
It was amazing to watch the kids interact. The boys and girls naturally split into two “teams” and worked to make two separate cubbies.
The Girls
This cubby was built mainly by a 4 year old and 12 year old who worked together, sharing ideas...
Tuesday 26 October 2010 -
13 Comments »
In case you haven’t heard, we’ve had rain in Brisbane. Lots of rain.
The kind of rain that floods
backyards
and kindergartens
and laundries (sigh).
But you know me.
I’m a puddle half-full kind of girl…
Without heavy rain:
we might never wear gumboots.
Without heavy rain:
we might never know the joy of jumping in puddles.
Without heavy rain:
we might never discover some of nature’s secrets.
Without...
Wednesday 13 October 2010 -
10 Comments »
After Mr 2′s birthday there were lots of new and exciting gifts to open. Several toys were wired into boxes with clear coated wires about 20cm each in length. I kept them, figuring they would come in handy for something. It’s a teacher thing – we can’t help ourselves!!
The kids collected a nice bunch of sticks from the backyard the other day, and we played around with them for a while before...
Tuesday 05 October 2010 -
15 Comments »
Have you ever taken your children through a maze?
We recently explored this fantastic bamboo maze together:
Follow me! I’ll lead the way…
It’s definitely this way. Definitely. I think…
Hey! Come back. Wait for meeeee!!
Which way now?
Hooray! We found the fairy in the middle of the maze.
Now how do we get out of here…?
Sunday 03 October 2010 -
3 Comments »
We had an unexpected visitor to our backyard in the form of a tame Budgerigar. The poor thing was being swooped by our resident Noisy Miners and seemed unable to fly away. We could see an identification band around its leg, so assumed it was someone’s pet.
Using a towel we carefully caught the bird without frightening it. The only container we had to put the budgie in was the one we also used for the frog! ...
Wednesday 29 September 2010 -
4 Comments »
I was on my favourite local radio station this morning 96five talking about the importance of outdoor play. Click on this link or the image below to hear a podcast of the interview.
If you are looking for simple outdoor play ideas while the kids are on holidays, try some of these:
Ideas for Under 5s
Mud pies – set up a simple dirt kitchen and let the kids cook with mud. Give them some utensils and bowls and they’ll...
Tuesday 21 September 2010 -
13 Comments »
I picked up these wooden, unpainted creatures at an art supply store for only $2 each. I think one is actually a lizard, but we called them both dinosaurs. The kids loved the way the cuts in the wood enabled the creatures to move.
I set up some paints in egg cartons and let the kids go for it! My little one just needed me to hold his dinosaur still for him, but apart from that he painted it all by himself. Here...
Tuesday 07 September 2010 -
32 Comments »
Have you met dirtgirl yet? I knew I would like her the first time I heard about her, before I even saw an episode of the brand new Aussie children’s program. Dirtgirl is a gumboot-wearing, tractor-driving, veggie-growing girl who loves to sing and get grubby! My kind of girl.
Dirtgirlworld is a celebration of life outside! Each episode is packed with outdoor goodness and includes issues like recycling, composting,...
Friday 03 September 2010 -
3 Comments »
The sixth edition of the free publication Literacy Lava has just been released this week. It’s a fabulous resource for parents who want to be literacy-aware, and who want to encourage their children as readers and writers. This time I have an article included on Story Stones. Here’s a snippet:
Stones and rocks have been used in different cultures throughout the ages to tell stories to children and adults...
Monday 30 August 2010 -
29 Comments »
I wonder how many children will grow up without ever having climbed a tree? More and more in the city I am seeing tree-less backyards. Children aren’t allowed to climb trees in the vast majority of childcare centres or schools either, and kids today just don’t have the free outdoor time we did a generation or two ago. As a result I’m guessing some children will never know the triumph of conquering...
