My Outdoor Space

[bklsmum]

My husband would leave me if I had all that in our yard! If it were up to him there would be one toy per child and that's it, he hates yard toys

I'm divorced so totally my call and I like it because there is so much less to mow. I have a little basket by each play center to put the little pieces in and you can't really tell from the pics but I still have quite a bit of empty lawn space and my personal space with my fire pit and 6 chairs and a few side tables as well as my outside table with an umbrella and chairs. I love my yard!

[Josiegirl]

WOWSERS!
You must spend all day outside and the dcks would love it! Your yard puts mine to shame.
How many kids do you have and what are their ages?
What would you say are the top 3 favorite things to do in your yard?
I tried the water wall, it was rarely played with and may take it down. I've got a nice big construction area and it mostly goes untouched.
I'm going to look into getting fairies(I've looked and all I ever found were so expensive). I've got dinosaurs and will set up a separate space for them.
But I've been finding lately the dcks are just fighting more and getting more wild. NEED to change things up so we can all survive the rest of the summer.

[bklsmum]

WOWSERS!
You must spend all day outside and the dcks would love it! Your yard puts mine to shame.
How many kids do you have and what are their ages?
What would you say are the top 3 favorite things to do in your yard?
I tried the water wall, it was rarely played with and may take it down. I've got a nice big construction area and it mostly goes untouched.
I'm going to look into getting fairies(I've looked and all I ever found were so expensive). I've got dinosaurs and will set up a separate space for them.
But I've been finding lately the dcks are just fighting more and getting more wild. NEED to change things up so we can all survive the rest of the summer.

We do spend pretty much all day outside, weather permitting. I have 10 kids enrolled but most are part time and they range in age from 10 months to 7 years old. The fave things are the sandboxes, the mud kitchen and the little sensory table. Those get the most play but everything gets played with pretty much every day. My kiddos know that if they fight over anything then all fighters lose it for the day and I usually find that there is enough to do that if any area is too crowded they will go find something else.

[bklsmum]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003GAAI2G?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00

These are the fairies I bought.

[Josiegirl]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ilpage_o08_s00


These are the fairies I bought.

Ahh thank you! I did find one of those toob of fairies but there were only 6. I can see one of my little dcks hoarding all of them.
Guess it's shopping time this weekend.

I'm wondering if any of my 5 SA dcks, ages 7 and 8(mostly) would be interested in any of your backyard activities. Anything I seem to spend all weekend creating gets ignored or abused. :confused: Some of them can really wreak havoc and I'm beginning to wonder if it's the dynamics of the group or if they're bored. Everything with them becomes a contest.

Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful backyard!!!!

[bklsmum]

Ahh thank you! I did find one of those toob of fairies but there were only 6. I can see one of my little dcks hoarding all of them.
Guess it's shopping time this weekend.

I'm wondering if any of my 5 SA dcks, ages 7 and 8(mostly) would be interested in any of your backyard activities. Anything I seem to spend all weekend creating gets ignored or abused. :confused: Some of them can really wreak havoc and I'm beginning to wonder if it's the dynamics of the group or if they're bored. Everything with them becomes a contest.

Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful backyard!!!!

I also have a 18x9 foot rectangular above ground pool that is the fave thing for the SA DCK's. It is a great carrot to make them behave because they know I have NO issue taking their swimming privileges away from them if they act up. They like the mud kitchen as well and they LOVE the "carwash" thing every time it is out. Just a few cheap buckets and big sponges from the Dollar Tree and a little bit of dish soap to make lots of bubbles and they will clean everything in that yard. I also put out bigger crafts for them at nap time. It's hard with SA kiddos. You might also want to try the google camp thing. I haven't yet because they have been happy with what we have so far and I try to be as screen free as possible for most of the day but if I need it I know it is there.

[childcaremom]

My husband would leave me if I had all that in our yard! If it were up to him there would be one toy per child and that's it, he hates yard toys

Yep. Mine, too!

I had him make outdoor stuff for us so our yard isn't filled with plastic stuff.

I love, love, love all your ideas. Love the little dino and fairy areas. My crew would love it.

Thanks for taking the time to post pictures. It all looks fantastic!

[Shell]

What an awesome yard!!! Agree with Craftymom, my dh wouldn't be too pleased either :: , but as a parent, I would love to bring my child to such a cool, imaginative and really awesome daycare!!!

[midaycare]

I love your ideas! lovethis I made the abacus thingy with pool noodles and the trucks with aquarium gravel this morning while outside with the kids. They are so happy to have new things happyface

I'm looking forward to a dino/fairy area but need to purchase some things.

Great ideas!!!

By the way, is it a-ba-cus or abba-cus?

[bklsmum]

I love your ideas! lovethis I made the abacus thingy with pool noodles and the trucks with aquarium gravel this morning while outside with the kids. They are so happy to have new things happyface

I'm looking forward to a dino/fairy area but need to purchase some things.

Great ideas!!!

By the way, is it a-ba-cus or abba-cus?

I pronounce it a-ba-cus but I could be wrong. And I am SO happy your kiddos like the stuff. Enjoy!

[spud912]

Very cool and creative ideas! It makes me want to play outside all day long! I've always wanted a mud kitchen but space and $$ are always an issue.

[bklsmum]

Very cool and creative ideas! It makes me want to play outside all day long! I've always wanted a mud kitchen but space and $$ are always an issue.

The great thing about mud kitchens is that they are cheap and can be any size you want. Mine started as that little white shelf thing and a few extra dishes I had in my garage. It has grown over the past two years but if everything I have now cost more than $50 all together I would be VERY surprised. I got the play kitchen for $10 on Craigslist and everything else was free or $1 or less.

[laundrymom]

:-( sad face.
I'm signed in. But am not authorized to view. :-(

[bklsmum]

:-( sad face.
I'm signed in. But am not authorized to view. :-(

Weird. I didn't do anything that would restrict anyone from seeing them.

[NoMoreJuice!]

:-( sad face.
I'm signed in. But am not authorized to view. :-(

That happened to me on my phone. On my PC I can see them though.