The Summer Yard

So, I was looking through my 'Blog pics' directory - the place where I store the pictures I plan to use in blog posts - and realized I had taken a lot of pictures of the yard space but had never written a post about last summer's yard renovation.  A mid-winter post about the summer yard might be just what we need :-)

It was back in 2013 that I first wrote about the plans  to move the fence that separates the gravel area and the parking area.  You can read more about those plans here.  We didn't have enough time that summer to complete that renovation so it was slated for summer 2014 instead.  This is a 'before' photo taken from above;

And this is an overhead view of the yard after the fence was moved;

It is a little difficult to see but we lost a small triangle section of the gravel area on the left side of the picture but gained the same amount of space near the lane past the neighbour's garage - where the tipi is now.  This extra space allows us to see what is going on outside the yard which was nearly impossible when the fence ended at the corner of the garage and our van parked perpendicular to the lane.

Here's the view as you come down the steps from the house to the deck;

As I walk across the grass area and look left toward the garden;

and right toward the covered seating area;

Walk through the covered seating area and enter the gravel area looking towards the right side of the hill;

Then look through the gravel area to the left of the hill towards the corner of that used to be playspace alongside the carport;

Now in the gravel area looking back toward the house and deck - here you can see the old water barrels which have been re-purposed to store the loose parts;

Turn around and look toward the 'new' playspace past the hill where the tipi is now;

This is the most popular space.  Even in winter the tipi is the favourite sit spot - as snow is cleared from the parking area it is piled behind the tipi making it a cozy little spot;

We love our outdoor play space in every season.

Good-Bye Old Tree

Last summer the tree across the street was marked for removal - we loose so many of our grand old elm trees due to Dutch Elm Disease.  Although loosing trees makes us sad, the tree removal process is also very exciting.  One morning last week we noticed that the city workers were putting 'No Parking' on the street signs around the tree.

We had the perfect vantage point - the tree is directly in front of our window;

After the signs were put up the snow plow removed all the snow banks from the area around the tree.  Then, for the rest of the morning there was no further activity.  We waited. We had lunch and then I closed the blind so it was darker for the toddlers' nap time.  As the children slept I caught up on some paperwork and answered a few emails -- then I heard the trucks.

Seriously, why do they always come at nap time?  Who do I complain to about this?  I paced back and forth listening to the chain saws and impatiently waiting for the children to wake.  As soon as the children began to stir I flung open the blind and sent all the children to the window as I put away the cots.  The baby stayed in his crib - standing there he could see over the children at the window.

All the branches had already been removed from the tree and they had cut a notch from the trunk;

They tied a rope to the tree as a safety measure so it would not fall on the nearby houses.  Then, one more cut and the trunk began to fall;

CRASH! Wow, that was loud and the whole house shook.

As the workers began cutting the tree trunk into smaller pieces one of the children started complaining about the 'bad pirate' wrecking the tree.  I was confused until they pointed to this worker's helmet;

:-)

The tractor then picked up the trunk pieces;

And put them in a big dump truck;

It was all very interesting and kept the children engaged for the remainder of the afternoon.  I printed off a series of pictures of the tree removal process and used them to create sequence cards.  The children have enjoyed looking at them and reliving the excitement of the day.

Ponies

I was doing some Christmas shopping at Costco when I saw them – ponies!  Actually, the label says ‘rocking horse’ but I like to call them ponies – I bought two.  They were not on my shopping list but I couldn’t resist – they were only $20 each!

Now I will admit they ticked a few boxes on my ‘I don’t like’ list.

• They were fairly large toys and I have a limited amount of space.
• They have batteries and make noise.  I prefer ‘use your imagination’ toys over ’cause and effect’ toys.
• They have some limitation for age/size of children which may cause frustration for the children and me.

But they were so cute I just couldn’t resist.  I bought two because one would definitely not be enough but I don’t have space for a whole herd. Look at them, pictured here with some of my Ikea stuffies;

I debated about introducing the new toys during the Christmas break when there were fewer children here but I decided to wait until everyone returned.  That way all the children could make discoveries together instead of the returning children being ‘instructed’ by the ones who had already had two weeks with the new toys.  Besides, there was something I had to do to the ponies first…

I had to put stops on them so they wouldn’t rock.

I know, some of you are thinking ‘Why do you want rocking horses that don’t rock?’  The answer to that is fairly simple, hence the name change – I wanted ‘ponies’ not ‘rocking horses’.  After my ‘Ooooh, they’re so cute!’ reaction my next thought was how many little toes would be squished under the moving base.

So on Monday the children got to meet our new, non-rocking ponies.  The early arrivals were thrilled.  After nearly an hour of pony play they still hadn’t yet discovered the sound/action buttons – so I showed them.  When you squeeze the pony’s ear you hear neighs and galloping hooves and the pony’s mouth opens and closes and his tail wags.

The children each tried the button once and then went back to their original – before my interruption – quiet pony play.  The third child to arrive was also more interested in the ponies than the pony noise/action.  It was a different story once children four and five arrived.  These two refuse to allow the ponies to be silent – ever!

Even when they are not playing with the ponies, if the noise stops they drop whatever they are playing with and run over to press the button again. For me, this is the biggest problem with the battery operated aspect of these and other similar toys. They don’t enhance the play value of the toy – they prevent the children from fully engaging in play.  They are a distraction.

I usually remove the batteries from new toys before I introduce them to the play space.  The lack of batteries isn’t missed if they didn’t know it existed.  Occasionally I leave batteries in toys – like I did with the ponies.  However, I rarely replace them when they die.  The pony noises are definitely not a benefit but I do like the pony actions.  In fact, feeding the ponies is one of the children’s favourite activities;

Sure, the children could pretend to feed the ponies even if the pony’s mouth didn’t open and close but there is an incredible amount of cooperation and problem solving as the children work together to find items that fit in the pony’s mouth and stay there as he ‘chews’.

The saddle stirrups have caused some problems – rider’s feet sometimes get stuck in them making a safe dismount difficult.  I’ve tucked the stirrups up under the saddle but I’ll probably end up cutting them off completely.

The other issue we’ve had with the ponies comes after daycare closes and it is dark and quiet in the playroom.  That is when hunter cat stalks her prey – and ponies are one of her favourites.  So, when play is done for the day the ponies are safely stabled like this;

Everybody loves ponies.