What We Saw, What We Think

I’ve heard so much about the new Nature Playground at Assiniboine Park which opened this Spring.  Since they first announced the plans to build it I knew I would have to check it out.  Any place that combines children and nature and I’ll be there.  Of course the boy wanted to come too


The front gate was impressive;

Once inside we were immediately attracted to the awesome snake;

The giant bird nest was really cool too;

I grinned when I overheard a young mom tell her child he couldn’t climb on it but she couldn’t catch him before he did.  Of course you’re supposed to climb on it.

Likewise, my boy and many others were compelled to do this;

The playstructure and slide were far to busy for me to take any pictures of while respecting the privacy of those playing there.  I did however get some pictures of the green rubber hill;

 

I’m really not sure how I feel about.  I’m certain it will wear well and be clean and safe — but seriously, a rubber hill?  I may not be the only one who feels that way since it didn’t appear to be that popular.

The water and sand area certainly was appreciated;

And I just loved these;

 

Except for the ‘DO NOT TOUCH’ signs which don’t belong in any children’s garden.  I was also a little confused by these structures (one pictured but there is another one too);

The boy and I thought they’d be great for climbing on but they were placed in the middle of flowerbeds so we assumed they were ornamental?!?  Apparently everyone else thought so too — a waste of a great opportunity.

We’d only been here for about 20 minutes and I felt somewhat let down.  Then I realized that I had lost the boy.  Where did he go?  Oh, there he is;

Still inside the gate but he’s wandered off the path — and he’s found all the cool stuff;

 

 

A child in a true nature playground. Ok, I know what you’re thinking — he’s 17 years old, not really a ‘child’.  But he was just 2 years old when I opened my childcare home and has embraced his role as ‘evaluator’ of everything.  I trust his judgement because if he is bored the others will be too.  He knows nature and adventure — where it is, and where it isn’t.

From Chocolate to Worms

The children need little from me when we are outdoors.  Indoors they sometimes need redirection or assistance choosing an appropriate activity but not outdoors.  Outside they are never bored.  They enjoy a wide variety of activities — sometimes active, often dramatic, always creative.  I should know better than to interfere.

Last week they engaged in an elaborate activity that involved all the children in a variety of roles.  They started a ‘chocolate factory’.  Mmmm. I do love chocolate.  This chocolate however was not your typical chocolate.  This chocolate came from a mine.  So first the ‘miners’ had to dig a mine to find the chocolate;

You see, the top layer of gravel is ‘vanilla’ but underneath the gravel is ‘chocolate’.  I know why, do you?

The ‘shopper’ had the task of working as liaison between the miners and the baker.  The shopper made regular trips from the bakery to the mine to get the necessary supplies.  She always arrived with empty containers but after a little negotiation — using gems for currency – she left with containers full of delicious chocolate;

The bakers were pleased.  They had plenty of cocolate to use in their cupcakes;

 

I got to pick my favorite — the one with the most chocolate of course

After I finished my cupcake I went for a walk in the garden and inadvertently ended the chocolate factory game.  You see, in the garden I noticed a multitude of cabbage worms on our broccoli plants.  My expression of annoyance and disgust attracted their attention and I was nearly trampled.

 

Apparently some people like worms more than chocolate;

 

I’m not one of them.  Even if they are just ‘baby’ worms and you try to persuade me they are ‘sprinkles’ I still don’t want any.  No thank-you, I’m not hungry anymore.

More Parts for Play

My husband has been organizing his shed and getting rid of things he doesn’t need.  He asked if I wanted to go through the pile of miscellaneous wood pieces to see if I wanted any of it for the loose parts area.  What a silly question, like I’d say no to an invitation like that.

So our loose parts area is looking a little more substantial;

 

I was eager to see what the children might do with the new items.  They noticed it immediately when they went out in the yard and they quickly moved much of the wood to the ‘workbench’.

 

Interesting how quickly the box/stage suddenly became a workbench — and ironic since if I hadn’t rescued the wood it would have been under the box in the fire pit.

The children did a lot of sorting and rearranging of the various pieces of wood while they decided what to do with it.  You could see how hard they were thinking.

Of course they started by building a tower;

 

I’m not sure how it stayed standing — I cringed every time they added another piece but it never tipped over.  Maybe we’ve got some architects here.

Then they made some ‘frames’ — aptly named;

 

The frame became a decorative element for the stage and there was a brief demonstration;

 

From there the creation continued to evolve and the frame became much more elaborate with many new features;

I love loose parts and all their possibilities.

To Water or Not

I have two water barrels that collect rainwater to use for our garden and planters.  Filling watering cans to water the plants is one of the children’s favourite outdoor activities;

 

 

 

The rain barrel that is located in the gravel area has also been used to fill containers with water for play and experiments;

 

 

The hot dry summer has taken its toll on our water supply and, even with some restrictions on the amount of water we could use each day, our rain barrels are now empty.  My husband asked if I wanted him to use the hose from the house and fill the rain barrels.  I said no.  Empty rain barrels is part of the lesson.

So yesterday the weather forecast predicted rain and the dark clouds looked promising.  We went outside to play.  One of my ‘newest’ children said “I thought we wouldn’t play outside if it was going to rain.” I laughed.  “But we love the rain, why would we stay inside?”

Then it started, slowly;

 

And the dust began to turn to mud;

 

The rocks look really pretty when they are wet;

And the children noticed all the droplets of water;

 

And they were quick to react;

Sharing and working together;

But sadly the rain lasted barely five minutes — not nearly enough to produce the results we wanted;

But that too is part of the lesson.

Shiny & New

While cleaning out a cabinet last week I came across a container full of shiny, star shaped decorations left over from a past project.  Then, of course, I put them in the loose parts area outside.
Being ‘new’ and shiny too they have been part of many recent activities.

Sorting and Sharing

Decorating

Hiding for 'Treasure Hunts'

Of course, when you bury gems in gravel they get dusty so you have to clean them;
 

But my favorite part was when they decided that warm water would be better for cleaning so they put the ‘washer’ in the sunniest place they could find, and waited.

Painting the Day Away

It was back in 2005, when I began working on my CBA portfolio, that I first saw a painting activity that used clear acrylic panels for children to paint on.  I thought this was such a fabulous idea that I just had to find a way to incorporate it here.

I love painting.  When I paint I become completely immersed in the activity.  I’d love to give the children the opportunity to paint all the time.  Sadly I had not been able to.  Certainly we do paint but not nearly as often as I’d like to.

I do have a designated indoor art area which the children use freely but it only has paint when we are doing a group art activity.  The reason for this is because there is so much set up and clean up involved with paint that it just isn’t feasible to have it available all the time.

Sure, I can involve the children in the set up and clean up – some of them would enjoy that.  The biggest problem is that no matter how often I read ‘washable’ on a container of paint I know from experience that they are lying.  In fact, I’ve had better success cleaning up after painting the walls in my house than cleaning up after the children have painted with ‘washable’ paint.

So, painting becomes an activity with too many rules.  I loathe painting rules.  Rules and creativity are antonyms.

Paper is the other issue with painting – more specifically, wet paper.   Some children enjoy creating elaborate creations with painstaking detail that requires the precision of a surgeon and hours to complete a single piece of artwork.  Others take mere seconds to cover a piece of paper in paint and then make another and another and another until there is no where left to hang any more.  Then there are the ones that like creating texture with their paint – piling it on so thick that it will be at least a week before the paint will dry.

Now I’m back to the clear acrylic panels for painting – it would solve the paper issue but what about the mess.  Then it occurred to me that the once place where we never worry about messy play is outside.  So this spring I incorporated a clear acrylic panel to the ‘manger’ (nickname for the covered seating area).  Located between the gravel area and the deck it can be accessed from either side allowing many children to use it at once. The addition of a garden hose with both hot and cold water and a laundry tub which drains into the gravel makes clean-up super easy too.

We have used it often this summer;

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

In fact, I’ve now run out of paint!