Discover the beauty of natural playscapes as a backdrop to family life, creativity, and learning. Explore how simple joys like wood floors, coffee cake, and outdoor play inspire connection and imagination.
What I love about a natural playscape is that they are always changing. Bamboo rods can be turned into almost anything with the help of an amazing husband and dad.
Inspiring Creativity with a Natural Playscape
Natural playscapes are outdoor play areas designed to encourage children to explore and engage with nature. These playscapes often feature elements such as trees, rocks, water, and sand, as well as natural materials that children can use to build and create.
Some of our current favorites are our bamboo sticks, palm fronds and wood slices. What can you add to your natural playscape?
Natural playscapes offer numerous benefits for young children, including:
- Promoting physical development: Natural playscapes encourage children to engage in active play, which helps to develop their gross and fine motor skills, coordination, and balance.
- Encouraging creativity and imagination: Natural playscapes provide opportunities for children to use their imaginations to create their own play scenarios and explore different roles.
- Supporting social and emotional development: Natural playscapes offer opportunities for children to interact with others, learn how to cooperate, and develop empathy.
- Promoting environmental awareness: Natural playscapes help children to learn about the natural world and develop an appreciation for the environment.
- Reducing stress and anxiety: Spending time in natural playscapes has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety levels in children.
This is what their “house” looked like in the morning. But, by the late afternoon, things really got cooking!
My daughter called me to help make her a broom from palm fronds. She said, “I must keep our hard wood floors nice and tidy!” I couldn’t agree more and got to work right away.
We cut 8 palm fronds and tried tying them together with string, but it didn’t last long with all the sweeping going on, so we ended up using electrical tape to hold them together.
With the addition of some coffee grounds, the coffee cake-making began! My garden pots became the kitchen and a log became the stove.
My afternoon snack of coffee cake – YUM. May I have a second helping, please?
Isn’t it amazing what kids can create with their imaginations? I can’t wait to see what they will come up with next!
I’m sure they’ll head to the bell bush next. Have fun choosing the materials for a natural playscape! You can create a safe, durable, and sustainable play environment that encourages children to explore and engage with nature.
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Thanks for linking up to Thinky Linky Thursday! I love your activity. Especially making the broom, that was really innovative 🙂 BTW, I am also following back. Have a great holiday!
Lori
Brilliant! I especially love your hardwood floors 🙂
Thanks for sharing at the Outdoor Play Linky!
This is great! LOVE natural playscapes. The ideas and opportunities for creative play are just endless. My girls play much longer in their mud kitchen than they do with any of the plastic equipment or toys that we have.
Thanks so much for linking up to the outdoor play link up. Be sure to share with your readers that you are linked up with us!
This is my favorite kind of play 🙂 Your kids are so creative; I hope to foster this kind of imagination in my kids, too!
Thanks for sharing this with us at Rub Some Dirt On It!
What a wonderful play space – my girls would love it.
LOL – at the "gross stuff you drink" comment from your child.
Your backyard looks like such fun for a child!
This is what the 'houses' at preschool look like too! Wonderful.
Will do! Thanks for such a kind comment. I should clarify though… this coffee cake was better than a mud cake! As my 5 year old said, "It smells just like that gross stuff you drink!" We let them play with the coffee grounds!!! It adds to the sensory exploration!
I love this, I also let my kids play with mud. What a great way playscape. I love it.
I hope you will join us for for "Every Day is a Play Day" Link Up.
We know that we have many outdoor play champions as passionate as we are in the blogsphere and think it is great that you as a blogger are sharing your passion about getting kids outside. To make it a little more exciting than a normal link up, you will get the opportunity to win a prize for the best outdoor play post. $200 gift certificate from Polarn O. Pyret.
http://www.activekidsclub.com/fresh-air-living/feature/every-day-is-play-day-week-challenge.html
Cheers Kari
Love it!!!!
What a fun afternoon! I love the wood floors!