We moved to this house, with this yard, three years ago with the intention of giving our children every opportunity imaginable to play outside. As a former outdoor educator this was important to me. I had no idea how it would change my life, lead me down a new path, and mold the person I am, though. Before I learned about how nature play is developmentally appropriate I already knew that it was vitally important to me. There are a couple of spaces in the yard that inspired me to let loose, and to let my children loose to explore, dig, play, and get dirty. I'll introduce you to them.
This is the fairy garden. It is a basically unusable planter off the front porch. It gets very little sun and less water, so not much grows in it. I have some tulip bulbs coming up now, but they only grow where the dirt meets with sun and water. The kids can sit there for ages just digging in the soft, loose dirt. There is even a layer of big marble pebbles underneath the dirt, like buried treasure.
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| fairy garden |
Meet piggy-log. It is the remnants of a tree that fell just days before we moved in. It was quite the project for my husband to clear the branches from the creek. The kids climb on it, use it as a balance beam, jump off of it, explore it for new signs of decomposition, and ride it like a train. Choo choo!
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| piggy log |
And last, but certainly not least, is our very own vernal pool, tucked in the corner of our woods. It's a great place with deep water and boot-sucking mud. A walk through our woods isn't complete without splashing in muddy water. I'm sure that some frogs and salamanders like it too.
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| the vernal pool |
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