Backyard Wonderland

It’s a beautiful sunny day here in Portland and we have big plans for our backyard. It’s long been my wish to turn it into something magical for children to play in. Here are a few ideas we were planning on incorporating into our yard.

Grass and Edible Wild Flowers – Greenery and flowers will often become the stuff of potions and fairy houses for you little ones. It’s good to have edible flowers and herbs so that you can bring the magic inside for salads and tea. Here is a great site with a large variety of edible flowers. My favorites are sunflowers, marigolds, clover, lavender, and dandelions.

Large Stones – Children need real, good work, and what better work than hoisting around large stones. On summer days, hot stones become resting places for some interesting bugs.

Wood in a Variety of Sizes – From small sticks to large logs, the imagination can create so much. Sticks become wands and swords and logs become the steps to a house of base for a game of tag.

Living Willow House – I can’t imagine a better playhouse than one that grows and changes every year. Follow this link for great instructions on how to make your own living house.

Sandpit – Playing in the sand is an important task for little learning minds. Sand play is open-ended, the child determines the direction and path of his or her own play creating endless possibilities.

You will usually find these things and more in a Waldorf Kindergarten, and even if you can’t make your ideal Waldorf Magic Land, when left alone, your children will make so much from absolutely nothing. I recall spending long summer days in a completely bare backyard running around with my best friends playing that we were Unicorns, or swinging on the bench making up silly games and songs. There are so many great things you can do to your backyard to make it a place where the imagination can flourish, but the best thing you can provide is space for children to play independently.