Posts Tagged ‘playground’
- In: Parenting | Play | Playgrounds
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I really truly thought that I had managed to bring up a child who like the simple pleasures of sticks, stones and mud as opposed to wanting to blow copious amounts of cash going to places where he will end up finding sticks, stones and mud to play with. Alas I have been virtually unsuccessful in this attempt – I give my son pocket money so he can have a bit of financial freedom. My crafty boy hides his cash and still expects me to pay because he wants to save his money and it is not fair that I expect him to spend his. One thing I have discovered is that if you don’t expose children to places that are screaming out for cash they are no longer distracted by the need to spend and they settle to play with what they have around them. Bearing this in mind I have thought of five activities that won’t cost you a penny – unless you buy sweets and ice cream of course.
Make A Mud Kitchen
This is definitely not for the feint hearted and those who cannot abide dirt but it will keep them entertained for hours. Choose a corner of the garden where there is mud that is easy to access, bring out the pots and pans, add water and let your child have fun. Put old clothes on them and it won’t matter how dirty they get. I remember spending the whole summer holidays playing in the coal bunker – I got so filthy and looked as if I had been down a mine but I can’t remember the paid activities I did that year.
Make Natural Sculptures
I always mention this one and talk about Andy Goldsworthy as an example. Basically all it involves is collecting any bits of nature or rubbish (as long as it is safe) lying around and making a picture out of it. We live right by an estuary and there is often loads of treasure lying around for us to use; drift wood, plastic bottles, old shoes, bits of plastic, straw and stones. You will be surprised at how creative your child an be and how explaining what they have made can improve their language and imagination skills.
Visit The Local Playground
This activity does sometimes coincide with a visit to the sweetshop but often allows you to relax and chat to other parents while your child is completely occupied by other children in the playground. Visiting a playground regularly means that you don’t have worry about having playground equipment in the garden at home. In my experience children tend to look for the mud and stones in every playground they go in so don’t put them in their best togs – it will only drive you mad.
Make A Picnic And Go To The Beach
If anything was invented for children to run free and parents to relax a little – it was the beach. make sure you set ground rules like; don’t go into the sea without supervision, stay within sight, Keep off the road and by no account go home with anyone else you should be able to let your little monsters run free. You will find yourself making sandcastles and digging moats, so cast off your inhibitions and dig down and get sandy.
Go Round To Grandma’s
If Grandma lives too far away go and visit friends and relatives instead. Grand parents are generally so excited to see their grand children that they will quite happily entertain them for the whole afternoon – giving you the chance to relax with a cup of coffee, home made cake and a bit of peace and quiet.
These are very simple suggestions but they are surprisingly very time consuming and once you ignite your child’s imagination they develop momentum and can enjoy playing for hours and hours. Whatever you do – enjoy them while they are young! As for my son being very money minded he informed me yesterday that money was not important, life was and he knew that just because he knew.
- In: Outdoors | Play | Play eqipment | Playgrounds
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Spring has finally sprung the sun is shining and finally the rain is holding off long enough for us to enjoy the great outdoors. When I pick my son up from school we will be spending time in the playground with all of the other parents and children. Having a wonderful playground so close to the school is wonderful because it allows the children to expel the pent up energy they have saved while working hard at school. My son and his friends are definitely ready to spend after school running around outside climbing on the playground equipment and digging holes in the mud. Hopefully being able to play in a more open and freer environment will help him and his best friend to stop bossing each other about and getting each other’s backs up.
Play England have devoted a whole section on the benefits of outdoor play because they believe that it is important that children learn skills that cannot be learned easily in the classroom. Apart from the obvious health benefits of climbing on playground equipment and getting lots of exercise, children also learn how to interact with others and deal with conflict. Playground equipment also offers the opportunity to conquer fears about height and balance. Children also enjoy the freedom to abandon the playground equipment and find parts of the playground where they can hide and play imaginative games.
Visiting the playground as a parent can either be a sociable occasion where you chat to other parents or you find a quiet place to catch up on some work you need to do on your mobile phone. Leaving the playground generally involves lots of time warnings and watching your reluctant child clamber on every piece of playground equipment before they reach the gate, only to forget their shoe and spend the next ten minutes looking for it.
Dreaming of A White Christmas…
Posted December 18, 2014
on:- In: Children | Parenting | Playgrounds | School
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The other morning before school, we had what can only be described as a small blizzard. I peeled back the curtain to see whether I needed to take an umbrella out with me for the walk to school (or if the wind was too strong for one to be remotely effective) and was met with a blanket of white stuff over the cars, trees and paths.
The snow obviously meant we had to make time for a quick play outside in the public playground across from the school. It’s amazing how a bit of snow transforms a place and makes it a different world almost. Suddenly, a playground they know so well (although usually still fun and met with a good amount of excitement each visit) is a totally new and exciting place. What is it about snow that sends both kids, and adults too if we admit it, (so long as we don’t have to drive or travel anywhere as unfortunately we have to take a slightly more realistic and sensible approach to it!) a little bit crazy and very happy indeed?
Unfortunately as I look out of the window right now there are strong winds and a fair amount of rain so I’ll keep my dreams of a white Christmas fairly realistic at this point. Come on weather, you’ve got one week to produce some snow for us…but then make sure it disappears quite quickly please as I have to be back at work on Monday!
Oh, and I decided not to take an umbrella by the way…Oh, and also not to walk either!
- In: Children | Parenting | Playgrounds
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Balance and coordination, like all of the skills children and adults have, need to be learnt. There is, by the time a toddler is toddling, a certain amount of the two that comes naturally to them but they need to be developed and practised. So, what are balance and coordination? Well, in simple terms BALANCE is the ability to control the body and keep it in the desired position both when standing still and when moving. COORDINATION is the skill of using different parts of the body together, smoothly and effectively.
One of the best places for children to improve on these skills is in the playground. If you do have children you will hear time and time again that playtime is so important in a child’s development as it requires a lot of different skills whether they be physical, like balance, social, cognitive or emotional. Playgrounds are full of different equipment that tests them in different ways. Specific playground equipment that will get their balance and coordination skills working hard are things like a wobbly bridge or a balance beam. But you don’t necessarily need a playground to practise; any activity that involves running, jumping, hopping or skipping will help to improve muscle and core strength and therefore balance. For slightly older and more advanced children riding a bike is of course a great achievement in balance and coordination. Even things as simple as walking around on different levelled surfaces will test balance and help encourage correct posture.
Do remember though that all children develop at different rates and these skills are ones that are developed gradually and continue to develop up until around the age of 16. For some it may take longer than others but quality playground time will make sure everyone is developing and also having fun!
Here’s a handy list of simple activities that will help improve balance and coordination.