Adventures at home with Mum: balance

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DIY Pallet Rockwall Climbing Frame & Slide

We have another outdoor play addition to our yard, a DIY climbing frame with a slide and rock wall. It is made up of mostly recycled materials and was pretty simple to put together. It also doubles as a cubby underneath.

It was easy to make out of two wooden pallets, we angled them into an A point and used triangle shaped plywood off cuts to brace them together at each side making an A frame shape. Next we used some artificial grass over one pallet and across the top to cover the rough pieces of wood. This was secured on with a strip off cut of plywood that goes the length of the grass edge and along the top we put a platform of plywood. This works to double secure the frame together as it is screwed to both pallets and holding the grass firm as well & gives the children a sturdy place to gain balance after climbing the rock wall. you will also need these.

The grass is secured on with some rock wall screw on stones Like these ones here, at play equipment supplies or you could do it the recycled was and use blocks of wood. Next we secured the slide part of an old slippery dip that had a rusty broken ladder, we picked this up next to nothing from the buy back centre as someone had gotten rid of it. All we did was dispose of the old ladder and screw it to the top of the climbing frame.

The back of the pallet Climber works like a ladder, the front as a rock wall and a slide.

It did not take very long to build and has been a fun addition in the yard.

It challenges Dimples & Miss Cherub, aiding in gross motor skills, strength, agility and balance.

While the underneath gives a secret hideaway great for imaginative play, it has been a mud bakery, a place to take playdough, a shop, a tent while camping in the wilderness, its been part of an Outdoor Obstacle Course, it has been a shop and a sand/water kitchen and it has been used in Outdoor surface rubbing. I am sure their imaginations will use it in many other ways as time goes by.

Are your children naturally drawn to the outdoors or do you need to encourage outdoor play?

Here are some of our Outdoor Play Areas and Activity Ideas to help get them outside for longer.

Outdoor Music Wall

Bright Outdoor Balance Stump Yard Decor

The Outdoor Mud Station Renovation

PVC water wall

How to make an Outdoor Spider Web cave

Secret Gnome Garden

DIY Tire Dinosaur Garden

Happy Adventures

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Thanks for visiting.

Stack Up Cup Game - 100 Day Challenge

Have you been checking out all the fabulous play ideas at the 100 days of Play blog Hop?
If you haven't I have been sharing some of my favourites on my Facebook Page & Pinterest

My contribution to the 100 days of Play challenge is a easy game with materials your children have used already. All you need are plastic cups, Dice, and paper or plastic plates. I had all of these things in my party box (I sound very organised but I am not).

The stacking up in this fun game builds on focus and hand eye coordination, children need to utilise steady hands with a focused mind and principles of balance to stack as high as they can. Using the die allows children to take turns yet work together, its great for number recognition and practice counting as well.
First, divide your paper plates between all of the players and have your stack of plastic cups ready where all can reach.

Player one rolls, then has to get the corresponding number of cups set them out with the plate on top. Easy right? Well it wouldn't be as easy if you rolled a one, in comparison to a four.
It gets harder the higher you can play to. The best thing is you can play on your own or with a group of people taking turns, you can play how ever you like.

Player two rolls, gets the corresponding number of cups and has to balance them on top of the previously placed plate from player one and so it goes.
The Player whose turn it is sets the foundation for the next player, so they must be careful to stack their cups up as equally and evenly as possible or the whole thing may tumble down. Its a fun game to build anticipation, how far can you go before all the cups crash down?

Dimples and I had a few games before we decided to ditch the plates and see just how good we could stack, still using the die to take turns we made towers, walls and patterns in the cups. You can stack them bottom to bottom or upwards using two below, you can put plates in between or you can start with a circle and build up. Dimples rolled a 6 and 6 cups do not fit on the plate so he very cleverly and to my surprise problem solved and put 3 lots of 2 cups stuck together.

It was lots of fun and so simple. Play doesn't have to be with fancy toys, good company and something from around the house provides a much better learning experience.

How high can you stack them?

Happy Adventures :)

100 Days of Play Blog Hop
Sharing simple ideas on how to connect with your children through play!
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Balance Stumps - Outdoor Play Decor

Our Out-Door Play Area is slowly growing, its beginning to take over the yard. I love it! I am a strong believer that outdoor Play is essential and one of the fundamental ways kids learn. Particularly gross motor skills, but outdoor play also builds a kids physical confidence; it encourages safe risk taking, children get to test their ability and know their boundaries. Through this they learn what they are capable of and when they should stop. Have you seen Dimples tree house & water wall??? Click here.

These bright balance tree stumps are such as easy way to spruce up an outdoor play area. They look fun and add a colourful addition to a play area, they could be adapted into any area or even used as a garden border. All you need is a fallen tree (or you could get a post from the hardware shop) we are lucky enough to live in the country and had a fallen tree that was in perfect condition. Adventures Dad cut it up into different lengths and Dimples had a ball painting them with me.

I used Exterior Paint, half a litre of paint in each colour did about 3 coats on each stump, the paint was fade proof and didn't require any under coat or protector. However, if your timber was still wet it may absorb the paint so you could end up needing more paint as it dries out. The other thing I was weary of was the colours, I went for bright rich colours instead of light ones, again if you picked light colours or pastels you would require much more paint or under coats to seal the stumps first.

The stumps were dug and packed into the ground using mud about 15-10 cm deep, ideally you would cement them in but a good strong pack has done good for us and they can steadily hold my weight with out any movement what so ever so I trust they are safe for Dimples.
Just to add another element to the task I placed them around in a S shape so that Dimples has to shift balance and direction, they are also at different heights.

There are many benefits of outdoor play, this type of activity helps develop a child's body strength, Imaginative play, happiness being outdoors & being active, Perseverance, Testing their own limits, Balance, Attention & focus, body coordination, Stretching, Learning what they are capable of doing, connecting them to natures, & helping them to rely on their own instincts.

Dimples has already formed a game where he is surrounded by snapping crocodiles below and he mustn't fall into the swamp below. He has learnt to have his arms out by his sides as he balances and he tends to go right foot first as he steps down, but left foot first as he goes up a step.
The colours are also fun. Dimples and his good friend Miss K chanted the colours for each other as they stepped on them and it brightens up his whole play area making it look so much more appealing.

Happy Outdoor Adventures :-)

Bolt Sorting, Matching & Stacking

Like all little boys Dimples loves anything that Daddy fiddles with in the yard. He is always keen to explore the shed, pretend to mow the lawn, build and fix things like Daddy does and play with tools. This bolt & nut play was perfect to keep him occupied on a beautiful sunny day as we tinkered around the yard.

This little activity is so simple and fits perfectly with role playing Mr. Fix it and with an extra learning bonus it offers some practise in fine motor skills, cognitive development in focus & attention, sorting by shape, length and by size, matching and stacking by size.

I started with a collection of different sized bolts and washes. A few different widths and a few different lengths, all with matching ends, Some had multiple ends. Just to make it interesting I added a padlock and keys in to see if Dimples could master it and find the right Key without guidance.

Dimples stacked the nuts up, it took alot of focus and concentration to do so.
Through cause and effect he learnt that he needed to stack it up with the large pieces on the bottom, decreasing to the smallest on top for the best and most stable stack of nuts.

He Balanced the bolts up on their ends. Balancing and sorting them from smallest to largest. Putting them all in a row and making a "fence".
Dimples matched the bolts to the right size nuts and had to concentrate on using his fine motor skills to twist and turn the nut up evenly onto the bolt without stripping it or getting it jammed.
He fiddled around experimenting on which way the nut goes depending on which way he spun it, up the bolt or back down.

Then came the Key, this was tricky. Dimples found the right key, at first it didn't fit so he turned it around and it didn't fit, after a few wiggles he got it in. The he had to manipulate it to hold on the padlock with one hand and turn the key in the correct direction with the other to pop it open.
He threaded some of the washes on to the padlock and lined it up, pushing it locked again.

Something so simple that we take for granted. I had never really considered the skills it takes to unlock a padlock or thread bolts. To a growing and learning mind of a 3 year old who has never opened a padlock before or had to use such focused fine motor skills, this is a huge accomplishment!

Awesome Water Wall - Tree House

How to make an Awesome tree house with a water wall on a budget.

In the weeks leading up to Dimples 3rd Birthday party we put together a tree house. I have wanted to do this for a long time but having a bunch of little kiddies over to Celebrate his Birthday was the perfect excuse to get cracking. Since then we have made a water wall off the side of it!

For an awesome tree house; All you need is a suitable tree, tools, screws/nails etc, possibly a handy husband (but not necessary), some persuasive people skills & some add on's, like the telescope, steering wheel, sandpit.

We started with the frame of an unused dog kennel. We took half the roof off and clean it all out then off the side of this we attached a sturdy wood sheet across to the tree. Just a scrap that was left from one of Adventure Dads building projects. Making sure all the materials were weather hardy we used scrap pieces of wood to build a ladder out of the cubby up onto the tree platform.

We put the sand pit underneath, filled with left over treasure from Dimples 3rd Birthday Pirate Party, reused the "walk the plank" game off the side; it is simply a plank of wood tied up to a crate either side. Then from the local hardware shop, in the kids cubby house section we found a telescope and a steering wheel for the cubby. Next to tackle the tree house.

Using some wooden Palettes, also free from a local builder & a local flooring shop, we put several up over suitable sturdy branches as platforms to climb from the trunk of the tree out on to .

Making sure they were reasonable level with either rope, ladders or safe branches to access as handles they work as "look outs"on what Dimples pretends is his Pirate Ship.

From the local fish co-op, we collected a bunch of rope and fish netting that they were no longer using as it had hole patches in it. They were kind enough to let us help our selves to a mass of thick rope and a huge net that hadn't been used in a long time. It was completely dried out and perfect.

this was strung on the other side of the tree across to various sturdy tree branches and the large thick rope was used, repeatedly to surround the entire tree house, cubby house & large play hammock for added support but also for safety, so that Dimples could use them to hold on to for balance or to pull him self up.

I have to admit, I have been in this before with Dimples more than once. well quite a lot actually.

It is the most beautiful place to relax, its like a HUGE HAMMOCK in a tree canopy.

I often take a bunch of books and lay down in it with him reading but then we just end up laying there staring up at the tree branches above, watching birds and butterflies and listening to all the sounds from the trees. Yesterday we watched a spider high up in the tree, spinning its web- It was pretty cool to see as the sun slightly sparkled through gaps between leaves reflecting off the shiny web!

Most of the materials we got for free as scraps or relatively cheap. The thick rope acts kind of like a support, it keeps all the branches strong to the centre trunk and is a railing around the entire tree house.

Add a Pirate Flag here, there and you have yourself a cool tree house. Of course everything is screwed or tied down. We refrained from nailing anything actually in to the tree, it might come down one day and we wouldn't want to harm the tree or possibly kill off certain branches that are needed for support so we mainly relied on placement and the rope but everything has been Mummy tested & past with flying colours.

I recently read an article on one of the 'kiddy blogs' on risk taking and I thought it was very relevant to our tree house. I cant find the link for it but it was very interesting! It discussed risk taking, as a toddler/preschool and the benefits of it. I wish i could find it for you, you may have read it?

The tree house is a perfect example. This encourages safe risk taking, children get to test their ability and know their boundaries. Through this they learn what they are capable of and when they should stop, if they feel they really cant do something they wont attempt it. As long as they know your there to pick them up or help them out if they go past their limits all will be well!

Another thing of interest that was in the article was in regards to the "be careful" "oh watch out "or "don't do that" phases that we all say. Come on! You have said one of these before....?

I know I do and I didn't even realise what I was doing, being over protective with lots of warning statements like this conveys the message that we don't trust that the child can do whatever they were about to do. Or that we think they aren't capable, we are putting doubt into their ability & controlling their freedom. This can make them hesitant and hinders their confidence, so I try to bite my tongue now & let Dimples test himself.

I'm in no way saying throw a 3 year old on a wooden crate high up in a tree & let them swing around on their own all day, but good old outdoor play in nature has so many benefits that are often overlooked, or they are avoided because of safety fears.

Climbing trees, being free in the outdoors and playing in tree houses connects a child to nature and it is quite spiritual and relaxing, not to mention the benefits of it...

Climbing, swinging like a monkey, pulling up on to a branch or balancing on a plank of wood, Playing in a tree house - Everything tree climbing, aids in:

Upper body strength,

Imaginative play,

Being outdoors & being active

Perseverance

Testing their own limits

Balance

Attention

Stretching

Learning what they are capable of doing

& helping them to rely on their own instincts.

For an Awesome Water Wall; You will need a wooden board, some pipe, old bath toys, bottles, funnels and PVC tube cut in half.

This was easy, again using bits and pieces that were scavenged up from around the house, shed and yard and screwed onto a scrap plank of wood.

At the top we screwed on some half bottles that had hoses or pipes attached to the bottom, kind of like a home made funnel. In different directions they lead down to various containers from bath toys that have holes through them, like a shower head. Down into funnels that are screwed on, a PVC pipe that is cut long ways into 2 gutter like rails, down into more bath toys like the lobster one below that has a spinning pot, pouring the water into the bowl as it fills.

Down in to a little watering can and through more laundry hose. We have many different openings at the top & Dimples has his own little watering can but they all run into one of the 2 bottom bowls that can be tilted to empty back into the watercan.

Dimples has had lots of fun on this and is always so intrigued of which way the water rolls, He tests it out; can he block it off, slow it down or divert it.

While in the making of a water wall you really need to test where the water goes at its limits-

Quite amusing to Dimples & Adventures Dad (who was delivering more screws to us on his lunch break) the first one I drilled on was way off, I was feeling really handy & clever with a tech drill until the water flew down the pipe and missed the next rail by a good 20cm & landed spat on to the grass. They both had a giggle as my hand went to my forehead "FAIL". Thank god I tested it before I completed the whole wall, that would have been a process to fix so do test your water flow first or you may have a day long project instead of an hour long easy task :P

Happy Adventures

Pirate Party Games - Part 2

Pirate Party for 3 year Old Dimples; Part 2, Games & Dress ups.

Ever Fancied throwing a Pirate party for your child? Well heres how we done it. See my previous past on the decorations & Invitations, this post is on the games, play and dress ups but keep tuned for the most important post. The Treasure chest Cake & the themed food.

Dont forget to follow this blog & like us on facebook to keep up to date with our fun adventures.

Red & Black Sensory boxes-

This was a hit, the kids called the red ones berries & the black ones caviar, they enjoyed filling up buckets of them, squishing them and feeling them, they got their feet in them and had lots of fun. Even some of the grown ups thought they were odd & couldn't resist the urge to touch them

A real Pirate Boat for Pretend Play-

With a cross sail and a bit of Red material I snagged at the Salvation army, this Pirate ship is ready to sail the ocean blue. Come and Join the Pirate Crew!

Off the side was the start of the planks to walk, a slide at the front and a decorated Pirate flag.

See Pirate Party Post Part 1 before this for decoration ideas.

The Pirates Tree House-

Myself and Adventures Dad have been making this for dimples for a few weeks prior to his party but we altered it and made it more "piratey" and made sure it was complete and ready for his crew to play on. It was a hit and still is. I will be doing an individual post on the finish product as it is a easy tree house made from reused or free materials and Dimples absolutely loves it, I don't think the novelty will ever run out. So here is the quick Game view of the Pirates House: Complete with fish net, a steering wheel, a pirates flag, a telescope, ladders and split level around the tree. The rope extended over the centre of Dimples trampoline and the kids had a ball hanging on to it as they jumped!

Ring toss-

In the weeks leading up to the pirate party we made Dimples a outdoor ring toss game on an old scrap of wood, I got adventures Dad to nail gun it to a star picket pole and put it in the yard with long screws here and there for the rings to go on. Then Dimples helped me paint it. We did a large Island surrounded by blue ocean, added some real sand over the island as the paint was still wet and then did some palms, a treasure box, a pirate ship. a shark and a octopus. The screws weren't long enough for the coits so we cut some hose & added them on as an extension. Of course the treasure was 10 points and the rest varied down to 1 point.

Walk the Plank over a shark Pool full of slime-

We put some beams across the yard on square crate as the planks and then a smaller wooden one in the middle saying "walk the plank" underneath this was a kid pool with sharks and ocean creatures in slime. It was just a packet of gelli baff slush! But the kids loved it, the first as little Miss K and at first she looked down and hesitated for a minute, it was cute.

It also doubled as a seat for all the crew.

Buried treasure-

I got some beads and some dress up necklaces, some plastic pirate coins, and I went through my jewellery box. I still have all more junk jewellery stuff from when i was a teenager, you know! You get a huge collection of $2 stuff that's in fashion at the time as a teenager, none of it worth anything and none of it to be worn again so there was real treasure in there as well as soon blue lucky stones that we often use in our sensory boxes --------> Look through the sensory button on the side bar for some ideas.

There were 6 plastic buckets all full of sand and buried treasure, along with a few treasure boxes that the children filled up and carried around, they took them on the boot, along the plank and into the tree house.

There were bikes, the quad, scooters, a lawn mower, Bubbles, Baloons & swings to play with as well.

Dress up Theme-

Everyone, even the "big kids" had to dress up, everyone got right into it with great spirit & fun attitudes. Everyone enjoyed seeing the little ones dress up and it added to the element of pretend play, imagination & their Pirate games.

Here are some of the Pirate crew