Regular readers will probably know that the toddler twosome love their outside play and so do i! It gets us out in the fresh air and allows so many opportunities to explore our lovely surroundings, the gardens, the vegies and most importantly use up lots of toddler energy!
It is also an integral part of coping with Ruby's sensory processing disorder. She craves activities that work her gross motor skills and also use a lot of extra energy before she can focus successfully on quieter tasks. She eats, sleeps and plays better when she has had her outside time. It is also my strategy to do a lot of our painting and messy activities outside as she likes to be able to come and go to an activity (which isn't always fun inside!).
When doing messy activities outside the girls are free to roam and engage in the activity as much or as little as they want as they play with other things in between….it allows Ruby the opportunity to regulate her own emotions and physical needs by wandering when she needs too but still being able to reap all the benefits of the painting or messy sensory activity which is also important to her therapy.
We are very fortunate to have lots of space here for the girls to explore although the landscaping will always be a work in progress i fear! Lots of outdoor space to start a vegie patch, keep chooks and let children explore was an important criteria when we were looking for this house. As a single Mum when Miss teen was young i was always renting and moving and although i always made the best of the yards we had…they weren't ours and i craved being able to turn them into something special that would grow with us over the years!
With children in Australia (and i fear probably world wide) now spending less time outside each day and in response to a few emails i have received asking if i really take the toddler twosome outside each day to play i thought i would share some of my easiest ways to enjoy the great outdoors with a toddler.
You don't need to spend money on expensive outdoor toys and climbing frames and you don't need a huge outdoor space….there are so many frugal ways to enjoy outside time with kids…..you just need to ensure your environment is safe and your attention is with them…As well as my favourites from the past year i've also collected a huge list of frugal and easy ways to have fun with your kids outside from some of the most inspirational bloggers across the web…..i hope you find something you might like to try with your children out in the fresh air tomorrow!
How about some fun with……..
Amazing list Jode. Pinning this to keep as a reference for Summer. Thank you for including our garden treasure hunt and walk in the garden.
My absolute pleasure Ness x
Great list. Jaime@FSPDT
Thanks Jaime…hope it proves useful x
Wonderful list of great activities, thanks Jode! I’m pinning this. Thanks for including our veggie garden and toddler-sized scarecrow 🙂
I love that scarecrow Amie…we so have to try to make our own!!!
I love this list. You did a great job putting it together. I shared this on Facebook.
Thanks so much for sharing x
What a great list of activities and ideas you’ve put together Jode, thanks!! Now that the weather is warmer, we’ve been outdoors every day too. Grace is always happy to potter around in our backyard – she plays with our dog, waters the plants, digs in the sand pit, picks flowers, paint with water and so on. And now that Sophie is getting bigger, she loves nothing more than being outdoors too 🙂
Sorry I haven’t stopped by lately, have been super busy with first birthday party stuff but am going to try and catch up today… x
What a fantastic list! Thanks for sharing some of our posts. There are so many other great ideas here too. I am so pinning this! Hannah @ Paint on the Ceiling.
Awesome post!! Thanks so much for sharing some of our post. Just pinned. (Momma’s Fun World)
No problem Catherine…love your outdoor ideas x
wow that is some list… pinning this so I can refer back to it now the weather has improved!
What a great list. I like the pallet planters. I too think that outside time is so important. We try and get out everyday. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a lovely comment!
Great list Jode, and thanks for including a couple of our activities 🙂 I’ve pinned!
This is AWESOME! Thank you so much for the effort to do this.
Hope you find it helpful louanne!
Lots of lovely messy activities. It’s great to get outdoors to play isn’t it?
It certainly is Erica…and we love our mess…thanks so much for dropping by x
Oh my goodness, this is like a year’s worth of Country Kids ideas in one post! I love all the activities and links around the web. An amazing post! I think we have the same attitude to outdoors and children: Outdoor fun doesn’t have to be expensive and children are so much better at settling to anything quiet after some good run a round time and fresh air. I am sharing this widely, thank you for linking up to Country Kids.
You have some fantastic ideas and I absolutely love your pallet planter fence, I made pallet veggie beds with them flat on the groundthis year and they were a huge success, but I love the fence idea. I also love your huge blackboard. Outdoor play is just the best, unfortunately most of our has to be done in several layers of clothes even in summer, but it’s still worth it. We would live outside if we could!
My twins would second the living out there too Nichola! Love your veggie pallet garden idea!That blackboard has been one of the best things we put up outside and it cost next to nothing except a little effort on our part!
OMG WOW what a list!
Thank you for sharing all these wonderful ideas.
Love outdoor play and love how we can be more messy without worrying about the mess.
What a fab mum you are! This an amazing list of activities.Popping over from Country Kids.
Thanks so much for dropping over…hope you find some fun in the activities x