Hello World! Welcome Friends! Do you still remember when you were a kid, there was nothing better than playing outside? You were either on your bike, riding with your friends all over the neighborhood. Or playing whatever imaginary game was the flavor of the week like pirates, Power Rangers, fairies, or ninjas. When you see a tree, the race is on to see who can climb to the top first. Fond memories were created, and we still smile whenever they cross our minds. We didn’t care about muscle building or motor skills development. If motor skills ever came across, we thought it’s a competition for pedal karts. And up we jump to go build our kart.
Even though times had changed drastically from when we were kids, the importance of playing outside is still the same. You develop your sense of adventure and exploring. You cultivate your imagination. And yes, you get vitamin D and fresh air in your lungs. It also tests your physical limits and builds your confidence. Scary thought is that research done by the National Trust is that kids today only spend around four hours a day outside.
In contrast, when we were kids, we spent a minimum of eight hours outside. Further shockingly is that they only spend four to seven minutes a day out in unconstructed play, as opposed to over seven hours of screen time a day.
You were shocked for days after seeing this, and now your paternal instinct is kicking in. Of course, you have a backyard, but what more can you do?
Plan and Budget
Figure out what is the budget you are working with. Now you know your top dollar limit. Draw up a plan of your current backyard and include the measurements. It doesn’t help if you go in blind into a store and buy everything you think will make your backyard the next Disneyland, but they don’t fit in your space. Start listing all your possible ideas of what you want in your backyard for your kids. Looking at your plan, imagine where you see these ideas in your backyard. You don’t want to overcrowd your backyard, so leave enough green space in between everything. If you have tons of ideas, start eliminating them. Pick your top five, place them in your plan (you can have a cut-out picture of them), and work down from six to ten if you have more room.
Think Of the Future
While thinking about what to do in your backyard, be mindful of their current age and the two to three age groups after that. It doesn’t help you if you need to redo this project every two years because the activities in the yard only will stimulate them for so long. Preferably, if the activities can appease your kids for at least five to eight years, it’s money well spent. A winning idea is building a shed in your backyard. If they are preschoolers to middle school, they can use the shed as a clubhouse or playhouse. You can also store their bikes there when they are not playing outside. You can use all the outside surfaces of the shed, which is a great space saver. You can paint the one exterior wall with blackboard paint, and on the other side, you can put up a rock climbing area. The back wall is perfect for adding a fold-down table to use when they want to eat outside or have tea parties. Just imagine this site of your multifunctional shed. Later, when the kids hit their teenage years, do a revamp of the shed, and it becomes the hangout place for when their friends visit.
Be Creative
It might be convenient to go out and buy everything, but doing a bit of DIY will put your unique fingerprint on the whole project. You can build the sandpit. Just remember to put some shading over it if it’s not under a tree. You don’t need to make a pergola if it doesn’t fit in the budget. A simple fabric tent over the sandbox will also do. You can easily take it off and throw it in the wash. Tires are also versatile. You can use them for the kids to make their own individual flower gardens, make a tire swing, or even a tire teeter-totter.
Although you want to give the world to your kids, don’t forget about yourself in this project. Ensure that there is a grown-up space where you can sit and relax while your kids are busy making memories and going on adventures.
Click the links below for any posts you have missed:
Find Capital for Real Estate Investing
Make Your Garden More Fun For Your Kids
Basics to Understand Home Insurance
Best Ways to Safely Store Firearms
3 Simple Ways To Improve Your Home
6 Best Types of Carpet you Should Know About
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Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful day/night depending on where you are in the world! Go with God and remember to be kind to one another!
Toodles,
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