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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>My Outdoor Space
bklsmum 05:20 PM 07-23-2015
Here we go....
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bklsmum 05:22 PM 07-23-2015
My water wall...
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bklsmum 05:24 PM 07-23-2015
It is just a few rocks and a buried paint pan for a little lake and Dollar Tree dinos...
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AuntTami 05:26 PM 07-23-2015
How do you keep all that stuff clean?!!!! We wash out stuff on Friday and it's dirty by Monday sitting outside!!!!
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bklsmum 05:27 PM 07-23-2015
Ordered the fairies and unicorns for very cheap from Amazon and got the house on clearance at Walmart. Sprinkled some glitter on the ground and the toys and it has been a hit!

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bklsmum 05:30 PM 07-23-2015
Everything came from Dollar Tree, Freecycle and yard sales. There is a spot near it that they can dig as much dirt up as they need and I supply a container of water every day so they can make their mud. They also use leaves and sticks and the crab apples from the tree to "cook" with. We clean it as a group once a week on Friday.
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bklsmum 05:33 PM 07-23-2015
I have a little construction area with aquarium gravel and matchbox size vehicles outside and one for inside in a small plastic tote. I also have a sandbox filled with sand and pebbles for the bigger trucks. I have a toy box full of big Tonka trucks they can use in there too. Again, Dollar Tree and yard sales for all vehicles and Walmart for the different rock.

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bklsmum 05:36 PM 07-23-2015
I made a huge abacus out of pool noddles and twine and the latch board is just a board with different locking mechanisms on it for them to figure out. We bring the latch board in and out.

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bklsmum 05:40 PM 07-23-2015
I had an old white board that was messed up so I attached it to the fence along with a bucket of cheapo paint brushes, a spray bottle and two buckets, one for water and one for mud so they could paint with it.
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This is our outdoor craft table. I always have paper and crayons on it for quiet coloring and we do any other crafts we are doing on nice days out there too.
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This is a table I keep set up and change out what is on it every day or so. Playdough, fairy mud, water beads, etc...
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And this is my outdoor cab that has tons of outdoor stuff like bubbles and sidewalk chalk and stuff like that. It is nice to have it on hand without it being too accessible to the kiddos. Cabinet.jpg

I also have a big comforter that I spread out everyday with a small basket of books they can lay down and read.
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bklsmum 05:43 PM 07-23-2015
Originally Posted by AuntTami:
How do you keep all that stuff clean?!!!! We wash out stuff on Friday and it's dirty by Monday sitting outside!!!!
My yard is actually pretty good with tree cover. I just hose it all off when it needs it and we play kiddie car wash all the time and clean the mud kitchen as a group once a week.
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Febby 06:36 PM 07-23-2015
I love it and I am so jealous right now. My center has very nice playground equipment (slides, tunnels, swings) for my class, but we don't have any toys that aren't attached to the ground and the poor kids are bored.
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bklsmum 06:58 PM 07-23-2015
Originally Posted by Febby:
I love it and I am so jealous right now. My center has very nice playground equipment (slides, tunnels, swings) for my class, but we don't have any toys that aren't attached to the ground and the poor kids are bored.
The kiddos LOVE the little play centers the most. They will play with those for hours! They like the slides and climbers and all but those only hold their interest for a few minutes. The centers are where it's at at my place.
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NoMoreJuice! 08:24 PM 07-23-2015
Seriously, you're amazing. I want to be in your daycare.

I'm especially loving the dinos and the fairies! My kids would go crazy for that!
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CraftyMom 08:44 PM 07-23-2015
My husband would leave me if I had all that in our yard! If it were up to him there would be one toy per child and that's it, he hates yard toys
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bklsmum 02:18 AM 07-24-2015
Originally Posted by NoMoreJuice!:
Seriously, you're amazing. I want to be in your daycare.

I'm especially loving the dinos and the fairies! My kids would go crazy for that!
Thanks! My DCP's always say they want to stay and play and send the kids to work. LOL

They are big hits here and were REALLY cheap to put together!
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bklsmum 02:21 AM 07-24-2015
Originally Posted by CraftyMom:
My husband would leave me if I had all that in our yard! If it were up to him there would be one toy per child and that's it, he hates yard toys
I'm divorced so totally my call and I like it because there is so much less to mow. I have a little basket by each play center to put the little pieces in and you can't really tell from the pics but I still have quite a bit of empty lawn space and my personal space with my fire pit and 6 chairs and a few side tables as well as my outside table with an umbrella and chairs. I love my yard!
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Josiegirl 02:25 AM 07-24-2015
WOWSERS!
You must spend all day outside and the dcks would love it! Your yard puts mine to shame.
How many kids do you have and what are their ages?
What would you say are the top 3 favorite things to do in your yard?
I tried the water wall, it was rarely played with and may take it down. I've got a nice big construction area and it mostly goes untouched.
I'm going to look into getting fairies(I've looked and all I ever found were so expensive). I've got dinosaurs and will set up a separate space for them.
But I've been finding lately the dcks are just fighting more and getting more wild. NEED to change things up so we can all survive the rest of the summer.
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bklsmum 02:48 AM 07-24-2015
Originally Posted by Josiegirl:
WOWSERS!
You must spend all day outside and the dcks would love it! Your yard puts mine to shame.
How many kids do you have and what are their ages?
What would you say are the top 3 favorite things to do in your yard?
I tried the water wall, it was rarely played with and may take it down. I've got a nice big construction area and it mostly goes untouched.
I'm going to look into getting fairies(I've looked and all I ever found were so expensive). I've got dinosaurs and will set up a separate space for them.
But I've been finding lately the dcks are just fighting more and getting more wild. NEED to change things up so we can all survive the rest of the summer.
We do spend pretty much all day outside, weather permitting. I have 10 kids enrolled but most are part time and they range in age from 10 months to 7 years old. The fave things are the sandboxes, the mud kitchen and the little sensory table. Those get the most play but everything gets played with pretty much every day. My kiddos know that if they fight over anything then all fighters lose it for the day and I usually find that there is enough to do that if any area is too crowded they will go find something else.
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bklsmum 02:52 AM 07-24-2015
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ilpage_o08_s00


These are the fairies I bought.
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Josiegirl 03:05 AM 07-24-2015
Originally Posted by bklsmum:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ilpage_o08_s00


These are the fairies I bought.
Ahh thank you! I did find one of those toob of fairies but there were only 6. I can see one of my little dcks hoarding all of them.
Guess it's shopping time this weekend.

I'm wondering if any of my 5 SA dcks, ages 7 and 8(mostly) would be interested in any of your backyard activities. Anything I seem to spend all weekend creating gets ignored or abused. Some of them can really wreak havoc and I'm beginning to wonder if it's the dynamics of the group or if they're bored. Everything with them becomes a contest.

Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful backyard!!!!
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bklsmum 04:03 AM 07-24-2015
Originally Posted by Josiegirl:
Ahh thank you! I did find one of those toob of fairies but there were only 6. I can see one of my little dcks hoarding all of them.
Guess it's shopping time this weekend.

I'm wondering if any of my 5 SA dcks, ages 7 and 8(mostly) would be interested in any of your backyard activities. Anything I seem to spend all weekend creating gets ignored or abused. Some of them can really wreak havoc and I'm beginning to wonder if it's the dynamics of the group or if they're bored. Everything with them becomes a contest.

Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful backyard!!!!
I also have a 18x9 foot rectangular above ground pool that is the fave thing for the SA DCK's. It is a great carrot to make them behave because they know I have NO issue taking their swimming privileges away from them if they act up. They like the mud kitchen as well and they LOVE the "carwash" thing every time it is out. Just a few cheap buckets and big sponges from the Dollar Tree and a little bit of dish soap to make lots of bubbles and they will clean everything in that yard. I also put out bigger crafts for them at nap time. It's hard with SA kiddos. You might also want to try the google camp thing. I haven't yet because they have been happy with what we have so far and I try to be as screen free as possible for most of the day but if I need it I know it is there.
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childcaremom 04:26 AM 07-24-2015
Originally Posted by CraftyMom:
My husband would leave me if I had all that in our yard! If it were up to him there would be one toy per child and that's it, he hates yard toys
Yep. Mine, too!

I had him make outdoor stuff for us so our yard isn't filled with plastic stuff.

I love, love, love all your ideas. Love the little dino and fairy areas. My crew would love it.

Thanks for taking the time to post pictures. It all looks fantastic!
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Shell 06:19 AM 07-24-2015
What an awesome yard!!! Agree with Craftymom, my dh wouldn't be too pleased either , but as a parent, I would love to bring my child to such a cool, imaginative and really awesome daycare!!!
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midaycare 10:52 AM 07-24-2015
I love your ideas! I made the abacus thingy with pool noodles and the trucks with aquarium gravel this morning while outside with the kids. They are so happy to have new things

I'm looking forward to a dino/fairy area but need to purchase some things.

Great ideas!!!

By the way, is it a-ba-cus or abba-cus?
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bklsmum 12:19 PM 07-24-2015
Originally Posted by midaycare:
I love your ideas! I made the abacus thingy with pool noodles and the trucks with aquarium gravel this morning while outside with the kids. They are so happy to have new things

I'm looking forward to a dino/fairy area but need to purchase some things.

Great ideas!!!

By the way, is it a-ba-cus or abba-cus?
I pronounce it a-ba-cus but I could be wrong. And I am SO happy your kiddos like the stuff. Enjoy!
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spud912 03:42 PM 07-24-2015
Very cool and creative ideas! It makes me want to play outside all day long! I've always wanted a mud kitchen but space and $$ are always an issue.
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bklsmum 04:35 PM 07-24-2015
Originally Posted by spud912:
Very cool and creative ideas! It makes me want to play outside all day long! I've always wanted a mud kitchen but space and $$ are always an issue.
The great thing about mud kitchens is that they are cheap and can be any size you want. Mine started as that little white shelf thing and a few extra dishes I had in my garage. It has grown over the past two years but if everything I have now cost more than $50 all together I would be VERY surprised. I got the play kitchen for $10 on Craigslist and everything else was free or $1 or less.
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laundrymom 06:58 PM 07-24-2015
:-( sad face.
I'm signed in. But am not authorized to view. :-(
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bklsmum 07:28 PM 07-24-2015
Originally Posted by laundrymom:
:-( sad face.
I'm signed in. But am not authorized to view. :-(
Weird. I didn't do anything that would restrict anyone from seeing them.
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NoMoreJuice! 08:08 PM 07-24-2015
Originally Posted by laundrymom:
:-( sad face.
I'm signed in. But am not authorized to view. :-(
That happened to me on my phone. On my PC I can see them though.
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midaycare 07:02 AM 07-25-2015
Okay so question ... Living in New Hampshire I would assume your winters are icky like mine in Michigan. What do you do outdoors in the winter?
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bklsmum 09:01 AM 07-25-2015
Originally Posted by midaycare:
Okay so question ... Living in New Hampshire I would assume your winters are icky like mine in Michigan. What do you do outdoors in the winter?
This will actually be my first winter in this house so I am not sure. My old place I had a huge covered porch so we just used that but here I don't so...My tentative plan is to keep a nice sized area cleared of snow and keep a few things in that area to use and put everything else away for the winter. Another option is to keep some stuff in the garage and pull it out to the driveway when we go out to play and then put it back after. The driveway will always be clear so we can play there or I could arrange the garage so the front half is clear and we can play in there with the door open. I have a ton of the outside gates that hook together so I can block off any danger zones and/or the street. I think it will really depend on how much snow we get.
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country345 09:04 AM 07-25-2015
I love this! What a wonderful place for children to explore their imaginations! I was just wondering how do you handle it with children 3 and under with the small items used in your sensory areas (stones, aquarium rocks, matchbox vehicles, etc.) My regulations would not allow me to have them available to that age group.
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bklsmum 09:15 AM 07-25-2015
Originally Posted by country345:
I love this! What a wonderful place for children to explore their imaginations! I was just wondering how do you handle it with children 3 and under with the small items used in your sensory areas (stones, aquarium rocks, matchbox vehicles, etc.) My regulations would not allow me to have them available to that age group.
I have 3 under 3 right now but two are infants so they are in the infant area or the excersaucers and my other under 3 is 22 months and he doesn't put things in his mouth. He has been here since he was 8 weeks old and knows the rules.
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Josiegirl 11:57 AM 07-25-2015
I've started building a fairy scape. I'm so excited. Lol I went to yard sales this a.m. and had it in my mind to see what I could find to enhance an area into a magical little fairy kingdom. I even found a baggie of fairies(not enough for the whole group so I will have to hit Walmart or order from Amazon). But I picked up some cool unique little houses you'd find in fish aquariums, and similar things, that'll work really nicely.

I'm hoping to get a dinosaur corner going too(have lots of dinosaurs). Need to think on a habitat set-up for them. Maybe I'll take out my construction area that they have no interest in. Add rocks, dinosaurs...hmmm wheels are spinning.

Thanks for sharing all your spaces and ideas! It's been inspiring!
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KristinsHomeCC 01:18 PM 07-27-2015
I absolutely love it!! Jeez....Even I wanna play there! You've done a great job!
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midaycare 01:23 PM 07-27-2015
Originally Posted by Josiegirl:
I've started building a fairy scape. I'm so excited. Lol I went to yard sales this a.m. and had it in my mind to see what I could find to enhance an area into a magical little fairy kingdom. I even found a baggie of fairies(not enough for the whole group so I will have to hit Walmart or order from Amazon). But I picked up some cool unique little houses you'd find in fish aquariums, and similar things, that'll work really nicely.

I'm hoping to get a dinosaur corner going too(have lots of dinosaurs). Need to think on a habitat set-up for them. Maybe I'll take out my construction area that they have no interest in. Add rocks, dinosaurs...hmmm wheels are spinning.

Thanks for sharing all your spaces and ideas! It's been inspiring!
These are my next projects, too
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Tags:outdoor equipment, outdoor space, outdoor toys
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