Outdoor play is very important for your kids’ early years. It’s not just about fun. It is the best way in achieving developmental tasks children must learn. They need to learn to go out there, take risks (yes – take risks) and explore. They need to develop motor and social skills.
It’s the only way they can learn about the world: How does water feel? What happens when I put water and sand together? How do leaves taste? Not only do they learn about the world – they learn about about themselves too. How high can I jump? Can I fly if I try to jump really high? How does it feel if I hit my head with my toy? Can I climb that ladder?
Last but not the least, outdoor play enhances brain development. Their problem-solving skills, imagination and creativity are challenged whenever they play. So it’s really important that they play outdoors instead of playing inside the house with computers and gadgets.
One of the things we could do to encourage them to go outside is to provide them a sandpit. Most kids love sand. So here are different sandpit ideas you can do in your home, whether you have the space and money or not. :)
You can simply buy a very child-friendly plastic sandbox for the babies. (from Happy Whimsical Hearts)
But if your kids are big enough for that, you can find a few logs to put together to create a sandbox that somehow looks like a raft. (from Wicken Toys)
Why not exercise your building skills and try making this octagonal sandpit with your extra lumber? (from Garden Site)
How about this design in which the cover also serves as benches? (from Ana White)
You can also cut a wine barrel for your little kid… (from little eco footprints)
Or cut tree trunks which they could also step on to enhance their balancing skills. (from childhood 101)
You can arrange these trunks with stones to incorporate the sandpit in your landscape. (from childhood 101)
If you have a big yard you can use boulders, especially if you have a rock garden. (from Mummy Musings & Mayhem)
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