Check out this fine example of a “we love mud’ flier recently posted for parents to see at the wonderful Center for Child Development at Kansas State University. Not only do they share the positive learning potentials with parents, but they even invite the parents to join in the process. Nice job!

 « prev      1   2   3      next »  
(148 Photos)

check it out, loads of fun at this week’s Adventure School Group!

I showed you the design before. It’s this one:

But now I thought it would be fun for you to see the build in action so I’m documenting the process on Instagram. You can follow along here.

(and if you’re near Atlanta, come check  in person! Our volunteer build will be happening all day on saturday!!)

Ready to build? Here is the How to Build a Willow Hut piece from my book Natural Playscapes.  : )

The best way to get the “bush willow” varieties is to harvest it from the creeks or wetlands in your region. It’s a fun nature experience  in itself: scouting the rivers for bush willow, getting landowner permission to cut,  then hanging out in a wild patch of landscape and cutting willow whips for your kids’ willow structure. Awesome! (Bring your kids along of course. You never know what you’ll get into!)

If you can’t locate willow in your area we sell willow. The good stuff, too!

Here is a time lapse video of friends at the Dodge Nature Center Preschool building a living willow hut.

So grab those shovels and pruners and twine and go for it! Building a willow hut is a fun project that soon sprouts into a magical natural play space for your children…

“Who’s place this week?” is the normal question we pose on our email list.

“How about The Anarchy Zone??” someone recently suggested.

YES! The Anarchy Zone and Adventure School: a perfect meeting of philosophies and ideas: a place to explore and dig and balance and take risks (careful about falling in the chilly deep mud puddle!) while celebrating children’s natural curiosities, creativity, and connection to the natural world. Success! Take a peek….

Friends and I have been dreaming of starting an adventure school and this week we began the first Tuesday of the Adventure School Group’s 2012-13 school year. Yay!  Inspired by forest schools and nature kindergartens we are starting with a one-day-a-week morning adventure session rotating between various locations. (some families live by a creek. others on a farm. others in the forest.) Each week a different location but with a common theme: child-led adventure and discovery. Ages range from 8 months to 7 years. Here is the post-adventure write up from Miss Maggie, adventure leader extraordinaire, day one. And check out our blog. Fun stuff!

As the first adventurers showed up to play, so did a tiny, baby chipmunk!

The morning was chilly, but Nick had a bonfire going to welcome everyone.

We walked down to the creek, fished and climbed all over the rocks.

Then we took a nice, long walk up the creek and found more fallen trees to climb on.

Some of the folks scrambled through the woods back to the house,

while the others walked back down the creek.

We ended the morning with a picnic in the sun to dry us out!!

“JJ chased, and pet, and chased again the chipmunk we saw.”

Taryn, “I caught a fish”

Coulter, “I was fishing too!”

Alden, “I got a fish too. I just holded on and one bite-ed onto it!”

Nimah, “We got WET!”

“EmmyLou touched the fish in the bowl.”

Amani, “I was holding the fish.”

Alden, “I was holding the fish too!”

“JJ tasted lots of rocks and dipped his toes in the water. He also touched a fish.”

We all had a wonderful morning! Can’t wait for next Tuesday’s Adventure!!

For the past year I’ve been working to create simple, durable water play items that people can add to their natural playscapes. I have a friend with a large stand of Black Locust trees which are perfect for children’s play areas: beefy, beautiful, and naturally rot-resistant. So I thought: what if you take a log, plant it in the ground, add plumbing to it, then simply hook it to a hose to give children the opportunity to trickle a bit of water into a bucket,  sand area, or mud pit. No water flows until a child toggles the faucet (and teachers have the ultimate shutoff at the building!) Take a peek. What do you think?  More pictures at our store.

EarthPlay WATER TOWER from rusty keeler on Vimeo.