MUD! it’s ok, mamas and papas….
So we all know kids love mud and puddles and jumping in mud and puddles. And yes, we parents know it too – but do we like it? Not always! And now schools and childcare centers are intentionally allowing and encouraging children to explore the mud and mess? Oh my goodness! How do teachers handle ...read more
Another kid loving a creek…
Another kid loving a little creek… but this time it’s my own 15-month old JJ! Out on a family hike we passed a tiny drainage creek flowing under the trail. JJ heard the trickle and immediately wanted to get down and investigate. Amazing. We know kids love water, and feel connected to the elements. A ...read more
East Atlanta Playscape DESIGN!
hey y’all – check out our fun new design for The Highlander School in Atlanta, started by the amazing Rukia Rogers! We’ll be doing a volunteer construction day in 2 weeks – if you’re in the neighborhood stop by. The more the merrier! (and yes: those are SHEEP you see grazing!!!!)
Adventure School Group – in session!
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 ...read more
Earthplay Water Tower
Here it is! One of our new Earthplay Water Features: the WATER TOWER! 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, ...read more
East Tennessee SWARM BUILD
Here we are: another volunteer community “Swarm Build” — this one at the East Tennessee State University Child Study Center in Johnson City, TN. Fun! We timed it to fit in with the ETSU Early Childhood conference and offered conference-goers a chance to step away from the air-conditioned conference center, put on work clothes, roll ...read more
Creativity in the Anarchy Zone mud pit
You could simply call this “play”, or like Morgan Leichter-Saxby, you could also call this “building, engineering, balancing, experimenting, splashing, and focusing”– all in the Mud at the Ithaca Children’s Garden’s ANARCHY ZONE. Mud Constructions at the hands-on-nature ANARCHY ZONE from rusty keeler on Vimeo.
International MUD DAY
Woo hoo! International Mud Day at the new Hands-on-Nature ANARCHY ZONE at the Ithaca Children’s Garden. YEAH!!!! Mud pools, mud slides, mud pies, mud cloth, mud mountains. We got 60 cubic yards of screened topsoil delivered and the Ithaca fire department was amazingly generous and came to soak it all up and make some yummy ...read more
Creekside Adventure School
Gotta love it: learning about the world by being in the world. Up close and personal style. After all the years of dreaming and designing children’s spaces I finally have a child of my own: Julian James Keeler, born Jan 8, 2012. yay! So what’s a new parent to do but dream up an Art ...read more
Water. You Know What to Do.
Summer is over, but that doesn’t mean you can’t dip in the water a little bit longer. Here is a fun sequence of my awesome niece ZORA enjoying the shallow water at Buttermilk Falls State park in Ithaca, NY. She lives in the big city of Washington, DC, but give her a creek and some ...read more
