Alas, my big obtrusive play climber has cracks in it. To much hot, cold, sun and rain. I can not say, that I was sad to see it go. I am forever tired of saying “Up the ladder down the slide!” What ever will we do with out a big obtrusive climber. I have searched the web for creative more natural playscapes. What I have found is anything goes, and it is completely up to what resources and imagination you have. With a bit of imagination, and very little money, here is what we came up with.
King of the Mountain
I love the bales of straw, they are very versatile and cheap. We have done many things with them so far. I can’t wait to see how many other creative things we come up with. Check out my earlier post on A Bale of Straw and the Green Fish.
Steps through the boiling hot lava past the mean snapping turtle.
I have these stones. I have moved them several time through my yard. They don’t really go with anything and there is not enough of them to do any major landscaping. So, I decided we need some jumping stones.
A very fast road and a wall to walk around the world.
The only thing I had to buy was the wood which is 4 x 4, and the little stakes to keep it stable. These were not expensive at all. I just raked back my wood chips, and now I have a dirt path for our bikes, cars and running. I have not added the light sand that will help keep the road from getting to muddy.
Here are some of the things that I gained from the removal of the big obtrusive play climber.
- I probably saved $200 or more, by not going out and buying another big obtrusive play climber.
- A second play surface. I had wood chips, now I have wood chips and a nice dirt path. This is an important detail when you are working toward a CDA and Accreditation.
- I have nice jumping stone and a balance beam wall. Plus, with the nice wall that surrounds the wood chips. I can finally show, “Yes I have more than enough wood chips, thank you!”
I have been more than pleased with the small transformation of my play yard. I feel that more has been gained by these small transformations than by buying a large plastic thing that has limited uses. More natural, and imaginative play is what I find now.
