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Your garden is your retreat, and it offers up some of the best spots in your home to relax. It is your little oasis. Are you getting the most out of it, though? Is it kid-friendly?
What I mean by that is, does it offer something for the entire family? Sure, the kids love being out in the yard, but there are ways to make it an ideal spot for your family and not just merely a place for the kids to get fresh air.
With a little imagination, your backyard can be a learning center and an all-around exciting area for your kids to enjoy all year round. Your children will have lots of opportunities to learn and work on their motor skills with a backyard set up for them.
In this article, I will go over several ways that you can improve your backyard to include more kid-friendly features.
1 – Add a water feature
A water feature like a fountain or even a fish pond may not seem very kid-friendly, but there are ways that they will help.
For instance, if your little one is overactive, then the sound of running water from a fountain can help keep them calm. Running water has a soothing effect on anybody, and kids are especially prone to fall under the spell of the relaxing sounds.
A fish pond or even a larger fountain can also add some nature to your backyard. Fish, frogs, and even birds will all find a home in your garden due to the addition of some water. And this is a fantastic opportunity for kids to see the cycle of life. Particular if there are some frogs involved.
You can get some ideas on the ideal water fixture by checking out SoothingCompany.com.
2 – Create an art corner
Did you know the backyard with the right features can provide lots of fun and learning for your kiddos?Click To TweetDedicate a corner of the yard to your little one to express herself creatively. You can set up a chalkboard or even a small patch of concrete laid into the ground where they can doodle to their heart’s content, and then it is easily washed away when it rains.
You can make a small gazebo to allow them to paint on an easel or the floor without sitting in the hot sun.
And then other types of crafts can be done using the natural materials they find outside, so you don’t have a mess in the house with their creations.
3 – Vegetable garden
A raised bed garden is the ideal way to get your kids to learn from growing their own vegetables. The raised bed gives them easy access to the plants and allows them to weed quickly, water, and pick the vegetables they had a hand in growing.
If you have trouble getting your kids to eat vegetables, then this is the most effective way to change that. When they can plant a seed and then nurture it until it grows into a carrot, they will be so happy to eat it. This can instill a lifelong love of vegetables in them.
Krystle Cook – the creator of Home Jobs by MOM – put her psychology degree on a shelf and dived into a pile of diapers and dishes instead. She is a wife and mother to two rambunctious boys, sweating it out in her Texas hometown. She loves cooking, DIY home projects, and family fun activities.