What do your kids DO in your backyard?

[bisous]

Our backyard is neglected in favor of our front, gated, paved courtyard at our house. My kids use the courtyard and its yards of concrete to ride scooters, bikes, roll trucks, etc.

What do your kids use your backyard for? I'm wondering if there is something I can do, grow, or add to make the backyard more appealing. Otherwise, do YOU use your yard for something else?

This is my first experience with a backyard so I'm a real novice.

TIA!

[brittone2]

BLow bubbles
they tend our 4 little 5x5ft sq foot gardens
we have a simple wooden swingset (3 swings, one slide, was here when we moved here, and since my kids are getting older, we are just keeping the simple one)
run around
play ball
baseball, tee ball, DS1 is probably getting a bounce/pitch back net for his bday
stomp rockets
nature journal/sketching
read on a blanket in the backyard (we have "reading picnics" in nicer weather)
paint and do messy art projects outside (they are usually painting at least 1x a week for our co-op)
sand and water table (DS2 mostly, DD will play too)
sandbox (all 3 will still play with our 7 yo Naturally Playful sandbox. DS1 is mostly over it but will play in there with DS2, and DD still likes it)

eta: have you ever seen books by this author? http://www.amazon.com/Sunflower-Houses-Inspiration-Children-Grown-Ups/dp/0761123865 Could be fun to build them a little sunflower house or similar. http://www.amazon.com/Roots-Shoots-Buckets-Boots-Gardening/dp/0761110569/ref=pd_sim_b_1
Family Fun used to have instructions for a little vinyl lattice playhouse.

Cute stuff here: http://pinterest.com/amy_anderson/outdoor-playspaces/

[sariana]

Usually? Play in the mud. :-)

[BabbyO]

blow bubbles, toss/kick balls around, play with their water table or the sprinkler (their favorites) and just run around. We also have a small patio in the back, but that is mostly reserved for the table and grill, etc for when we eat in the back yard.

[emily]

Not much. Water table and sandbox when we had one. They run around if DH and I happen to be out there tending the garden. The kids play much more in front of the house. We're in a cul de sac and have a decent size driveway so bubbles, chalk, bikes etc all happens in the front. Our backyard is small.

[YouAreTheFocus]

Well the biggest draw to the backyard is the little tikes playhouse. We just got it this past fall. And then when DH bought our grill, he went and got DS a play one to match. So those two toys are the main attractions. Other than that, typical outdoor stuff as PP have mentioned--play ball, run around, water play, watering plants, collecting rocks.

Next step is to get some adult items--we don't have a table & chairs or bench anything like that out there yet. It would be nice if we could sit & relax a bit in the evening while DS is playing.

[megs4413]

run around like crazy people. sometimes they play baseball. sometimes they make up games like they'll pretend to be pirates or zoologists or ninjas, etc. I stopped buying outdoor toys besides the basics: chalk, bubbles, balls. Everything else gets ruined and they don't really play with it anyway. they have scooters, but we take those to the park.

[georgiegirl]

We have a playset, so they like that. We also have some trees they like to climb. In the winter, they love to play in the snow. We also have croquet, whiffle ball, and a soccer ball. Stomp rockets are fun too.

Before we got the playset, they preferred to ride bikes and scooters on our large driveway.

[edurnemk]

run around like crazy people.

:yeahthat:

He plays soccer runs around pretending to be a superhero (when he does this at my parents' he pretends the dogs are his sidekicks or the villians :rotflmao:), plays in dirt, investigates plants and bugs. Honestly we don't have outdoor toys except bubbles, soccer balls and his bikes (Strider and a pedal bike). He can spend the entire afternoon out there.

ETA: we had a playset in our previous house, and it used to get a lot of use, but not in the end. I guess he outgrew it, it was Little Tikes or Step 2, can't remember which

[Kymberley]

DS would live in the backyard if he could. Todays temp is near 70. He spent several hours in our garden (big pile of dirt/mud at the moment) pouring water and splashing mud everywhere. Then he rode his battery operated 4-wheeler and got it good and muddy. Then he played fetch with the dog for a while. We don't have a playset or a sandbox or anything fancy solely dedicated to him, just some toys that the dog won't destroy. He loves the backyard.

[BayGirl2]

Our back yard has different sections with purposes, not physically separated, but visually separated like different rooms/areas. Areas include: kid zone, soft seating, dining, cooking, decorative plants & path, and 5 garden boxes. (and another area reserved for future chickens, once I'm allowed to add more living things to our household)

The kids spend 1/2 their time in the kid zone where there's a play house, sand table, and box with various balls. There's also a little kid size park bench with side tables.

The other 1/2 of the time they spend on the path amongst the free-growing plants. Often they will sit in the little rocks and sift through them, move things around, look at mulch, whatever. I used to try to keep them out but now I just let them explore. We also enlist them to pick stuff when its ready, but they could entertain themselves for hours just moving around a pile of dirt or rocks.

Our yard is not huge btw, we're in CA so its only a few hundred square feet.

[speo]

We have a medium sized lawn (by SoCal standards) in our backyard and a patio connected to a large paved side yard.

Lately, my boys mostly play soccer, football/tackle, and catch. They spend a minimum of 1 hr/day doing this. They also just got a street hockey set and a small tennis net. We only have a fisher price hoop so they only play that a little. They also do free play, batting practice, ride scooters, old tricycle, skateboard, and plasma car. But their true love is just playing the ball sports on the grass.

When they were little, the backyard didn't get lots of use and I thought maybe it wasn't really necessary. But now it is just essential to our daily lives and their fitness/happiness.

[hillview]

dig (we have a dirt area with a digger that is very popular)
kick a soccer ball around
create obstical courses and do timed runs
run the dog around

[KrisM]

Swing
play soccer
play tag
play in the sand box
climb trees
play with neighbors when adults are inside

[123LuckyMom]

We have a big back garden. It's about an acre fenced. DS just loves to run, wander, and pretend. He climbs "trees" (There's a lilac tree with branches starting about a foot off the ground.) He picks up twigs and puts them in piles. He rakes leaves or moves them around or jumps in them. He digs in the snow. He smells flowers and pulls weeds. He looooves just being outside! He does have a gator he likes to drive around, but I prefer it when he just wanders and plays.