Tips for Busy Families on the Go

Is your busy family always on the go? You need tips to make life easier!

We keep busy with lots of academic activities, but we also love to hike, swim, and play outdoors. As homeschoolers, we are involved in a special playgroup that enjoys playtime in local parks, roller skating, jump centers, and educational field trips. It seems, like many other busy families, we are always on the go and looking for tips to make life easier and less hectic.

Enjoying learning about different species of fish.

Also, as busy homeschoolers, we search for special activities for physical education and fitness that can be a valuable educational experience. We are always coming up with new ways to learn while having fun. We especially love outdoor activities, but that can lead to cuts, scrapes, and allergies.

Dolphin and Manatee hunting in a kayak with Grandpa on the Manatee River.

When you head out for a hike or to go exploring the Manatee River in a kayak, it is important to always have a first aid kit, extra clothes, water bottles, bug spray, and we take allergy meds and Epipens too! Active families need to function like a team and be ready for just about anything. Now, we can take Puracyn® Plus along too. Puracyn® Plus is the first step in first aid. It helps clean wounds and is less irritating than peroxide or alcohol and more effective than soap and water. I find it amazing that it is safe for the eyes, ears, and mouth too! 

Puracyn® Plus is a convenient alternative to the otherwise messy job of cleansing the wound area, can be applied on the spot and on-the-go, and it won’t cause cell damage the way hydrogen peroxide can. It is the perfect addition to your first aid kits saving you the need for several different products.

We needed our Puracyn® Plus during Spring Break. Mayhem was excited about kayaking with Grandpa on the Manatee River. When she ran to the kayak, her clothes got stuck and toppled over a giant, concrete pelican! Then, when she hopped into the kayak, the tear from the pelican incident caught onto something in the kayak and scraped her leg. The pants are beyond repair, but her leg recovered nicely with a little help from Puracyn® Plus.

Getting some swimming in after a long road trip.

Now through March 27th, enter the Play to Win with #TeamPuracynPlus Giveaway on the Puracyn® Plus Facebook page for the chance to be one of three randomly selected winners to receive a Puracyn® Plus Sports Emergency Kit, including a $50 gift card to a sporting goods store of your choice and Puracyn® Plus product. Join us on Pinterest too.

Enter to win a Puracyn® Plus Sports Emergency Kit.

New Puracyn® Plus Duo-Care™ Wound and Skin Cleanser is the next generation first step in first aid for cleansing, debriding and hydrating wounds, and is formulated with a pH balanced, hypochlorous solution, designed to improve the most essential part of the wound treatment process – preparation of the wound bed. If you have diabetes, Puracyn® Plus Foot Wash and Skin Cleanser is essential in helping to make foot care part of your daily self-care routine. To learn more about the brand visit www.puracynplus.com
“This is a product-provided, sponsored conversation that contains affiliate links. All opinions, text, and experiences are my own.”
To learn more about the Puracyn® Plus, LIKE the brand on Facebook and follow the brand on Pinterest. This is a product-sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Puracyn® Plus Duo-Care™ Wound and Skin Cleanser. The opinions and text are all mine.


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Homeschool PE Egg Hunt for Elementary Students: Fun for a Family Get Together Party too!

Get Fit with this Creative Physical Education Easter Egg Hunt for Parties or PE Class

This Egg Hunt isn't just for Easter. Add physical fitness to your family get together, birthday party, gym class, or homeschool PE. Hide the eggs outdoors, and then hide physical fitness activities inside each egg. Make a game out of working out! In the video below, we improvised and had fun turning exercise into a fitness game that got the whole "family" involved. Enjoy!

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience.

Kids Games that get You Moving: How to Play Disc Golf

Disc Golf is a Game that gets Kids Moving

Frisbee Golf or Flying Disc Golf isn't very complicated, but the professionals take it very seriously. Since we blog about kids' activities, we've adapted this fun, family game into an easy to play (and explain) game to get children moving. If you're lucky, you have a disc golf course at your local park, but you probably don't even realize it. Enjoy!

This post contains  Amazon and other affiliate links for your convenience.

15 Slumber Party Games and Activities for Teen Girls: Best Sleepover Ever

15 Fun for Teen Girls Activities: A Sleepover, Slumber Birthday Party

A teenage girl sleepover party with fun games, activities, and swag bags is the best slumber party ever! Don't just read these titles and think, been there done that. We've added a little twist to each birthday party activity.

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.
UPDATED for 2020 with BONUS BIRTHDAY ACTIVITIES.

Slumber Party Sleepover Games and Activities for Teen Girls.

1. Balloon Charades. Grabs some stationary and write down ideas for Charades. What are charades? How do you play charades? You know, when you act something out, pull on your ear for "sounds like", put two fingers in the air to signify two words, but you never speak. Yeah, that game. So, fold the paper up into skinny rectangles, slide it inside a balloon, blow it up, and use it as a party decoration. When you are ready to play charades give each guest a balloon. Have her pop it - sitting on it is the most fun, read it, and act it out for the other guests to guess. Super Fun!

Yeah, you can do this with "Truth or Dare" too, but oh how I loathe Truth or Dare. Shouldn't it be called "Humiliation or Bullying?"



Bonus Activity: Giant Cupcake Balloon for Party
Want a cool photo op for your social media? Make this Balloon Cupcake with your friends and then use it as a backdrop for your photos! Click here: How to Make Giant Cupcake from Balloons!

2. Sleeping Bag Switch. For this game, each girl brings a sleeping bag or sleeping pad to the party. To start the game, the girls unroll their bags and lay them out on the floor. Then, one girl goes out of the room and the remaining girls pick someone else's bag to hide in. The girl then returns and tries to guess who is who or who is where. You can also have only two girls switch, and see if she can tell who switched. Fun times!

5 Fun Ideas for Teen Birthday Party

3. Crazy Makeovers. Time to pull out the make up, and let the girls give each other makeovers. No peeking until it is done. The beautician can choose to make a crazy makeover or a beautiful, glamorous one. The girl getting the makeup has to guess which type of makeover she got before the big reveal. 

Fun Things to Make at Home

4. Spin the Nail Polish Bottle. Each girl takes a turn picking out a color and spinning the bottle. This works best on a table. Who ever the bottle points to when it finishes spinning paints a nail with that color. Then, she chooses the next color to spin. When everyone has 10 nails painted, take a picture and share them with your friends on Instagram. Make sure you have lots of color choices!

Choose a variety of colors for Nail Polish Spin the Bottle game.

5. Make your Own Glitter Body Scrub. Find small jars that seal tightly, fine glitter, (white is nice) coconut oil, (a wonderful moisturizer for the scrub) scented extract, and sugar or coarse salt. Sugar is best. Salt is great for exfoliating, but bad if it gets in your eyes. Choose an extract: Peppermint, Almond (my favorite) Coconut, or Vanilla. Add a few drops of extract to the sugar and glitter to make a paste. Now you have your own moisturizer and exfoliator. When purchasing coconut oil you want this kind, extra virgin coconut oil.

Coconut Oil for Glitter Scrub.

6. Dress Up Divas. Go to a thrift shop and find evening gowns or formal wear and fancy heels the girls can use to dress up. Place the gowns in a large bag. Before you let the girls see the gowns, have them make blindfolds that double as beauty masks. Once everyone is blindfolded, have them choose a dress by touch alone. After they model the dresses, they can trade and have a fashion show or make up a reality show. Don't forget a full-length mirror.

For a blindfold or sleeping mask tutorial visit Henry Happened blog.

7. Pillowcase Decorating Activity. Purchase pillowcases to decorate. Grab fabric makers, tacky glue, and ribbon. You can also find fun, iron on transfers to embellish. If you plan in advance, you can decorate a large gift bag for each guest. Load it up with all that Birthday Party Swag! 

Birthday Party Activities for Teen Girls

8. Pillow Fight. A classic game. As part of the swag bag items, create mini-pillows. You can often find little pillows at the dollar store or use travel pillows. Decorate them as mentioned above. When it is time for bed, be a cool party host. Tell the girls to grab their mini-pillows. On your mark, set, pillow fight! Just watch out for the lamps! You're going to need a big full-body pillow for this pillow fight!

Bonus Activity: Easy Colorful Cupcake Frosting
Make this easy, colorful cupcake icing and decorate cakes or cookies with your friends! Share on Instagram or other social media with #cupcaketime Get the recipe here: Easy Cupcake Frosting.

9. Flip Flop Decorating Activity. Find out the Flip Flop shoe sizes of each guest before the party. Get some yarn, baubles, Sharpie Markers, and cloth scraps. Decorate to your heart's desire. Toss them in that swag bag to take home.

Printable Dorm Supply Checklist

10. Cup Stacking. When you are buying party supplies, get some extra cups for the party guests to stack. Take turns to see who can get the most cups stacked in a minute or who has the most creative tower. Even better, everyone can start at the same time. This makes it more nerve wracking and chaotic! Hey, don't knock my tower down!

Minute to Win it Games for a Birthday Party.

11. Minute to Win it Games. Imagine the possibilities! Just like cup stacking, come up with several activities that can be completed in one minute. Everyone grab one of those cups. Set it in the middle of a table, grab a Ping Pong ball, and with only one bounce allowed, bounce the ball into the cup. Hurry! The clock is ticking. Tick Tock. You can also use the a cup to fill a bucket with water (use a colorful sand pail). 

Bonus Activity: Toothpaste Slime

Trick your friends with this toothpaste slime. You'll need 1 C. Blue Hair Gel, 1/2 C. Cornstarch, Water, Super Fine White Glitter.

Slowly add water to 1/3 C. Cornstarch by the spoonful, stir until all is mixed well and becomes pour-able. Then, slowly stir cornstarch mixture into the hair gel. When it all has a thick toothpaste consistency, sprinkle in the super fine glitter. Voila! You have fake toothpaste. See if you can trick your parents with it. Of course, this toothpaste slime isn’t edible!! 

Did you know real toothpaste isn’t edible either? You should always spit it out after brushing. Don’t forget to brush your teeth with real toothpaste every morning (even at a slumber party!) 

Parents,  if you’ve got one of those kids, who doesn’t like to go to the dentist, ABC Children’s Dentistry offers more valuable tips to help you and your child when it comes to oral hygiene. Dental hygiene is something that should be taught at an early age. Why not make it fun?  Here’s a neat sensory toothpaste activity for preschoolers by Still Playing School.

12. Dance Off. Time for the girls to get their dance moves on and have fun. This is great to play after the Dress up Diva game. She who dances the longest wins. Ha! You thought it was a game of skill. Nope. It is a game of "get them tired so they don't put your panties in the freezer!"  Sweet Dreams. What's that? You're dreaming of popsicles?

13. Board Games. Don't think "bored" games. These board games are fun because each girl makes her own game to play or collaborate on one super, cool game. Cereal boxes, paper plates, and the white side of the wrapping paper are great ways to make a board. Paper plates make game spinners. Old, recycled business cards make excellent playing cards or game cards. Stickers are fun too. Fold paper and cut it into a cube pattern to make your own dice. Still boring? Take those balloons and fill them with game topics. For example, "Make a game about Rock Stars" or "Make a Mall Shopping Card Game" or "Make a game of questions." Let your imaginations run wild. This can be especially fun for preteens and tweens.

Cool Games for Holiday Parties

14. Classic Board Games. Find out who your moguls are when you pull out the Monopoly game or start up the giggles with Trouble. But that's boring, right? Pass around a basket of accessories. Think grandma glasses, nerd spectacles, giant clip-on earrings, men's ties, satin gloves, and cowboy hats. Now, play those games in character with silly accents.

15. Slurpin' for Worms. Gummy Worm Game Grab a bag of gummi worms or gummi bears and a can of whipped cream. Place the worms on a paper plate and cover them with the cream. It should look like a fake pie, you know, the kind you get in the face? Yeah, you might want to wear a raincoat for this one, and Mom might want to lay down a painting drop cloth. Players must keep their hands behind their backs at all times. Dive in. This is a great game for "Minute to Win It" too. Who can slurp up the most worms? Who can eat the most?

Recommended Reading:

Outdoor Beach Theme Party

Happy Birthday Mad Libs

Group Games for Tweens and Teens

Teen Camp Songs

Balloons for Your Party

Minecraft Birthday Party Activities

Marshmallow Party Games and Activities

Sensory Play: Plan your Curriculum and Lesson Plan

Sensory Play Lesson Plans Link Up

Do you have Sensory Play Activities on your blog? Are you looking for Sensory Play Activity Lesson Plans or Curriculum to do with your toddler, preschool class, or day care program? These sensory activities make it easy to plan your curriculum and prep those lesson plans. Check back often for our Sensory Play Linky Parties. Enjoy!

Are you looking for sensory activities to do with a baby, toddler, preschooler, elementary age, or teen child? We've got you covered with a linky party. If you have a blog or website, please link up your posts in the comments. 

Older children with sensory processing disorders, such as Autism benefit in the same way younger children do. Children can explore their senses with these sensory activities and become accustomed to the sensation of cold paint on their fingers, the sound of crackling paper, the smell of scented dough or spice paints, the taste of edible crafts, and the visual impact of it all. 

 

Recommended Reading:

Art Develops Critical Thinking

Learning and Playing Outdoors: How to Plan and Create an Inspiring Outdoor Environment (Practitioners' Guides)

Transdisciplinary Play-Based Assessment, Second Edition (TPBA2)

Call of Duty Theme Activities and Birthday Party Ideas for Boys and Teens

Call of Duty Ghosts or Black Ops, either way Teens or Little Boys will love these Party ideas and activities with an Army Theme

Teens (and Grown ups too, apparently) love Call of Duty. They love to role play, and they appreciate a good Black Ops Birthday Party theme too. So, why not indulge them with these crafts and activities. Enjoy!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.*

Call of Duty Wall Art Poster project for teens.

That's right, men can do crafts too. And, to pretend play in style, they will need to fashion a mask for role playing or grownup dramatic play or use cut out our wall art and turn it into a mask! We also have Call of Duty Free Printable Coloring Pages they might like.

Call of Duty Theme Activities and Birthday Party Ideas for Boys and Teens.

Call of Duty Skull Mask.

How to make a Call of Duty Ghosts Wall Poster

This was a very easy and simple craft to make. We took one piece of black construction paper, folded it in half lengthwise and then drew half of the ghost skull. You'll note ours isn't perfect. The Call of Duty Ghosts logo is actually thinner than ours, but don't you just love individualism? That's what makes it a work of art.

Teens will enjoy making Call of Duty Ghosts art for their room.

After we cut out the skull mask, we used a glue stick to attach it to another sheet of black construction paper. Then, we colored it in with white chalk following the logo pictured below.

Then, we took a soft, black crayon (Roseart) outlined the skull, and added in skull fracture details. If you prefer a mask, cut it out at this step Leaving the only the eyes as open as holes.

Now, use a hole punch to make holes just under the eyes on each side. Grab a birthday party hat, remove the elastic band, tie knots into each hole, and voila! You have a Call of Duty Ghosts Mask.

Call of Duty Ghosts Logo.

Call of Duty Birthday Party Ideas

From Birthday Party Ideas blog, Call of Duty Army Party.

Call of Duty Army Theme Birthday Party for Kids.

Enlist Recruit Desk for Call of Duty Theme Party from More Than Mulberries.

Enlistment Office Party Favors and Registration Desk
for Call of Duty Birthday Party.

Use some our our PE Games for Boot Camp Birthday Party Activities for your special event.

The website Boot Camp Ideas for Kids has many fun ideas for physical fitness that can be incorporated into an outdoor army birthday party.

Ideas for Army Boot Camp at Kids' Call of Duty Party for Boot Camp Ideas.

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Skull Mask like Call of Duty*

Tactical Goggles*

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*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Learning How to be a Community Leader Together: Service Projects for Kids

Service Project Ideas for kids to get involved in the Community

Michelle from Life is my Lemonade is guest posting today.Today, she shares her reluctant adventures in teaching a child how to be a community leader. Michelle and I met in college where we pledged Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority. Needless to say, we've known each other awhile. Michelle also helps out with Pinterest account management. (Psst... Michelle's a little shy.) Here are some great ideas for service projects for your kids. Enjoy!

Race for the Cure 2011 

What do you do when your child says I’m bored? I decided to take a page out of my family’s book and take her on a new adventure.  It started when she was old enough to put groceries away.  I took her to the food pantry to help put groceries away on the shelves and explained why we were helping out. Over the years, this evolved into working to bag up the bags for Saturday openings. Then, she asked if she could help out on Saturday’s when the pantry was open. She wanted to be able to work directly with the people that came into the food pantry and help them out to their cars. Aww!  That was a great idea so we stepped into the rotation and did a Saturday morning every once in awhile. 

Helping out at a food pantry doesn't mean just donating items.

I’m proud of how she stepped up and asked for more time with the people that came in. Her Grandpa would be proud of her. She didn't get to know him because he died from Leukemia a few years before she was born. One of the proudest memories I have is of his funeral, there were so many people there that came up to me and explained how they knew him. He had helped them throughout the years. He gave so many pints of blood I can’t even tell you what level he was at. He also was an EMT for many years, picked up people who needed transportation to doctor’s visits and church.  He and my mom both volunteered for numerous committees.  

When those people that he has touched came to show respect it made an unbearable day better. I was proud to know that he had done so much for others. Those are the moments I share with my daughter now. I am hoping that she will be able to say that she is proud of me for giving back as well. 

Here are some of the things we do or plan to do when she says she is bored:

Race for the Cure –whenever we can to support my Aunt who is a survivor and the friends we have lost. Relay for Life-again whenever we can to remember my dad and find a cure.

Sheltering Wings-This is a local domestic violence shelter that helped me out.  We have done many projects from planting flowers around their building, donating money, going to their various fundraising events, donating items for the silent auctions, earrings for the kids to give their Moms on Mother’s Day, numerous sweet treats just because and most recently Megan has written and received grants to help provide pre-school supplies for their new pre-school classroom and make up Birthday boxes for the kids. 

Yep, she really did the work on writing the grants. It’s one of the requirements for the grant because it is a Youth as Resources grant from United Way. Parents can assist but the kids are on the ones that write it up and give the presentation. When she was younger I helped out with the grant writing, but now that she is a teen it’s all her and her Girl Scout troop. 

Pinterest idea turned into a warm welcome treat for Sheltering Wings

Pre-school supplies purchased with Grant monies

So, while Megan is learning to help out in the community she is having a good time and getting great experience. She donated time at the shelter to babysit and play games with the kids. She learned that she likes to babysit, and she can earn money when she’s not donating her time.

Another bonus to helping out in the community is that she is setting goals:

• Goal #1 earn the Bronze award for Girl Scouts. Happy to say that’s checked off, She earned her bronze award with a book drive and building a bookcase for the shelter.

• Goal #2 the Silver award for The Kid's Guide to Service Projects: Over 500 Service Ideas for Young People Who Want to Make a Difference. And another check, she earned her silver award with the birthday boxes.

• Goal #3 she is going for the Gold award.  She has a list of the different places that she wants to help and a year to wait and plan so we will see what will happen. Top of the list for today is animal shelter, Riley or Peyton Manning children’s hospital, or outdoor area. Whatever she decides to do will be on her to plan from start to finish and raise the money for because this is an individual project.  She can get help from the community but she has to put in at least 100 hours of time to meet the goal. I don’t think it will be a problem though because she put in close to that with the Silver award.

Going for the Gold Award

Recommended:

The Kid's Guide to Service Projects: Over 500 Service Ideas for Young People Who Want to Make a Difference*

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More Teen focused blog posts

Six Fun Things to do with Fla-Vor-Ice Pops: Recipes for a Cool Kids' Birthday Party

Fun Things to do with Frozen Pops and Shaved Ice for Kid's Party

Remember when you were a kid, and your mom sent you outside with a Fla-Vor-Ice Pop?  To cool down in the hot summer, we'd eat our pops and then run through the sprinkler. The best thing about Fla-Vor-Ice is they are "mom approved".  Did you know they are gluten free, low in calories, and sugar?  Each standard pop has just 5 grams of sugar.  Like Fla-Vor-Ice on Facebook for more information and tons of fun ideas. 

This post brought to you by Jel Sert.  All opinions are 100% mine.

Kids like Fla-Vor-Ice Pops, because they are a fun and refreshing treat with great tasting flavors.  They come in original fruit flavors, Tropical flavors, and even a sugar-free variety. There is a Fla-Vor-Ice Pop for everyone.  During summer camp, we always have a box of freezer pops in the ice chest.  Since  ice-pops are portable fun for everyone, you never know when one might come in handy for one of these fun things to do with Fla-Vor-Ice Pops.



1.  Make a homemade, rainbow slushy for your next summer party. 

Summer Party Recipe Ice Pop  Rainbow Slushy.

2.  Keep frozen Fla-Vor-Ice pops in an ice chest during outdoor play dates or summer vacations, and use them as a quickie first-aid ice-pack for head bumps and boo-boos. They also help with hydration.

3.  For a fun, outdoor game use ice-pops and party cups.  Line the children up, so each one stands two feet in front of a party cup, cut-off the end of their ice-pop, and count to three.  On three, everyone tries to squeeze their frozen ice into the cup without missing.  The winner is the one who flings the most frozen Fla-Vor-Ice into their cup.    

4.  Squeeze your frozen Fla-Vor-Ice into plastic Easter Eggs and then refreeze them to make a fun Easter Egg shape ice-pop treat like these from Play Eat Grow blog.

Picture from Play Eat Grow blog.  Hop over for more great ideas.

5.  Use Fla-Vor-Ice freezer pops in a homeschool science lesson about the changing states of matter.  Time the ice-pop to see how fast it freezes.  Compare it's freezing time with that of other liquids like milk, water, or yogurt.  Let it melt in a bowl on the counter, leave it out, and then track how many days it takes to evaporate.  Does it completely evaporate?

6. Before your freeze your pops, pour the liquid into fun ice cube molds, and use them to flavor your favorite clear soda.  Yum!

It's your turn, what will you do with your Fla-Vor-Ice pop? Hop over and share your ideas on Fla-Vor-Ice on Facebook! 

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55 Recipes for Ice Pops and Shave Ice
     

DIY Design with Collage Building: Outdoor Gardening Space and Patio Room Ideas

Outdoor Gardening Space and Patio Room DIY Design Ideas

Do you dream of designing your own space? DIY Design ideas are easy to come up with when you use an online collage builder program. The collage template below is a lot of fun. Enjoy!

This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

When you go shopping for new furniture for a room design are you one of the lucky ones who can visualize exactly how the room will go together? Can you tell if colors and patterns coordinate without holding fabric swatches or paint samples next to each other?  When designing an outdoor living space, the same factors come into play. 

You will love Picmonkey.com. Just upload your images to the collage templates or use their sample photos to create your own collage builder. I wanted to design an inviting, fun outdoor space that coordinated with my patio room. I chose Adirondack seating and natural finishes to give the space an Americana style. For great tips on landscape and outdoor design projects visit outdoors.org.

With a landscape collage builder, you can flip and rotate items for the exact configuration of your desires. The collage above mixes and matches indoor and outdoor items perfect for the avid gardener or outdoor entertainer. When you're ready to get serious, you can sketch your design on graph paper. Did you know you can even buy landscape drawing templates like the pros use?

Just imagine the playhouse's window box filled with cascading flowers with your little one peeking out the window, the bookshelf covered in cute planters full of herbs and edible flowers, and you lounging on the oversize chaise after a beautiful summer morning spent gardening. Now, if you're space is overrun with trees, you may need to call a tree service so that you can start designing with a clear palette. In California, Tree and garden experts Roseville can help prep your backyard space.

Be sure to store unsightly gardening equipment in stackable baskets or wooden crates. No need to hide your watering source or red wheelbarrow. They give the space a sense of purpose and a punch of color. Above, the green frog on the pillow and wall hanging help define the space as an outdoor refuge. Are your creative juices flowing?

Ready to design your own space? Check out these outdoor gardening design templates and start experimenting today. 


Recommended:

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Ideas for Great Kids' Rooms

How to Grow a Living Playscape: Willow Playhouse Cave for Kids

How to Grow a Living Playhouse for Kids from Willow Tree Branches: Plan for Earth Day

Building an outdoor playscape is just one of many fun garden projects you can do with your kids in the summer. We experimented by making a living playhouse from a willow tree. If you aren't sure how to get started on an outdoor design project, visit our post on diy outdoor design templates.

This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

How to Make a Living Play Space

We shopped for various styles of playhouses, but they were very expensive. After a storm, tree branches covered the yard, so we gathered several willow branches and stuck them in the ground. Then, we cut a few skinny branches off the tree and wrapped them around the bigger branches forming a loose connection. Click here to see examples of  living willow tree play spaces from dengarden.com.

Miracle Grow gave our living willow playscape a boost. The kids generously watered the base of the branches. You don't need to have a green thumb to grow a Willow tree. Take a stem cutting or cut off a branch and stick it in soil. That's all you need to grow your own organic playhouse.

This is an easy project that keeps on giving year after year. Our little gardeners anxiously awaited for Spring in hopes their playhouse had survived the winter. To make sure your trees are well maintained, check with a tree care service and garden maintenance expert.

Our living willow playhouse ended up looking more like a cave than house. The kids crawled inside letting their imaginations run wild. In the spring, it was incredible to watch the miracle of rebirth. In the winter, our little play house looked like a pile of sticks, but a few months later it was well on it's way to becoming the centerpiece in our secret garden. It's the perfect place for sensory outdoor play. 

Recommended Reading:

Playhouses You Can Build

Treehouses and Playhouses You Can Build