Backyard Obstacle Course

Children's love of moving their bodies, testing their limits and getting physical makes obstacle courses so appealing.

 

Here are some simple ideas you can use to create your own obstacle courses for your children in your own home.

 

Suitable ages

2-4yrs but can be modified to suit varying developmental levels.

 

Learning Opportunities

Physical- Gross Motor skills (crawling, climbing, balancing, jumping, animal walks, throwing, catching etc)

Language- vocabulary (over, under, through, jump, help, stop, go, wait, next etc)

Creative- Helping design and construct their own course. 

 

Stepping Stones

 

You could create some stepping stones to challenge your child's skill of balance.

I used some trusty telephone books (what else are you meant to do with them??) covered in contact. I made them so they are varying heights. I also grabbed some of the bathroom steps to make it a challenge. Master two was not yet confident to step up to the tallest step without holding my hand however, once he becomes more familiar I am positive he will give it a go. Try to make it challenging but not too hard that the child can't succeed.

 

Tunnel

 

 

 

This tunnel was purchased cheaply from Ikea however, if you don't have one like this you can easily make your own tunnel using a large box or an old sheet / blanket draped over some chairs. Correct crawling is one of the essential movement skills for brain development. Read more here.

 

Rope Balancing

 

Here I have just used a skipping rope although you could use any type of rope.

You can do a number of things with the rope. Hman was practicing walking along the rope putting one foot directly in front of the other to 'balance' the length of the rope. You could also get children to do two feet jumping from one side to the other side of the rope along the entire length or tippy toes for strengthening those little feet.

 

Sensory Tub

 

Using our old baby bath (sob sob) to create a sensory experience to walk through. Hman is a little reluctant to get into water so I just used a little water to cover his feet. The fact that he had to crawl through the small tunnel before doing this sensory experience was helpful as it allowed his brain to calm down ready for the next challenge.

You could provide a number of sensory experiences in your obstacle course such as, shredded paper, wool, cotton wool, pom poms, small balls, materials, sand or flour or if you don't mind getting messy you could try shaving foam, slime, mud etc.

 

Witches Hats

 

My husband bought these home from his work (23 of them in fact!!) but the kids love them and they come in handy for lots of play ideas.

Here I created a little weaving run for Hman to run through in a weave. This is great as with his low muscle tone and hyper mobility he has trouble stopping and turning without falling. This was a super fun way to practice getting around those corners without crashing lol! You could use a jumper ball for children to bounce through or you could get them to do bear walks, crab walks, tippy toes, skipping, hopping etc etc. If the zig zaggy pattern is to tricky just make it from one cone to the other. You could have children balance BEANBAGS on their head or use an egg or spoon. The ideas are endless,

 

Rope Ladder

 

If you have one of these you could always use it for it's intended purpose of climbing if your child is ready or if not you could use it like we did. I laid it down and got Hman to do two feet jumping (take off with both feet at the same time and land on both feet at the same time) from one side of the rung to the other. Don't have a rope ladder, never fear there are heaps of ways you could create the same task using sticks to jump over, or old placemats to jump along like lilly pads.

 

Hoop and Tub

 

Stand in the hoop and throw the ball into the tub. You don't have to have a hoop or tub to incorporate this into your obstacle course however it does help to have a standing point (if you child is like mine they are likely to just walk up to the tub and place the ball in. If you have a basketball hoop you could use that- we do have one however it's still a challenge and I wanted him to have a good chance of getting the balls in- which he did!! You could use beanbags also. See my home made beanbags

 

I am sure you will be able to use some of these ideas as well as come up with a few of your own to create your own home obstacle course. Your children will love it!!

 

Other Ideas

*When I was teaching I used to love adding an easel to our obstacle courses where the children would have to draw something like -a circle or -something starting with 's' etc.

*Climbing frames if you have one- we've got rid of ours as it started to crack but we had a little frame where the children would climb up and go down the little slide.

*Slides if you have one and it is developmentally appropriate for your children.

*Leap frog over cushions or little foot stools.

 

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Busy beanbag Play

 

I would love for you to share any other ideas you come up with for your own children by leaving a comment here. I enjoy reading them all!!

 

 

Enjoy

 

Play and Learn

 

Katey



Our Fun with Cloud Dough

I have made cloud dough in my classroom and for my own children using a fairly simple recipe, although recently I have seen a super simple recipe using just two common household ingredients, that creates a lovely silky and stretchy texture.

How cool is that!!

 I have been wanting to give it a go for the longest time,

however it was this post by Kate at Laughing Kids Learn

that made me desperate to try it!! 

I will share my cloud dough recipe at the end of this post. 

Please click on this link to see details on how Kate from Laughing Kids Learn made the 2 ingredient version of the cloud dough shown here.

 

Hman does enjoy cooking activities such as the measuring, pouring and mixing for short bursts of time so I thought this recipe with only two ingredients was the perfect opportunity for him to get really involved and to be able to not only see but play with the results immediately!! 

Below are some snaps of us enjoying this fun task!!

 We've been working on Hman's expressive language development so during this task I focused on the action words he was doing.

Squeeze, fill.

 

measuring out 1cup of hair conditioner (the cheapest you can find)

 Tip, pour

adding in the 2 1/4 cups of cornflour

 



 

Mix!
 

Hman has also been working on using two hands together so mixing the ingredients together was the perfect opportunity to practice by holding the bowl with one hand and stirring the spoon with the other. He needed some assistance to get this right so I didn't manage to get a photo but you can see how good this is for strengthening those arm muscles. 

 

I love that he was willing to get his hands messy!! It was just so inviting.
The delightful smell and silky texture is a treat for the senses!!
It provides many opportunities to extend vocabulary!!

Smooth, stretchy, squishy, squash, pull, push, roll, poke, stretch, pinch. 
Also, share, mine, yours, please and thankyou. 

 

Hman was very thrilled that he had made something he could share with his sister.
Miss M- "Wow Harrison, this is great, thankyou!"

The recipe I have used in the past for cloud dough also creates a super silky smooth texture it is not as stretchy but will hold it's shape so can be used for 3d constructions. It will require adult assistance as it involves heating. 

Miss M had fun last Christmas making ornaments from it!

Our Cloud Dough

Materials 

2 cups bi-carbonate soda

1 cup corn flour 

1 1/2 cups water

To Make

Put all ingredients in saucepan and cook on stove until it looks line mashed potatoes.

Let cool then play!

You can leave them to dry over 2-3days then paint them with edicole or normal paint.

 

Safety Disclaimer~ always supervise young children during play with cloud dough

 



Enjoy

 

Play and Learn

 

Katey 

Fun Feet Painting

We love painting and are always looking for fun ways to get messy!

Painting with our feet has always been a hit, however, my main motive for doing it today was to see if Hman would give it a go! Recently he has become quite reluctant to get anything 'messy' on his hands! I wondered if this sensory issue was the same for his feet.

The feeling of paint squelching between your toes is really something!! 

Taking footprints is a great way of recording your children's growth,

we know how quickly that happens!

 I particularly like to record those first precious, wobbly sailor steps.

It's a great memory to look back on and will definitely make you smile.

There's something incredibly special about those first steps.

This activity however, is suitable for any age from those first precious steps upwards.

I set up using long strips of butchers paper cut from a roll of paper from IKEA. Tubs for the paint at one end and a tub of water and a towel at the other end. This is so children can step directly in and wash their feet. It's absolutely not necessary.  

Surprisingly he stepped straight in the paint!! He went back over and over again so this was a success. Children may need to hold your hand as they step in because it's quite slippery! They step in the paint, make sure their feet are all covered then walk across the paper.

Of course they don't just have to walk.

Ask your children to think of as many ways as they can to leave different foot prints?

We tried, tip toes, skipping, jumping and hopping.

They may even like to use their footprints to make a picture!

 



 



The children requested some more colours!

 

Such a gorgeous effect!

I plan to frame some, I think it will look lovely!

 

A great fun way to remember those precious little footsies!!

Of course the children took it further and Miss M was covered from head to tie in paint. Hman used a brush, I though he may be getting close to putting his hands in!!

Enjoy 

Play and Learn

Katey

Shaving Foam Fun

Recently we have been doing lots of sensory explorations at home involving getting our hands mucky! This is because recently I've noticed Hman has been reluctant to play in sand and mud and has started wanting his hands wiped whenever he gets food on them when eating of paint on them when painting. Which is fine, some kids are just more sensitive to these textures I was just curious how far this went with him and what it took to get him to get his hands MUCKY lol!!

 

We had success with him and the water beads, playdough and rice however slime wasn't so successful and since this foam has a similar texture I was interested to see if he would be tempted.

 

For this activity we used shaving foam. It has a delightful, light fluffy, smooth sensation. It also has an odour making this a great activity for exploring the sense of touch, smell and sight. Children are more involved in their learning when more of their senses are stimulated making experiences like this so rich and valuable.

 

AGE: with supervision 12months plus

 



We squirted the foam into a tray. Hman (2) didn't have the strength to press the nozzle, however Miss M (4) did and enjoyed squirting it out and watching it foam up!

 

To be honest I choose this particular sensory experience as we had a number syringes that we had finally finished with after they had their grommets in and Miss M had her tonsils out!

 



Oh how she loved using the syringes!

I was so relieved we finally had another use for them other than all the medicine I've been giving out the past week.

 

Great fine motor control at work

Squirt!

 

Miss M was able to do this independently.

Hman required assistance and enjoyed using the dropper more as he was able to control that better.

 



 

Once they had added all the colour they decided it was time to mix!

Lot's of observation and discussion happening on what they could see happening with the colours.

 

We took some prints of our patterns by placing paper over the foam and patting down.

Wow!

We got to this point with relatively clean hands.

Surprisingly the kids hadn't been tempted to touch.

Miss M had far too much enjoyment using the syringes!

 



But she didn't need any encouragement.

 

the first thing she said was "it feels gloopy!'

 

This activity is great for language development and new vocabulary. Be sure to create opportunities to talk through careful questioning and listening to your child and taking their lead. Model new vocabulary such as slimy, gloopy, fluffy etc.

 

Always supervise your child when playing with shaving foam.

 

Enjoy

 

Play and Learn

 

Katey



Water beads ~ The fun we had!

 

I have been wanting to get some water beads for the kids for a long time. It's something I used in the classroom occasionally and the children always loved the sensory experience and so much spontaneous learning happened through their play.

I have not been able to locate any water beads in the shops recently but I know I used to get them from $2 shops. You can purchase them online and I know through eBay, I just had never got around to ordering any. Then walking through my local shopping centre the day before Hman and Miss M were having their surgeries (grommets, tonsils and adenoids) I bumped into a little store selling them! Woohoo- perfect timing as I knew water bead play would be the perfect thing to keep their mind off the pain while we were stuck at home during their recovery period. 

Water Beads before you soak them in water. This is how they look when you buy them.

They come in various sizes and are non toxic making them safe for children to play with. They do swell when added to water so if ingested by your child will swell. For this reason I suggest sticking to the marble sizes water beads. Easily passed if they happen to be ingested, however I advice constant supervision when playing with water beads with children. I was very clear with my children, 2yrs and 4yrs, that they were for playing with and not for eating. They both understood and even my 2yo did not attempt to try one out even though he has been known to eat all sorts if things- he was too busy enjoying the incredible sensation of them!!

Depending on the size of your beads leave then to soak for around 4-6hrs till they have swelled to final size. Drain any left over water and you are ready to play!

Marble sized water beads ready to play with!

Hman smiled and laughed and laughed and smiled the whole time he played with them! He was totally engaged, it was so much just to watch!!

 

To start with I put the water beads out with a selection of scoops and containers and let them play and explore them!

This was great for language development and extending vocabulary. 

Action words 

Scooping,

Pouring, tipping, dumping, filling etc

Describing words 

Wet, slippery, slimy, cold, tickley, squishy, colourful, round, little balls oh balls ...

... Bouncy balls!!

Do be warned, they are very bouncy and very roly and disappeared under all the furniture very quickly!! Of course Gmsn thought throwing them in the floor was hilarious and I had to put a stop to it once it got out of hand as I didn't want baby Finn finding a stray one. Perhaps play outside or put the tub into a bigger tub, or play in the bath tub. 

So much language... I could go on!

Miss M came up with her own little game.

Which kept her mind off her pain for a long time!

We moved onto some colour sorting.

An Alphabet hunt.

Using some tongs

 

Try picking up the water beads with the tongs. What happens, why? 

Of course you could add other resources to your water beads depending on your child's interests and level. Such as 

*plastic animals

*numbers

*dinosaurs

*variety of objects for sorting and classifying. 

Baby safe ways to explore water beads!

 

Of course 6month old Finnboy was curious what all the fun was about, we couldn't let him miss out but of course I needed to make is safe for him! Here are some of the ways I came up with, but constant supervision and common sense is essential.

Testing them out with his feet!

What a wonderful sensation. Remember to model lots of language for your baby such as wet, cold slippery, feet, toes, tickle etc.

 

Water beads in a secure plastic container.

 

Oooh they look interesting!

Water beads in a ziplock bag.

Baby is able to enjoy the sensory experience of the beads, however be very careful because...

 

He straight away took it to his mouth. Constant supervision is essential. 

Although two year old Hman enjoyed exploring them this way too!

These are the ways we have played so far, however we aren't tired of them yet. I will add more ideas to this post as we discover them!!

Always supervise children when playing with water beads.

Enjoy

Play and Learn

Katey