Joanne

We're (all of us as a family) at the point now where we have more free
time to do the things we want around the house and one of the areas
that we'd like to get started on is the back yard.
I've been looking/asking around online and getting lots of ideas. One
of the ideas someone gave me that I *love* is a graffiti wall!
Before someone suggests asking my kids, I did. :-) Sadly, their
imaginations have been squashed by years of foster care and public
schooling.
We really want to make our yard a fun & creative place. The fun part
is covered (inground pool, jacuzzi, 14' trampoling, huge wooden
playset, dirtbike), it's the creative, imaginative things we're
getting a little stuck on.
Any ideas would be appreciated.

~ Joanne ~
Mom to Jacqueline (7), Shawna (10) & Cimion (13)
Adopted into our hearts October 30, 2003
http://anunschoolinglife.blogspot.com/

Ren Allen

"it's the creative, imaginative things we're
getting a little stuck on."

My kids would think your yard was fabulous, seeing as it has a
pool!:)

My Mom had this idea about creating a "storygarden" at the library
she worked at (as a librarian and storyteller). She was so
enthusiastic about it and shared a lot of ideas with me. After she
died, the storygarden did get created and named in her honor...
Anyway (I'm getting to the point, really) this inspired me to want a
garden in my yard that was geared for children and exploration.

I started searching with the idea of a storygarden/kids garden and
here's the list I came up with a while back:

~Sundial area
~water play/construction area (a lower down workbench built out of
wood, some kind of large garden tub with pouring, mixing tools)
~low down pergola or archway, covered with vines
~"story" tree- a weeping tree of some kind next to the pond
~Pebble/rock area- many different size stones, gravel and rock for
stacking, pouring etc...
~"council ring"- a natural built teepee or fort for gatherings
~picnic bench
~ edible garden boxes -all flowers, herbs and salad that kids can
eat while sitting in garden.
~Log "bridge"- big, dead log to lay down for them to climb on or use
as a bridge over one area
~bamboo forest- buy a clumping variety so it doesn't take over the
whole yard!
~Bird and bat houses, bird feeders/baths etc...
~Butterfly garden- grow plants that they love to eat like milkweed,
mimosa, impatiens etc..
~Dinosaur (or treasure) dig area- a large sandbox where you bury
things for them to excavate
~Earthworm bin -raise red worms for the garden, the kids can feed
them food scraps and watch their population grow
~Build fairy houses and place them throughout yard/garden area
~Large rocks arranged like stepping stones, to jump across
~Grow a sunflower house
~build a low fence and let them paint their handprints on it
~Hang chimes, lanterns etc... for day and night magic
~build large, whimsical sculptures
~create a zen garden, for quiet meditation (my latest project)

And of course a pond. I plan to create mine with very shallow areas
for placing toes into.:) We'll start with a smallish one, then add
on each year hopefully. Ponds are great for exploration and if you
live in a colder area, there are heaters you can place in them to
keep it from freezing solid.

Our last house was very small and on a city lot. We were fortunate
to have a large, natural pond in back, but we still created a small
water garden out of a tub bought from Lowes. We had so much fun
watching tadpoles and frogs and dragonflies. I think natural water
areas are really great.

One thing I've dreamed of doing, is to build a cob house in the back
yard that looks like a house from the Shire (think Bilbo). It would
be small, with a loft, for quiet, dreaming time or art exploration.:)

Ren

Ren Allen

Interestingly enough, the topic of "school" rooms came up at UD
(ooh, yucky) and Danielle Conger posted a link to a lovely article
she wrote a while back. I hadn't read it for a time, so I enjoyed it
all over again.
I thought you might like this part:

"This attitude extends to our near-acre property, where we make use
of every bit of land to enrich our lives. My passion for gardening
has led to the complete relandscaping of our property to include
vegetable gardens, berry gardens, herb gardens, flower gardens,
wildlife gardens and a 3200 gallon water garden. Throughout the
growing season, my children and I harvest lettuce, beans,
blackberries, strawberries, tomatoes and basil among many other
delicacies.

We plant dill especially for the black swallowtails that flutter
through our yard on which to lay their eggs. We plant native
flowers and shrubs to feed the wildlife and nurture those that
spring up on their own. The native spicebush leaves turn a beautiful
yellow in the fall after hosting spicebush swallowtail caterpillars
throughout the summer, then give way to glossy red berries, feeding
the birds that overwinter here.

Our pond, home to koi and comets, attracts many species of
dragonflies as well as black snails, numerous frogs and the
occasional snake and boxturtle. This past spring, we purchased
twelve rare breed chicks to raise for fresh eggs, designing and
building the chicken house and yard that protect them from local
wildlife and our family dog so that it rotates frequently enough to
allow free range grazing.

We're learning all about organic gardening, different ecosystems,
wildlife and animal care, and our landscape reflects the fervor of
our passions and our pursuit of learning through life. As
Unschoolers, however, we do these things not because of the many
wonderful learning opportunities they provide but because we follow
our passions with abandon. "

If you want to read her whole article, it can be found here:
http://www.danielleconger.com/Homeschool/Landscape.html

For those of you that haven't seen her blog and website, you're
really missing out! She's a huge inspiration to me.

Ren

elizabeth roberts

Ren, your description sounds absolutely beautiful! We are looking at two places with two acres of land each. One is further from "town" but has a stocked pond, and a couple willow trees already (and is a larger house with 7 bedrooms!! the other is closer to "town" and family but is a 4 bedroom). You've given me some ideas for the yard, which ever place we might end up - either in one of these two places or another.

Beth, NC


Sing, Dance, Laugh...LOVE!

---------------------------------
Yahoo! for Good - Make a difference this year.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Robyn Coburn

<<<< We're (all of us as a family) at the point now where we have more free
time to do the things we want around the house and one of the areas
that we'd like to get started on is the back yard.>>>>>

One of the things that I remember from my childhood was that my
grandfather's garden had some "secret" places - spots where the shrubs grew
together and then had surprise clear spaces behind them that were small -
almost like a small maze. It was great for all kinds of role playing games -
hiding from pirates etc. Kids like parts of gardens that are divided up, as
well as big space for running. My neighbor had an overturned row boat in the
yard that we used as a play hideout.

One of Jayn's favorite places is the Huntington Gardens Children's Garden in
Pasadena. They have low level water features with smooth stones to rub, a
short tunnel, fragrant herbs to rub, a carnivorous plant section to watch,
and a couple of structures made of metal with vines growing over - a play
house, a teepee.

Another garden that she loves has tunnels made of saplings tied together,
and a tiny "forest" clearing with a kid size picnic table. Also a stream
with a bunch of driftwood to climb on. She likes the reflective spinners in
the tree branches too.

I suggest visiting some public gardens and children's museums in your area
to get ideas.

Robyn L. Coburn

--
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Checked by AVG Free Edition.
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Joanne

Thank you (and your mom!) for all the great ideas Ren! We have
almost an acre (which is large compared to what we had in NYC!!)
I'm also looking forward to getting started gardening (we want to
grow herbs and veggies) but we'll wait a bit to get started with
that. Right now we can only manage non-living things. LOL!

Thanks again!
If anybody has any other ideas that don't involve gardening, please
share!

~ Joanne ~
Mom to Jacqueline (7), Shawna (10) & Cimion (13)
Adopted into our hearts October 30, 2003
http://anunschoolinglife.blogspot.com/



--- In [email protected], "Ren Allen"
<starsuncloud@c...> wrote:
>
> "it's the creative, imaginative things we're
> getting a little stuck on."
>
> My kids would think your yard was fabulous, seeing as it has a
> pool!:)
>
> My Mom had this idea about creating a "storygarden" at the library
> she worked at (as a librarian and storyteller). She was so
> enthusiastic about it and shared a lot of ideas with me. After
she
> died, the storygarden did get created and named in her honor...
> Anyway (I'm getting to the point, really) this inspired me to want
a
> garden in my yard that was geared for children and exploration.
>
> I started searching with the idea of a storygarden/kids garden and
> here's the list I came up with a while back:
>
> ~Sundial area
> ~water play/construction area (a lower down workbench built out of
> wood, some kind of large garden tub with pouring, mixing tools)
> ~low down pergola or archway, covered with vines
> ~"story" tree- a weeping tree of some kind next to the pond
> ~Pebble/rock area- many different size stones, gravel and rock for
> stacking, pouring etc...
> ~"council ring"- a natural built teepee or fort for gatherings
> ~picnic bench
> ~ edible garden boxes -all flowers, herbs and salad that kids can
> eat while sitting in garden.
> ~Log "bridge"- big, dead log to lay down for them to climb on or
use
> as a bridge over one area
> ~bamboo forest- buy a clumping variety so it doesn't take over the
> whole yard!
> ~Bird and bat houses, bird feeders/baths etc...
> ~Butterfly garden- grow plants that they love to eat like
milkweed,
> mimosa, impatiens etc..
> ~Dinosaur (or treasure) dig area- a large sandbox where you bury
> things for them to excavate
> ~Earthworm bin -raise red worms for the garden, the kids can feed
> them food scraps and watch their population grow
> ~Build fairy houses and place them throughout yard/garden area
> ~Large rocks arranged like stepping stones, to jump across
> ~Grow a sunflower house
> ~build a low fence and let them paint their handprints on it
> ~Hang chimes, lanterns etc... for day and night magic
> ~build large, whimsical sculptures
> ~create a zen garden, for quiet meditation (my latest project)
>
> And of course a pond. I plan to create mine with very shallow
areas
> for placing toes into.:) We'll start with a smallish one, then add
> on each year hopefully. Ponds are great for exploration and if you
> live in a colder area, there are heaters you can place in them to
> keep it from freezing solid.
>
> Our last house was very small and on a city lot. We were fortunate
> to have a large, natural pond in back, but we still created a
small
> water garden out of a tub bought from Lowes. We had so much fun
> watching tadpoles and frogs and dragonflies. I think natural water
> areas are really great.
>
> One thing I've dreamed of doing, is to build a cob house in the
back
> yard that looks like a house from the Shire (think Bilbo). It
would
> be small, with a loft, for quiet, dreaming time or art
exploration.:)
>
> Ren
>

Joanne

Thanks Robyn! You descibed it so well I can almost picture it in my
head. :-)

~ Joanne ~
Mom to Jacqueline (7), Shawna (10) & Cimion (13)
Adopted into our hearts October 30, 2003
http://anunschoolinglife.blogspot.com/




--- In [email protected], "Robyn Coburn"
<dezigna@c...> wrote:
>
> <<<< We're (all of us as a family) at the point now where we have
more free
> time to do the things we want around the house and one of the
areas
> that we'd like to get started on is the back yard.>>>>>
>
> One of the things that I remember from my childhood was that my
> grandfather's garden had some "secret" places - spots where the
shrubs grew
> together and then had surprise clear spaces behind them that were
small -
> almost like a small maze. It was great for all kinds of role
playing games -
> hiding from pirates etc. Kids like parts of gardens that are
divided up, as
> well as big space for running. My neighbor had an overturned row
boat in the
> yard that we used as a play hideout.
>
> One of Jayn's favorite places is the Huntington Gardens Children's
Garden in
> Pasadena. They have low level water features with smooth stones to
rub, a
> short tunnel, fragrant herbs to rub, a carnivorous plant section
to watch,
> and a couple of structures made of metal with vines growing over -
a play
> house, a teepee.
>
> Another garden that she loves has tunnels made of saplings tied
together,
> and a tiny "forest" clearing with a kid size picnic table. Also a
stream
> with a bunch of driftwood to climb on. She likes the reflective
spinners in
> the tree branches too.
>
> I suggest visiting some public gardens and children's museums in
your area
> to get ideas.
>
> Robyn L. Coburn
>
> --
> No virus found in this outgoing message.
> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.14.8/215 - Release Date:
12/27/2005
>