Earlier this month, I shared some of the summer backyard play spaces we’re planning. Today I’m ready to unveil the first of these spaces, our nature play station.
How it’s made:
I took a couple of unused wood planks we had lying around the backyard and placed them across some tree stumps we inherited last fall. The result is a shelving unit that makes for a perfect nature play station. I positioned the unit against a side wall in our yard for added support. Best part? Free.
How it’s used for nature play:
This is a one-stop shop for our nature play tools. I gathered like items together in pails and baskets we already had so the items could easily be grabbed and taken to another area of the yard as needed. Here’s what we have so far:
- Top shelf: Sand molds, plastic animals & cars, a basket of sticks
- Middle shelf: Pail of rocks, bucket of sand/dirt tools (shovels, sieves & the like)
- Bottom (ground) level: Basket with more sand molds & a basket of bubbles
Alongside the unit, there’s also a former planter holding pine cones and our kids-sized wheelbarrow, which houses our larger plastic shovels.
What the kids think:
It’s nice having everything in one place – and all within easy reach for the kids. The Explorers are still getting used to the set up, but like seeing all of their “goodies” in one spot. They’d like to add a few more items, like their bug containers and magnifying glasses, so I consider it a work in progress.
For what it’s worth, I like that I found a cool, shaded place for their things – an invaluable feature as temperatures rise. It’s also conveniently located alongside two more of our backyard play spaces, the sand play area and water zone. More on both soon enough.
Thanks for stopping by! We have gone camping in our backyard (and beyond). I suspect we'll be doing more of that this summer, too.
This is really fun! Instead of letting kids in front of the computer, this is way more beneficial and adventurous for them. Do you also do backyard camping?
Ahhh … thanks – glad you found it helpful. Looks like you have a wonderful summer of adventures of ahead of you!
YEA! Love ideas WITH pictures 🙂 Thanks so much – we're going to put this yard we have to good use this summer (it's the first time we have had a YARD! :)) Another great post from you, Debi!
Yes … but would you believe I still have more stumps! Thinking of creating a little campfire circle around our portable campfire pit … 🙂
Thanks, Jean. Hoping the kids put it to good use this summer.
Hi Mary! I love that since the entire unit is mobile, you can switch it up as needed. Love the idea of turning it into a planter shelf some day. 🙂
Perfect! and a use for the stumps 🙂
Sounds like fun! All that good play stuff together would delight kids to no end! 🙂
This is such a great idea, Debi! I love the tree stump shelves and all the containers for organization. We have one of those stump shelves currently being used for cacti plants but I may need to rethink that. Thanks for this!
Thanks … I'm all about "no tools" required projects! 🙂
A mom can dream! 🙂 Actually, we keep our indoor space organized in a similar fashion (like items with like items), so I'm hoping they'll get it.
Actually, I think there's quite a bit of charm to your approach! 🙂
Thanks, Dawn!
I love the homemade shelves w/ stump/ log pieces. Nice work!
Will your boys help to keep all the stuff organized?
Love it! So much better than the toys strewn all over the yard approach that we use.
That is awesome!