Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jun 12, 2007 4:44 pm Hi Everyone
This is a bit of a non-standard topic but it is related to building a house so I thought I would see if anyone could help!! In the house that we are building we will have a large area out the back (approx 8m x 10m) which I want to make the kids play area!!! I have a 2 year old son and am planning to have more kids one day! Now I need some inspiration!!! Anyone got any good ideas to make it a really good play area for the kids...something a bit different? Can any one recommened some good play equipment? I'm not a fan of the good old Hills swing set (sorry!)...have had a look at the Little Tikes and love it though it is very expensive! And one more question what is the best thing to put under play equipment? If I put grass it will probably die because the area will be covered by a shade sail, sand attracts cats & the commercial soft mat stuff in the community playgrounds is very expensive! I was thinking perhaps fake grass?? Any ideas would be appreciated! Thanks Nat Re: Ideas for Kids Playground? 3Jun 12, 2007 5:16 pm This is brilliant - I have one...
http://www.springfreetrampoline.com.au/ Bit expensive - but oh so safe for kids of any size. Worth every penny!!! Disclaimer: I have no interest in, nor do I know any person at Springfree Trampoline. Who I am sure are not members of the AWA. If I write "I" please read "We"! Be good. Re: Ideas for Kids Playground? 4Jun 12, 2007 5:17 pm This is brilliant - I have one...
http://www.springfreetrampoline.com.au/ Bit expensive - but oh so safe for kids of any size. Worth every penny!!! Disclaimer: I have no interest in, nor do I know any person at Springfree Trampoline. Who I am sure are not members of the AWA. If I write "I" please read "We"! Be good. Re: Ideas for Kids Playground? 5Jun 12, 2007 5:18 pm I've seen a really thick layer of fine mulch used around play equipement - its soft and easy if kids fall, but it will break down over time and need to be replaced. Soft fall (the bouncy plastic stuff they put in playgrounds) is fabulous though and I think worth its weight in gold (we have them all around the play grounds in the local school).....
Definately a sunken trampoline - you can even dig it directly into the ground, put some drainage down the bottom to prevent water from pooling down there and some grass to the edges and its great fun (and safer too) This place looks like it sells a heap of fun things http://www.polite.com.au/pgi_html/pgi_sec2.html Fiona Re: Ideas for Kids Playground? 6Jun 13, 2007 4:25 pm Thanks for the ideas
Ed - those spring free tramps are fantastic! I have never seen them before! Fiona - thanks for that link! Did you see the price of some of those playgrounds!!! $20K!!!!! Don't think I can talk my husband into that Re: Ideas for Kids Playground? 7Jun 13, 2007 4:48 pm Ed Perry Disclaimer: I have no interest in, nor do I know any person at Springfree Trampoline. Who I am sure are not members of the AWA. hah hahaha hahaha Re: Ideas for Kids Playground? 8Jun 13, 2007 5:21 pm I've seen bark at a lot of public park playgrounds and it seems to work well, although it can get a bit dusty. Certainly breaks a fall though.
As for equipment, sand pits always seem to be a hit. And it's hard to beat a simple swing, pole, cargo net, and some sort of 'cubby' room, and something else that can be imagined as a car / plane / wagon / tent / spaceship. Anything circular that can move also instantly becomes a steering wheel and also seems ever popular. Big pieces of some offcut material (wood or plastic) and a painted checkerboard surface might be OK, noughts and crosses, an outdoor blackboard, a beam in the ground raised a few centimeters as a balance beam (but placed not to be a trip hazard or head clunker). A long piece of tubing or pipe gives a lot of fun as a telephone. A whole pile of cheap plastic balls deployed every now and then as a frenzied "kick every ball as fast as you can' is a great way to exhaust kids too. Re: Ideas for Kids Playground? 9Jun 13, 2007 7:09 pm perthgirl Thanks for the ideas Ed - those spring free tramps are fantastic! I have never seen them before! Fiona - thanks for that link! Did you see the price of some of those playgrounds!!! $20K!!!!! Don't think I can talk my husband into that You're welcome perthgirl... our 5 year old climbs in and you just zip up the net and away he goes... nothing hard to bump into and he can't fall off and he flies!!! He loves to take a few balls in there and chase them around. We often have 2 kids in at a time (a no-no I know) but they have great fun... we have the larger one. Supports people 100kgs One day I hope to be that Ed If I write "I" please read "We"! Be good. Re: Ideas for Kids Playground? 10Jun 14, 2007 8:01 pm Thanks for this post ... it made me start thinking on what we might put in for our little one (still in utero at the moment and likely to be at least 15 months before we move into our new place).
Some things I've been contemplating: Children love hidey holes and little nooks that they can call their own (this lasts into teenage-hood, when they 'need' a place to smoke!!). In addition to the cubby, some ways of achieving this are to plant fast growing trees that have branches that cascade to the ground, big bushy shrubs that you can get in the middle of or hedges (plant two rows closely so there's a narrow corridor between them ). Try to make sure there are some spaces that a grown-up just won't fit in. Children like adventures ... make some winding paths that go nowhere in particular, especially if they are in and out of adults' views. These can be circular in a small area (though great to have a fork or two). Vary them with different path textures, little grottos, different plants, a couple of 'features' that pop out around corners (maybe your little one can help to make or paint some plaster sculptures). Everyone needs places that are theirs to care for ... allocate a patch where they can grow their own carrots, sunflowers, peas etc. Children's imagination needs to be nurtured ... think about what captured your imagination when you were little and work with that. It's great if kids can safely construct things in their own environment. Consider lightweight blocks or pieces of timber that they can move around to build temporary shelters (etc). Obviously this needs moderate supervision. Some other random thoughts: Whilst children definitely need a place to run round, I'd choose to use my available space for the above - it's easy to walk them to a nearby park & playground for frenetic activity. Obviously things need to be safe and appropriate, but kids don't need things to be glitzy or new. We have a vegie patch now and we'll have an even bigger one in our new garden. We'll also be sharing a chook palace & mini orchard with our neighbours. I like the idea that our child will grow up knowing how food is produced. A tree is still the most fun thing to climb. When our child gets to 7 or 8, we'll be putting some steps on the bottom of the big silky oak at the back of the garden, so they can climb that. My favourite inspiration for our backyard is a children's book called "Islands in My Garden" by Jim Howes. It has simply gorgeous illustrations and really highlights why we need to be putting more thought and effort into making havens, not just for our own kids, but also for others. Good luck with it. e. Re: Ideas for Kids Playground? 11Jun 14, 2007 9:57 pm Cant you buy rubber whihc is actually crush and colored recycled car tyres? I have seen it before around council playgrounds and kinders etc. Must ask Childcare centre when I drop off my neice next time. It is firm, but very spongy. Adrian B Re: Ideas for Kids Playground? 12Jun 15, 2007 10:48 am I love the trampoline, it is exactly what I have been looking for, now if I can just cut $500 off the price......
Also the play equipment is really nice but at $25 000 Ithink we will be visiting the park instead - other kids there anyway. Elisabeth, I like your ideas, same sort of things I was thinking of. Sounds like your kids are going to be some of the lucky ones. I take pride in the fact that my 5yo has milked a cow (I haven't) and knows where everything comes from. No 'milk comes from the supermarket' type answers from my kids. I am going to take on board some of your suggestions. We have established a temporary veggie patch but it was a joint effort, I think this year we will assign a bed to each of our kids for their exclusive use. We have a lot of overhanging bushes and hedges for the kids to hide in and they do. I have been thinking about chooks but wonder if we should let them free range or confine them to a cage? Another thing I want to do is build a tree house. I'll put some steps up the side of a tree and put in the floor frame. The rest will be up to them with some offcuts, nails, a hammer and some imagination. This obviously won't be until they are old enough to use a hammer and nails. Can you tell me more about this book "Islands in My Garden", is it about developing the garden or is it a story book? Another thing I am thinking about is to take a couple of large concrete drain pipes (around 60 to 80cm in diameter) and lay them flat like this: // \\ At the end where they are closest, I will create a little bejeweled cavern. The whole thing will be lightly covered with soil and the kids will then be able to climb through one of the pipes to the cavern to hide from us boring old grownups. (there will of course be emergency access for adults incase of problems). The inside of the cavern will be covered in various semiprecious stones (treasure to kids) which will be backlit with LEDs. May even have some gold and silvercoins embedded in there. (Oh the wonders of gold spray paint). The semiprecious stones are easy enough to find at a stone/mineral collection store - I know of one next door a nursery in SE melb. The area over and around the whole thing will be densley planted with trees, shrubs and ferns. We may even have a very shallow 'stream flowing over the top with a small waterfall which will be visible from inside the cavern via a small hole. Sort of 15cm hole in the cavern with sheet of water on the outside. When you look through the hole, you see the water and can just make out the shapes outside but no one can see you. Anyway, that is my starting point, there is a lot more to do besides but I need to get this done before moving on. 3xb Re: Ideas for Kids Playground? 13Jun 15, 2007 11:10 am Hi 3xb
Oooh, I want to go play in your backyard. they're great ideas. I'll definitely be borrowing them. Islands in My Garden is a children's picture book. Not so much plot, more about the illustrations. Great for the age where kids start to be able to point at pictures ... every page has lots of detail. Children seem to enjoy it, and adults find it quite enchanting. Without wanting to give away the ending, the last page shows why this stuff matters! I guess I like it because it makes me think back to what I loved in my own childhood and strive to ensure that my own child has those opportunities ... especially when they are growing up in a society that's overly obsessed (IMOH) with germs and risk. On the chooks, most folks I know coop them up in a fox-proof pen after dark and let them roam around during the day. That way you get the deslugging benefits as well as the eggs and lovely cluckiness. I think the Jackie French chook book is still regarded as the best one-stop guide to chook raising. Obviously there's also masses of info on-line. Love to see photos of the new play space as it emerges! e. Re: Ideas for Kids Playground? 14Jun 18, 2007 4:05 pm Wow guys thanks for the ideas! You have got me thinking!!
Adrian - love that stuff around the council playgrounds as well...but we have been quoted around $150 sqm for it!!! But I am still thinking it may be a sound investment from a safety perspective! Bathroom renovation will likely include a back-to-corner bath and we’re considering a freestanding tap with hand-held shower such as the picture included. My hesitation… 0 24807 After some ideas on making our patio kid friendly . Currently we have exposed aggregate. The patio faces west and is always in sun even though it has a shade directly… 0 4447 I would say both styles you have pictured are steel. The lower chord of the first pic would be a massive lump if made using timber considering the size of the rafters. If… 1 6321 |