How To Get Kids Back To Nature In Your Own Backyard

We all know that getting out into nature is an important part of family bonding but it’s not always possible.

A recent survey by Nature’s Own confirms this, showing that despite 4 in 5 families considering nature and garden related activities such as planting, playing in the backyard, as important for family bonding, most of our time is spent indoors and away from nature – largely in part to blame due to our busy lifestyles.

Casey Patch, mum of three, knows this juggle well. The former early childhood educator is now a passionate advocate for getting kids out into nature to improve imagination, communication, fine motor skills, and getting involved in exploring the world around them. This passion has now culminated itself in business form – Little Lifelong Learners.

We spoke to Casey to find out her favourite tips on getting her kids into nature, and ways we can get our kids to balance their indoor and outdoor time.

How did you set up your outdoor play space and why?

We knew we wanted our children to spend lots of time outside in the fresh air so when we found a lovely little suburban home with a big backyard, we knew we were onto a winner! Below are a list of spaces and kinds of play our three young children enjoy the most.

1. Mud kitchens and imaginative play

Our kids love imaginative play, and are often immersed for hours. Their favourite is the mud kitchen. Ours is stocked with old utensils, pots, pans, and cupcake trays that we no longer use, and the children find leaves, rocks, feathers, gumnuts, and plenty more from the yard to add to their play. If you don’t have the space for a larger kitchen, a small variety of containers and a few utensils will also help facilitate hours of imaginative play.

2. Sensory play

The backyard is so rich with sensory play opportunities. Ways to introduce sensory play include experimenting with new textures such as mud, play dough, sand, bark, and grass for example. At home we like to elevate our sensory play by dying these materials different colours for more variety.

3. Physical obstacles

Our kids need space to move to get those wriggles out! Having space where your children can run, jump, hop and spin is so incredibly important. We introduced a bunch of obstacle sets in our yard which the kids use all the time. During lockdown, we used these almost every day. Play is how our children make sense of the world. There are endless toys and materials available, but it’s important to keep in mind that play doesn’t have to be fancy, and it doesn’t have to be expensive.

How do you balance screen time with spending time outdoors?

Screen time is a really important conversation to have. There’s no denying that children are drawn to screens like a moth to a flame. When our little people spend too much time being entertained by screens, they lose opportunities to engage in active play or socially interact with siblings or parents.

To balance screentime and nature play, we use toy rotation to encourage play. A purposeful play space is simply a space that invites our little learners to play. We want them to be able to direct their own play with confidence.

Do the kids have open-ended, free play outside or do you also provide structured activities and why?

Regardless of indoor or outdoor play, we use play schemas to observe our children and provide invitations that will capture their interests and support their development.

These patterns of repetitive behaviours are called schemas and they allow children to express and explore their ideas through play and help form their most basic scientific understandings.

This kind of play connects previous understandings with new information, filling gaps in their knowledge all through child-led play!

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29 Comments

- - KellyB said
  - 13 Jun 2022
    7:01 pm
We just spent most of the afternoon outside. One of my kids could potter around outside all day doing who knows what!

- - mom321189 said
  - 10 Jun 2022
    8:20 am
Indoor and outdoor play is very important to a growing child as it tickles their mind and learn things on their own. I feel sorry for kids with parents who brings and buys tablets to keep the child entertain while they are out shopping. We do not have these kinds of toys back in the 80’s!

- - kikidaz12 said
  - 08 Jun 2022
    9:46 pm
good old fashioned fun.

Cant wait til winter is over and i will be pushing more outside fun

- - kikidaz12 said
  - 08 Jun 2022
    9:45 pm
good old fashioned fun,

Once winter is over im going to be pushing more outside fun in this household.

- - mom450003 said
  - 05 Jun 2022
    9:28 pm
great article and great ideas

- - Bitsnbobs said
  - 03 Jun 2022
    7:29 am
There are some great ideas here for adding some more outdoor play options at the school I work in.

- - HelenP5 said
  - 02 Jun 2022
    8:46 pm
Love this. I am currently working in a bush kinder & we try to make as many of our activities nature related as we can.

- - mom160289 said
  - 02 Jun 2022
    8:08 pm
Currently fixing up outside area for this exact reason. Kids definitely need to get outside again

- - My Littlebuttons said
  - 01 Jun 2022
    1:47 pm
I love seeing and hearing children playing outside my children when they were smaller had there own little garden to look after

- - Mumoftwo said
  - 30 May 2022
    8:06 pm
My children love the outdoors but I also love this article to give me a few more ideas.
- mom466087 replied
  
  31 May 2022 , 4:16 pm
  I agree. We usually do lots of things outdoor, but there is always new things to explore! Great article
- - Jessica said
  - 28 May 2022
    4:35 pm
My daughter loves playing outside, these are great ideas!

- - romvar said
  - 26 May 2022
    1:36 pm
Outdoors is the best place for kids to play and explore. And the best part is they can make as much mess as they like!
- mom466087 replied
  
  26 May 2022 , 3:35 pm
  so true!! I don’t mind mess inside, but I always make sure I clean up sparkly clean afterwards. If it is outside I just leave it haha
- - Forgetful Mumma said
  - 26 May 2022
    12:07 am
This is all great, if you have the space to set up all this stuff!
We take our kids for picnics and then explore a new area each time. Nothing beats floating sticks and bits of bark down a river or stream

- - BellaB said
  - 25 May 2022
    6:39 pm
This is ideal, I agree, but the problem is that I’m not very outdoorsy and that really shows when I’m trying to play with the kids.

- - mom466557 said
  - 25 May 2022
    9:42 am
I absolutely love this. Much harder during winter but outdoor play is a favourite in summer
- mom466087 replied
  
  25 May 2022 , 9:16 pm
  Yes and some activities as planting won’t progress well in winter
- - sharna_booth_weinrowski said
  - 25 May 2022
    8:47 am
Covid has made our family explore the great outdoors
What fantastic ideas!

- - cassy26 said
  - 25 May 2022
    8:36 am
My kids have all loved being outside. My youngest has a sand/water table that she loves to play with. We don’t have a big backyard but we do have a lot of parks close by so we make the most of those.

- - TraceyGail said
  - 25 May 2022
    8:01 am
Our grandkids love the garden. They like collecting seeds, like marigolds and poppies, and spreading them around. They love watering the garden and watching the visitors to the birdbath. All kids need a garden to play in.

- - Ellen said
  - 25 May 2022
    7:46 am
Awesome, I love it and I’m sure my youngest would love it too !
- Ellen replied
  
  29 May 2022 , 4:28 am
  She loves outdoor play especially when it’s muddy and raining
- - mom265671 said
  - 24 May 2022
    11:49 pm
Great idea to get kids outdoors and into nature