The play space suddenly expands in the spring time with the chance to play outdoors. We're lucky to have an enclosed back garden, at almost four and six years old, Little L and Miss K can come and go as they please and are old enough now to have unsupervised outdoor play.
Independent play is such a beautiful opportunity to create your child's inner-dialogue, moving and encouraging their independent play outdoors can open up brand new sensory experiences for a child. Being able to breathe in fresh air, feeling damp grass, brushing the different textures of leaves with their finger tips, experiencing the feeling of wide, open spaces.
In our home, now springtime is here, there is always a little pile of boots and coats next to the back door. This makes the transition between indoor and outdoor play so much simplier. For Little L it encourages her to practise her own everyday skills like finding the right boot for the right foot and pulling on her own coat, all perfect for building self-esteem. I can't wait for the warmer weather, it will be so nice to leave the back door wide open to create a real free-flow feeling between indoors and out.
I try and not comment on or complain about muddy clothes. They can always be washed. If they're happiest tramping around the garden in princess clothes or pretty party dresses, I don't ask them to change into something else, as it can interrupt the flow of their natural play, their dreaming. I simply leave them to it.
Simple things like little stainless steel containers, small buckets, trowels and water in a small spray bottle keep them happy outdoors. You can check out their mud kitchen here. Miss K and Little L like to fill the buckets with twigs, grass, soil, stones and flowers they come across in their play.
