Outdoor Play Area Storage

[Guest terrydoo73]

At present we have a lovely enclosed area beside the door to playgroup surrounded by a fence and the safety matting throughout. It is built on a slight slope and we have decided not to put in bikes or ride-ons as it could be a safety hazard. Since we opened just 3 weeks ago we have noticed the massive amount of play value children have out of what we already have and although want to expand on it feel there is more value in "freebies" and loads of items that cost very little.

 

We have been given a lovely donation of £250 and want to use it on our outdoor play area. We were considering buying the following:

 

 

http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/store...oors%7C16849255

 

 

At present we have a large Little Tikes playframe which consists of slide and connecting tunnel and little house at one end. We also have 2 small picnic tables and have put up 2 laundry baskets with the centre cut out for throwing balls into as well as a small elephant shaped sand tray and round water tray.

 

At present we have the following items:

 

balls in different sizes and colours

hopscotch mat

bean bags and basket

golf balls and golf set

rope length

bowling set with ball

hoops in different sizes and colours

small hand held chalk boards with pavement chalks and ordinary chalks

 

 

We feel that this storage would suit what we already have but would love others opinion!

 

We are thinking once March comes and we move onto the Spring theme/topic of giving each child a small oblong trough to fill with compost and plant some violas, sweetpea and nasturtium - the last 2 grown from seed while the violas will be bought as plants. These can be attached to the windows along one side of the area to add a bit of colour to the whole area and give interest to the children in terms of planting and watering. We will put the compost into the sand tray and add tractors and diggers. In addition to this we are also planning:

 

to put up some saucepans along our fence and give them access to wooden spoons

to have paint rollers and trays to paint the fence (with water!)

to put up some plyboard to be used as an easel

add wheelbarrows, prams and dolls for children to move around the area

have a tuff pot/builders tray for small world play which can be either set on the picnic table or set on the floor

 

We have also been offered a 7x5 wooden playhouse which we are not sure how to utilise yet!

 

Could anyone advise us whether what we are thinking of in terms of storage would be suitable and if there are any more suggestions we could use our money on! We particularly would love to liven up the fence area - perhaps large numbers or posters of some sort??

[dublinbay]

We have two storage units like the one you're thinking of buying only ours are plastic and come from Argos which cost a lot less (got them last year so can't recall how much exactly). When the children empty all the stuff out they use them as dens (they have 2 doors which open out and a lid which lifts up). This is normally supervised tp ensure no one gets closed in who is afraid of the dark and it's been very successful so far.

 

Ours like making washing lines so we have an assortment of pegs with donated socks (pairing/matching), hats and gloves. This is particularly great in the summer when our water tray is outside and children can wash them along with dolls cloths and peg them out on the washing line.

 

Do you have any windows in your area? If so you could add those window washing squeegies (sp) to your painting trays and rollers. Not forgetting ordinary paint brushes (even the decorating ones) for using with all surfces.

 

We have a railing surrounding our small playground too and have attached some plastic fencing (garden centre) and supplied lots of ribbon and string so the children can weave through it.

 

If you box all your resources up they should be safe and secure in your storage areas. We also keep a box of musical instruments, tools for construction, a selection of guttering and drainpipes and out large wooden blocks and planks (and thats only in one cupboard!!)

 

Good luck and I'm sure other people will have a lot more ideas to pass on.

[Guest]

we have had metal items before and never again! they are not as sturdy

 

we have a small shed that the childrens toys etc are in and they access it themselves, also using as a play house.

 

prob wound not take up more floor space

[Guest]

We have 3 sheds so we are big storage users as we have nowhere to store inside. I'm a big fan of getting local carpenters involved in these projects. With sheds you can also add hooks/shelves and store stuff up high.

 

Our local odd job guy did us lovely set of sturdy shelves inside one of our sheds. A parent is currently doing us a quote to build a set of wooden storage bin things for our ride on toys.

 

I know that's not really what you asked, but it is worth if possible getting away from mass produced and asking whether someone locally can custom build. Often it is much sturdier and ends up cheaper in the long term.