Although I look back at the years we spent in London with great fondness, I love that we have access to so much green space in Surrey. It’s the best environment for five year old POD who has grown-up loving nature’s playground – especially climbing every tree in sight! But that’s not always the case with a new study from Homebase revealing 51% of children will spend most of their summer holidays playing computer games or watching television.
With 37% of parents worrying about their children having too much screen time, Homebase is encouraging kids to embrace imaginative play outside with their brilliant “Room to Grow” campaign. It’s focused on finding an outdoor space at home that inspires children to get messy, discover nature and experiment with gardening, giving them flexibility to explore their creativity.
Homebase has teamed up with the super cool Skinny Jean Gardeners, regulars on CBBC’s Blue Peter, to demonstrate how much fun there is to be had outdoors regardless of the available space. Dale and Lee have loads of brilliant ideas too from building a runner bean teepee to decorating flower pots or making a fruity bird feeder. POD especially loves planting seeds which is another way to keep children occupied and get them out in the fresh air.
Homebase will be doing demonstrations at a number of its stores showing some of the outdoor projects you can get involved with. Step-by-step instructions for all the projects are also on their website. For now though, here are some top tips from the Skinny Jean Gardeners to get kids excited about being outside.
Make outdoor play part of their every day. Even if it’s just ten minutes, make sure you get them out in the fresh air whatever the weather. Make blowing away the cobwebs the norm, get them running round or doing an activity. POD mentioned recently she loves it when it rains as she can catch raindrops with her tongue – how great it that! She has screen time just like everyone else but it’s about getting the balance right.
Build a den. Building dens is a lot of fun and you don’t need much to create one either. You can use sticks, leaves, an old broom handle, a blanket or a sheet plus whatever else you can find. It’s a great way to teach kids to be resourceful, problem-solve and be creative.
Get them interested in gardening. It’s a brilliant way to get kids interested in nature. POD planted her first seeds around the age of two. Although her weeding and digging skills were somewhat limited at that stage she loved watering her sunflowers which grew to a great height. It’s a good idea to Make it quick, keep them interested by planting things that grow fast like beetroot, potatoes and peas which can also be picked when they are young.
Transform old wellies into garden pots! Yes really! They can make a quirky garden pot once an adult has drilled holes in the bottom. All you need to do is fill them with compost, plant your seeds and wait for them to grow. If you don’t have old wellies, look at other containers you can upcycle. Even watering cans make for great displays.
Hunt for slugs and bugs. POD always gets really excited when we spot worms, slugs or snails – it’s a great way to learn about nature. If the garden is dry you can turn over any rock, log or stone and find bugs to look at. Create wild art. Getting creative in the garden is so easy whether you’re decorating pots, painting with twigs and leaves or in POD’s case her own body. I wish I could find some photos to share with you! You could also craft a mud monster too – just make the face out of mud, decorating it with moss, bark, acorns and anything else you can find.
Let them climb trees. Despite giving the appearance she’s a girly girl, POD loves to climb trees! Having started climbing before she could walk, these days she goes higher although her jumping is more controlled! It’s one of her favourite things to do and always top of the list when we’re out exploring. It’s a great way to discover nature, build self-confidence and assess risk too. Get tweeting. No not that kind of tweeting – we’re talking birdwatching! It’s a really simple thing to do, you just need a bird friendly space to hang feeders on and plant bird-friendly plants. If you give them food, they’ll come, you just have to be patient.
Give them room to grow. Once they’re outdoors, try not to tell them what to do too much. We’re all guilt of this but children need their own independence. They’re great at entertaining themselves too so just let them get dirty and have their own adventures! As the Skinny’s say in this super fun film “Don’t be a glass-eyed zombie this summer!”. So get your kids outside, give them room to grow this summer and have lots of fun while you’re at it!
Summer is such a fun time for the kids. I like that there is not a lot of structure and you can stay in your PJs until dinner!