Schooling in the yard

[keptwoman]

We have a small backyard, it consists of a large paved area covered with a roof, a small grass yard (1/2 the size of a tennis court probably) which has a trampoline on it and is gradually being swallowed up into vegetable garden, and about the same again covered in native plants aka jungle. We are about to pull down the jungle and fence it in, and replant some but not all.

I want to make the yard more homeschool friendly by creating areas that the kids want to use, for instance a nice hammock in the shade of a tree but perhaps somewhere to sit out when it's nice and do desk work.

 

What kinds of outside areas do you have that the children utilise well? What would you put in the yard?

[lollie010]

We just purchased a fold up rectangular table to use for outdoor school. I had wanted a picnic table, but realized that the surface would be hard to write on. I love the fold-up because it is easy to move so that we can follow the shade around. It is also easy to wipe down after art or science projects. I have a dry erase easel that is portable--we use this for math and phonics. They like to take their lapdesks to the fort section on their swingset. We spend half of our day outside and get a lot done.

[Karen in CO]

We are planning a pond for this summer - not a fancy one with a fountain, but one we can put tadpoles and algae and specimens for under our microscope - yeah gross but we love that. The plan is to create our own pond ecosystem. We also have swings. The girls love to swing; I want to put in a taller swing so that I can join them. We have a wild and overgrown garden area that isn't big, but it does have little paths in it and they love to walk in it. We've been experimenting with growing different types of flowers to attract hummingbirds and butterflies. They have a small, playhouse area that is under the deck complete with a table and outdoor carpeting. We have fruit trees and berry bushes. We also have a great big porch swing under a tree where we spend most of the summer enjoying watching clouds go by. We waste considerable amounts of water during the summer letting the kids water our trees by building rivers. My neighbors have a concrete path around the perimeter of their yard that their kids ride their bikes and sake on.

 

I used to think that we needed a big grassy area for an inviting yard, but the kids love the nooks and secret places in the yard the best which is why part of the grass is becoming a pond this year and another part is joining the veggie garden.

[keptwoman]

Laurel, a fold up table is a great idea :)

Karen, we have a pond, in fact just this minute I've come in from being knee deep in it trying to figure out why on earth the pump isn't keeping it clear. A pond seemed such an inviting idea, but UG the maintenance! I do like it though, we like to sit out and watch the fish while we have our morning coffee. Thank you for reminding me about the nooks and secret places, you are right, that is what seems most popular.

Tbog: funny you should say that, it's a popular spot!

[ElizabethB]

Our last house came with a trampoline. We did school on the trampoline a few times, my daughter thought that was great!

 

(No bouncing while schooling, just sitting on the trampoline and doing school.)

[Chris in VA]

Dd has a tree house with a swing under it, and we have a hammock. When she was little, we had an easel and a kid's plastic picnic table. We also have a patio set that rarely gets used...

Unfortunately, it's too buggy once the weather gets warmed up, for us to spend a ton of time outside--that's living in the woods for you. :tongue_smilie:

[FaithManor]

We had a deck at out old house that faced the largest portion of our yard. A beautiful cherry tree was close by and we had lots of birds. It was very nice. When the children were smaller, I kept Litlle Tikes Picnic tables out there and during good weather, we would school outside. The deck was just off the breakfast nook and kitchen in our house so it was convenient for getting snacks and such. I kept a crate on a table just inside the door for our books and papers.

 

In our new place, we don't have that. We have had so much remodeling work that DH didn't have time to pour the patio. But, we do have a picnic table and quite often I send them outside to work on assignments that they can complete without me being "right there". I think our neighbors think of this as "odd".

 

Ideally, I would like more flower beds and birdfeeders. Two of my boys are very interested in birds so I would like to encourage more varieties so that they have the pleasure of looking up from their books and seeing something exciting. Our show ducks are outside as well so now that winter is over, I am sure the kids will interrupt what they are doing to play with duckies.

 

I'd also like a patio awning with see-through sides to help block the wind. That's one thing that can make it difficult to work at the picnic table - the breezes constantly blowing pages. The awning would help keep the sun's glare off glossy pages. Sometimes that glare is kind of blinding. Occasionally in the spring, I see kids doing school work with sunglasses.

 

I'd also consider keeping a cooler outside with ice and water bottles that are basically, spill proof. It seems like the boys drink far more water when outside than inside. I would eventually really covet a small little fish pond with a water fall. I don't want anything big because we intend on doing so much gardening and planting more fruit trees. But, I think this would be quite relaxing for them to be around. Though, I wonder if the neighbor's cat would stay out of it!

 

Faith

[Punks in Ontario]

Man, I'd love to school outside! However, no one seems to pay much attention to actual work when we're there. And there always seems to be just enough breeze that loose papers are a nightmare.

[mammaruss]

We have a bridge over our pond--that is ds FAVORITE place to sit--when it is warm. All the snow/ice is melting and we can now see water!! It is in the high 40's here today--hopefully it will be that warm or warmer tomorrow so we can sit on the bridge and do school!

[HRAAB]

We have a couple lovely, old, big trees that we like to spread a blanket under and do schoolwork there. The girls bring their lap desks and mom needs a beach type chair for her old back, but we just love working out there. On top of the trampoline, too, like another poster said. We had a hammock, until it broke :sad:, that my girls loved to use while reading. Once the weather is nice, we hate being indoors.

[In The Great White North]

I dont know, but right smack dab in the middle of that trampoline sounds like an awfully comfy place to do schoolwork to me. :)

 

Dc certainly found it so.

 

It's also great for memory work while bouncing (ie. multiplication tables and foreign languages)

[Baseball mom]

We usually school on the porch when it is nice. We have a table for "book work". Some nice chairs for reading and oral work.

 

Also they do "tree school". Sometimes they will sit in the tree and I sit in a lawn chair underneath to do reading or oral work. They have taken their workbooks into the tree and done their math. Not always the neatest work but if they do it correctly I am fine with a little messy.

[keptwoman]

I'm so envious of those of you with nice trees, we have a couple of trees but they are not the sit under, sit in or swing on type :( A few houses back we had heaps of big trees and they really do encourage the children outside.