Parents love having to tell their kids, “Go out and play!” about as much as little kids love sarcasm. But getting kids to get outside is easy when the play space they’re racing to is full of fun and interactive possibilities.

Child development experts have long known the benefits of a yard full of moveable parts and loose play pieces. Not only do children prefer this type of yard, but it also encourages their creativity and sharpens their problem solving skills. Children are able to learn all kinds of things when they are free to manipulate details and experiment with a variety of materials.

Think about giving your children just the framework of a yard, with features that will excite their imaginations and invite interaction:

• Build a playhouse (or pitch a tent) that can become a school, restaurant, gingerbread house or gas station.
• Give the kids a sandbox where cakes and pies will be created one day and magic potions the next.
• Install a zip line.
• Hang a tire swing in the backyard.
• Use chalkboard paint on an external wall to create a space for murals, theater backdrops, pretend school lessons and more.
• Provide paths to follow and plants to hide behind, places for active play and cozy corners for quietly reading a book or coloring.

Give your child choices and the freedom to move stuff around. If you already have a climbing structure (maybe one they’ve grown bored with), see what happens when you cover one side with a blanket and create a fort, or add “loose parts,” including natural materials (such as sand, water, leaves, sticks, and rocks), reusable items (like boxes, plastic containers, tires, sponges, buckets, cups, brushes, blankets, and pieces of wood), and toys (trikes, wagons, dolls, trucks, sand toys, or dress-up clothes).

Sound messy? Relax! There are easy ways to store all this stuff, so your yard won’t look like Hurricane Elmo hit it. Colorful plastic tubs can store the little things, and strategic planting can provide a screen for you to store kid stuff behind when you entertain.

We Recommend
Sunset Books’ recently released Backyards for Kids by Ziba Kashef has beautiful pictures and great instructions for creating wonder-filled, moveable play spaces.