Disclaimer: Plastic can be slippery when wet. Please always stay within arms reach of your children. Children can drown even in the smallest amounts of water; please provide constant supervision.
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Back in May, my friend Stephanie shared this photo from Takoma Park Cooperative Nursery School on her Twodaloo Facebook page. I think she said something along the lines of "isn't this inspiring?" and indeed it was! We were later chatting and it turned out that the photo had inspired both of us to create a pond world for our kids to play in. We decided to team up to show you two versions of pond worlds you can create in your backyard, front yard, or in our case - your driveway!
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Given how much S enjoys playing in her Frog Small World, I thought it would be fun to give this giant pond a frog theme, too. I found these amazing bullfrog models
from Safari Ltd on Amazon and knew they would be just perfect. S helped me set the world up while X napped and she immediately dove right into pretend play.
from Safari Ltd on Amazon and knew they would be just perfect. S helped me set the world up while X napped and she immediately dove right into pretend play.
About 30 minutes into her play, X woke up (unfortunately for me, he's not really into napping) and joined us. He was THRILLED to wake up and be plunked in the middle of a giant frog pond. He kept looking around and exclaiming "Oh wow! Oh wow!" (yes, this is as cute as it sounds!).
He set to work exploring, meeting the frogs, and splashing up a storm. Meanwhile, the plot thickened in S's pretend play scenario. All sorts of pond creatures were in danger, so the "rescue frogs" were deployed on several missions to save their friends! Phew. That monarch butterfly (also from Safari Ltd - from a set we used to learn about butterfly life cycles here) just had a close call with a whirlpool.
Did I mention that Baby X was in heaven in this pond?
THIS is a better approximation of how happy he was. So. Happy.
I figured that Giant Frog Pond would be a hit with the kiddos - but I seriously underestimated their enjoyment. We spent the remainder of the day out in our driveway playing in our pond! Literally hours. Even the baby!
To make your own Frog Pond you just need a tarp of some sort - we used this one.
Our yard is very uneven and mostly sloped, so I opted to create this in our driveway. I taped up the corners of the tarp with packing tape to create the shape of a shallow box. Along the longest stretches of our rectangular tarp, I laid some scrap two by fours to reinforce the edge and hold the water. The thicker the tarp, the less reinforcement you'll need. We loved Giant Frog Pond SO much, in fact, that it inspired another giant world...but you'll have to wait for my Disney/Babble Summer Camp Counselor post to see that one (it will be live July 29th).
Our yard is very uneven and mostly sloped, so I opted to create this in our driveway. I taped up the corners of the tarp with packing tape to create the shape of a shallow box. Along the longest stretches of our rectangular tarp, I laid some scrap two by fours to reinforce the edge and hold the water. The thicker the tarp, the less reinforcement you'll need. We loved Giant Frog Pond SO much, in fact, that it inspired another giant world...but you'll have to wait for my Disney/Babble Summer Camp Counselor post to see that one (it will be live July 29th).
In the meantime, you have got to see the way that Stephanie at Twodaloo created her pond and which pond creatures she chose to include. I love that we both started with the same inspiration, but ended up with two unique ponds!
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All activities here are activities I feel are safe for my own children. As your child's parents/guardians, you will need to decide what you feel is safe for your family. I always encourage contacting your child's pediatrician for guidance if you are not sure about the safety/age appropriateness of an activity. All activities on this blog are intended to be performed with adult supervision. Appropriate and reasonable caution should be used when activities call for the use of materials that could potentially be harmful, such as scissors, or items that could present a choking risk (small items), or a drowning risk (water activities), and with introducing a new food/ingredient to a child (allergies). Observe caution and safety at all times. The author and blog disclaim liability for any damage, mishap, or injury that may occur from engaging in any of these activities on this blog.
I love love love this idea!! My kids are going to love it! I will probably end up using dinosaurs, snakes, and bugs, but it will be just as fun! Thanks for the post, I love it!! Please come link up at the Friday Follow Along. You still have a few days. http://www.leahinspired.com/2013/07/friday-follow-along_11.html
ReplyDeleteThank you, Leah S! I will try to remember to link up when I get a chance! Thank you for the invite.
DeleteThank you so much for giving us a shout out and look at how much fun you are having (plus it is beautiful). Lesley (Takoma Park Cooperative Nursery School).
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lesley! And thank you for sharing so many lovely and inspiring photos of your school children playing!!!
DeleteOk, seriously this is one of the coolest things ever!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jessie!!!! It was so much fun! Just wait until you see the beach!
DeleteCan`t wait to make one of these ponds for my grand kids!! Thanks for the awesome ideas!!!!
DeleteSo awesome, Claudine! Coolest grandparent EVER!!! :)
DeleteSWEAT I did this in my kitchen, because its cold out side as it's February in Mn. I used a kiddy pool and i put blankets all the way around the edges.used tape and cardboard boxes so we could have jungle animals walk up to the water hole. I didn't use much water . I use sand to make ground for the animals to rest,or what ever. as the week went on we may extras. but after each day I had to clean it out, of course .I plan to make a polar bear pool . I plan on using tin foil to make giant ice and so on thanks. for the being of so many ideas. boat day will be fun.!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds SOOO fun!!!!
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