We own a sandbox, which my children occasionally play with. Dirt, they play with nearly every day! Under our Japanese Maple tree was their favorite spot, until I put down some mulch. Now they are searching for a new favorite dirt-digging spot.
Sand is a neat sensory experience, but I don’t blame them for preferring dirt. In the dirt, you can find bugs, make proper mud, and even dig up tree roots (hence the mulch).
What are your kids learning about – whether you intended them to or not?
MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
The (enormous) dirt pile at the farm we volunteer at is the most popular place for all the kids. The nice thing about sand is that you can pour it… I’ve been contemplating setting up an outdoor play kitchen for the girls, and lamenting that we really didn’t have sand for pouring. Maybe I should just put out a pile of dirt and call that good enough though. Mmm. dirt. I left one of our garden beds empty for them to dig in, but when we got back from vacation it was mysteriously full of cherry tomatoes and beans? LOL.
That is awesome that it mysteriously grew cherry tomatoes and beans!
Have you ever read Last Child In The Woods? One of his suggestions is to get a truckload of dirt delivered to your yard (sigh) and let the kids play in it!
That sounds fun! Wonder where I can find a truckload of dirt…
That is a great picture! We’re all mulched here, but I look forward to digging in the dirt with my kids when we get our garden started!
Thanks! I know mulching is better for the tree, but I felt bad about doing it, they love their dirt so much. I need to help them find somewhere else nice and shady to dig!
My kids love love love mud and dirt…and all that comes with it!
My kids prefer dirt too. They build tunnels and love to run the hose so the water goes through the tunnels. Oh, to be a kid again!
I always love seeing the picture of three of your kids together engrossed in some activity. Dirt is popular here too, but we don’t have much of it – our backyard is small and by now mulched everywhere where packed dirt used to be.
My kids have turned the area under their swingset into quite the mud pit. They love to play there, that’s the main place I find them when they go to play outside.