Backyard Adventures

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Summer Projects

Backyard Adventures Building a sandpit, water table, and simple toys can provide years of adventure... and a little peace and quiet around the house.

The swamp maples are showing a hint of fall color, but summer is still very much with us, and the outdoors is warm, spring-bug free, and perfect for outdoor play. But over the bleating of the TV in the family room comes a petulant "Mommeeeee, whaaaaat can I doooooo?"—a sure sign that school vacation is winding down. If the kids are small, you find yourself barking, "Time Out!" more often than you like. If you've a preteen, anything but a day of mall-crawling is "Borrr-ing!" Everyone in the family is anxious for school to start—children too, even if they won't admit it—but there are still weeks of freedom for them to endure ...for you all to endure.

What say you off "Barney" or "Hollywood 9-0-whatever-0," herd the kids outside, and all of you get to work building a sand pit (or sandbox) big enough for serious excavating and a waterplay table shallow enough to be safe for toddlers but guaranteed to keep all ages intrigued, wet, and cool through the dog days. Plus an assortment of sand-building blocks and simple wheeled toys that are easy to make and plenty sturdy but no great loss if left out in the rain or under snow all winter. Together, they offer much of the fun of a trip to the shore.

An adult must do all the power-tool work, of course; but let the kids help dig the sand pit, measure and hand-saw wood, hammer, and paint. Give kids a series of small jobs they can complete success fully ...even if it does take twice as long—or perhaps because it does. Make the projects family fun rather than work. It's still vacation, remember?

OUR SAND PIT

The best-used outdoor "toy" I ever made for our kids and their little pals was the sand pit—about a cubic yard (29 cubic feet or 50 buckets) of sand dumped into a 1 1/2' deep, 3' x 4' oblong hole dug in the lawn of the side yard. Singly or two to four at a time, the children would spend hours there, building roads and caverns and hideouts. Without much squabbling either; sand play is physically active but focused. There were plenty of Tonkas and homemade sand scrapers, scoopers, haulers, and building blocks to go around. Plus, this was when Star Wars first came out, and model Sand People were right at home stalking R2D2 and 3CPO through the minidunes.

Now that the children are college age, the pit has gone back to lawn and you'd never know it existed. But under the sod, between the quince bush and big apple tree, is a wedge of well-broken-in sand waiting to be uncovered and topped up for grandchildren, if and when. They'll find a small fortune in lost Star Wars figurines buried there if they dig deep enough.

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