Flickr – Mrdonduck
Childhood is such a wonderful adventure. Anything is possible and everything is to be believed. Children live in a magical world where giants, monsters and fairies exist, culminating in something that you only wish you could bottle up for yourself; a sense of adventure that cannot be bought.
you have a garden, this can be transformed to help their imaginations develop as they use anything and everything as props in their magical world to help their gameplay. Trees can become bases as a safe-place to hide, bushes and shrubs can turn into houses and hideaways and anything inbetween can be imagined to be whatever takes their fancy. It’s not to be laughed at or ridiculed, as this sense of imagination is an essential part of their development. It’s hard sometimes to step into their world and fully appreciate what’s going on at their level, but there are some ways that you can get involved if you can dedicate the time – it’s definitely worth it!
Firstly, gather some twigs, moss and leaves to put towards making a Fairy Door. Fairy Doors are exactly what they sound like – doors which lead into where fairies would live. It could be an entrance to kingdom or a realm, or anything you and your child want it to be. Let their imagination run wild as you choose what colour to paint it, decide where to place it and even how to decorate the outside of it – you could even add a doormat!
You could consider making a den between shrubs or any furniture in the garden that you have, or even improvising with it. Rattan Garden Furniture makes a great base for a castle or a fort, and is also convenient for them to sit down on when they need a break from being a Medieval King or Queen. Spare sheets make for brilliant covers and roofs, and can also be turned into a cape or makeshift outfit should it be needed. There’s a lot to make use of in the garden – let your child lead you and don’t dismiss any of their ideas! They could be onto something.
Get in touch with nature and make a tiny pond. It doesn’t have to be huge; it can be made with a washing-up bowl or even a shallow dish. Place any rocks that you find together at the bottom and fill up with water. Pick some good water-based plants up from your local garden centre or nursery, place them into the bowl and decorate as you wish. Some fun things to put in are glass pebbles, figurines on the sides and floating ornaments. Dig it into a hole and sit and watch for what creatures decide to make your creation their home!
You could even sit and make some nature-inspired danglies to hang from trees and anywhere else they can be attached to. You only need string, leaves and whatever else can be found in and around the garden to create a masterpiece; simply thread them all onto the string, tying the occasional knot to break it up, and carefully hang it. Remember to take lots of pictures whilst doing any of this … these are memories which need to be saved and shown to them later on – only a tiny memento of the fun that you created.
