I am such a dolt! We had a bean teepee - I just didn't know it could be used for play! Or that it even had a name! My boys and I built one to promote the vining of the beans. Seriously, these little guys worked their tails off building it! DS, then 7, chopped the limbs to length with his hatchet and was so proud of himself. We worked for a full afternoon guiding the little shoots up the teepee.....no wonder I kept finding the boys inside once it was a full blown bean encased hideaway. And I got cross with them. And told them to stay out of it. They were gorging on my beans. Looking back I can't believe I reacted in such a way! What a magical little 'fort' it must have been. My poor guys, we'll rebuild next season and I'll give them full access.
Mommarrific- I love the outdoor kitchen idea - I'm definately going to do that for my own and my daycare kids, we could use our skating bench as a platform. They would love it!
One thing my kids have always loved is rope. Lots of rope. They can tow things, swing from it, hang things, drag things, etc. (and back in their teething days it doubled as a useful teething tool and an interesting toy) Our kids loved our salty oily dock lines, they were nice and thick, could be pulled taut to swing and hang off of and apparently they tasted good : )
Garden trowels are great for digging, as well as 2 x 4's for balancing.
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