If you’ve ever spent time scrolling the internet for stuff to do with kids outdoors, you’ve certainly seen some cute and fun ideas for gardening with kids. Which is great because, in my opinion, the more opportunities kids have to play outside, the better! But gardening with kids can get tricky when the adults have their own agenda and goals for the space. If you find respite and peace by working in and around your garden, why not also plan a space for play that feels welcome and inviting for young children?
Just Add Dinosaurs
There are few reasons why dinosaur play gardens are so successful: they’re simple to build, the play materials can be left out in all seasons, and they engage otherwise reluctant kids in garden play. With those objectives in mind, let’s get started!
The simple addition of dinosaurs can redirect children’s play away from a ‘hands-off’ garden space to an area of the garden specifically designated for imaginative play.
How To Build A Dinosaur Play Garden
Quite simply, a dinosaur play garden can be set up in just about any patch of garden you are happy to have children play in. Some plants are more conducive to dinosaur play, simply because they can withstand a little jostling and have hardy stems and root systems. Plants that meet this criteria and also have a reasonably prehistoric look to them include:
hostas
kale (especially the darkbor variety)
cabbages
fennel
rosemary
and succulents like hens and chicks.
ferns
Related post: How to grow Kale with kids
Got Weeds? Don’t Worry!
An added benefit of dinosaur gardens is they make an awesome excuse for a weedy nightmare you don’t want to deal with. Got a horsetail problem in your garden? Add some dinosaurs and call it a play garden! If you want to enhance the fun with some educational factoids, you can research more about horsetail and how it is the only surviving genus from the Equisetum class of plants, one of the oldest and now extant genera of land plants. Talk about pre-historic!
Dinosaur Play Gardens
The best thing about dinosaur play gardens is that the play can carry on into all seasons. Our dinosaurs make for enjoyable garden play in all seasons and I especially like that I can leave them out in the garden rain or shine or snowy weather. This dragon was a good friend by melting the snow for his dino friends…
Your dinosaur garden can serve as inspiration for other garden play as well. Our dinosaurs often find themselves mingling with the dragons, gnomes and fairies. It’s all good, and eventually they make their way back to their ‘home’ garden. Sometimes dino habitats are built, dino trails are constructed and, of course, cities are built from loose parts to be demolished by rogue dinosaurs. You can also go for a nature walk and find a large stone you like the look of that can be painted as a volcano for enhanced dinosaur garden play.
Related post: How to build a fairy garden in 3 easy steps
Benefits of Unstructured, Outdoor Play
The benefits of unstructured, outdoor play are well established. You can access advocacy resources from the Canadian Public Health Association here. When speaking with parents and teachers about the importance of nature play in healthy child development I frequently reference the evidence which points to a significant decline in unstructured outdoor play over recent decades. More scheduled activities, more screen time, and more adult directed sports are blocking children’s access to unstructured play. Adding a dinosaur play garden to your backyard or school garden offers time and space for child-led play within the structure of a school day.
More Garden Play Ideas
Dinosaur gardens need not be fancy or expensive. They make a nice addition to any backyard or school garden. If you are looking for more ideas on how to build up your outdoor play and learning spaces for hours of imaginative play, I encourage you to read these posts as well: