::: make it irresistible – with a ‘Hush Garden’
Every body needs a Hush Garden! You know the space … it’s quiet and tucked away from the hustle and bustle of busy playground activities like running and chasing and very loud voices.
Well … over in the corner of the yard, through the gate in the paling fence, along side the pirate ship, venturing around behind the platform …
… beneath the coloured flags and under the weeping willow tree …
is where you’ll find ours.
It’s quiet and serene and in the summer the old weeping willow tree gives the most wonderful shade. It’s a place where the children can go to discover things they might miss in the more hectic spaces in the playground.
It’s a great place …
to make new discoveries.
When you look up …
new discoveries!
When you look down …
new discoveries!
When you garden …
new discoveries!
When you play …
new discoveries!
The perfect space …
for play based learning …
::: make it irresistible
The beauty of the Hush Garden is that it recieved a face lift recently with native trees, shrubs, grasses and large rocks so it’s an ongoing project which will evolve over time, sometimes to a plan and other times mysteriously. The mosaic pavers were created by the kinder children a couple of years ago and positioned around our new flowering gum tree. While in 2009 the children decorated the old umbrella with colourful C.D mobiles (their idea) and this year our plan is to invite the children to create a series of painted totem poles to take up position in the garden … unless of course they come up with other ideas of their own!!
Tags: discoveries, flags, garden, quiet space
Oh I love it. Its as wonderful as I thought it would be. I especially love that it is such a natural play space. Lucky kids! thanks for showing me inside – I really wanted to go through that sweet little gate
Jenny
I am impressed with all this useful information. Was WAY more than I expected. I just cannot keep up with your posts. So much information to read about.
You got a really useful blog I have been here reading for about an hour. I am a newbie and your success is very much an inspiration for me.
We are in the process of rebuilding our playground. This is exactly the type of feel that we are trying to instill. We have a wonderful space to work with. It is finding the right professional to help with the initial vision. You have done such an amazing job. Thank you for posting so many wonderful pictures. I would love to be led to even more playground and outdoor classrooms with this feel.
::: Thank you so much Dana it really is a beautiful corner of our playground! I would love for you to look at Jenny’s Blog “Let the Children Play” http://progressiveearlychildhoodeducation.blogspot.com/ as she has some wonderful playgrounds in many of her posts. Also, Juliet for “I’m a teacher, get me OUTSIDE her!” http://creativestarlearning.blogspot.com/ and you might even like to look at “PLAYSCAPES” for some ideas http://playgrounddesigns.blogspot.com/ . We would strongly recommend you have your own vision. Take photos of things you like, draw them on paper get out and look at plants, nurseries are a great place for inspiration because professionals will show you what they like but only you know what you want. Good luck with it!
