On a whim one afternoon while shopping at Walmart, I decided to purchase a trampoline for our backyard, and it has been one of the best parenting decisions I have ever made! We are entering the third year of owning this trampoline, and I don’t think we’ve gone one day playing outside without using it. All five kids love jumping together, and it’s even good exercise for Scott and I when we jump on it with them.
Jumping on the Trampoline
Purchasing a Trampoline
We got ours on sale at Walmart, and it was almost half off, so I would be on the lookout for a deal like that. Some of the Walmart reviews are terrible, but we haven’t had any serious issues. I have seen some trampolines online that have the net on the outside of the springs, and I’m not sure what the advantages would be, but it doesn’t seem very safe in my opinion. I recommend purchasing the type that has the net on the inside of the springs like this. We have the 14 foot option and really like it, but you could get a 12 foot option as well.
This 7 foot hexagon trampoline might be a better idea if you have smaller children, or this little indoor trampoline with a handle (that also collapses into a ball pit) might be more up your alley especially if you have a toddler.
If you have little ones, I highly recommend getting a little step stool so they can get in and out easily. Our kids also like jumping with huge balls. I usually buy the cheap ones from the dollar store and they all eventually pop, but this exercise ball would make a far more durable option.
Jack Using the Stepping Stool to Get on the Trampoline
Setting Up the Trampoline
Wow, this took a lot of trial and error because the instructions were horrible, but after taking it apart and setting it up a couple times because of the move, I think we’ve finally figured it out. Well, at least I thought so until I just watched this tutorial on how to set up a trampoline! So rather than me telling you everything not to do, please watch this very helpful 6 minute video. The trickiest part is putting together the part you jump on, so at least skip to that part.
Safety
I have heard many horrific tales of broken bones and other terrible trampoline injuries, but besides the occasional bump or bruise, we’ve had nothing serious even though seven of us jump regularly together. None of us do flips or anything, but we do try jumping really high and play a variety of games that involve physical contact. We have a few rules that help with safety.
Close the Opening: The number one rule we have is to zip the entryway closed when everyone is jumping. I remember one time Scott and I were jumping with Julian, and Scott gave him a super bounce which launched him right out of the little opening and onto the ground. Thank goodness he was okay!
Stop Jumping: Whenever someone new comes into the trampoline, everyone must stop jumping until they are in and the door is closed.
No Shoes: We let Jack, who is 3 years old, wear his shoes because he’s so little, but everyone else has to wear socks or go barefoot. When it’s really cold outside, many of them choose to wear double socks.
In Case of an Injury: If somebody gets hurt and especially if someone is crying (I will warn you, this happens just about every time they jump.), everyone must stop jumping and someone must go over to the injured person and say, “Are you okay?” and then try to make them feel better. No one can jump again until the person is done crying.
Wrestling with Daddy on the Trampoline
Favorite Trampoline Games
It truly blows me away that they still enjoy jumping on the trampoline every single day. Their imaginations are incredible, and they are constantly making up new games to play. Here are some of their favorites.
Knee Pull Game: One person jumps on their knees in the center of the trampoline while everyone jumps around them. The person on their knees tries to pull everyone down. Once they pull you down, you stay down until there’s only one person left, and that person gets to be in the center.
Spider Tag: One person closes their eyes and walks around trying to tag people. Once you’re tagged you sit down until only one person remains, and then they are the spider. Elliot said his favorite thing to do during this game is to stretch his arms out and spin around in a circle going around the inside of the net.
Ball Fighting: The kids said I shouldn’t share this one because it’s too dangerous, but basically they put one giant ball on the trampoline and everyone wrestles and fights to get the ball. I’ve also seen them all sit on balls and bounce.
Simon Says: Someone starts off as Simon and directs everyone to do certain a action for example, “Simon says do a booty-bounce” (which is where you bounce on your butt and then immediately pop up to your feet again). This repeats until the person doesn’t say “Simon says” before the action. If someone does the action we say, “Simon didn’t say!” and then that person is the next Simon.
Static Tag: Wear socks and rub your feet on the trampoline, run in a circle, and try to zap people!
Jumping with Balls
In Conclusion
We’ve been currently trapped inside due to the horrible weather and confined to our homes due to the Covid-19 quarantine, but I’m happy to say that we may be stir crazy, but we are definitely not bored! I’m so glad that the kids have a way to get their energy out when they play in our backyard, and it is truly the best money we could have spent to entertain our children. I know the weather is crummy, but spring and summer are truly right around the corner and what better way to enjoy it than with your very own trampoline. I share many more ideas for entertaining your children in your backyard this summer here, including how to set up your own stock tank pool! If you’re going to be stuck at home, you might as well enjoy it!
https://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/why-every-family-should-have-a-trampoline.png400810Stacey Maaserhttps://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/EM_Logo.pngStacey Maaser2020-04-22 14:23:432022-10-12 18:41:31We Use Our Trampoline Just About Every Day!
Over the years, we have tweaked our bedtime routine to help us put all five of our children to bed every night before 8:30 p.m. Without an established bedtime routine, putting our five kids to bed would totally stress me out, but as we enter our evening routine, I am filled with a sense of peace knowing that things will pretty much run on autopilot once the sequence begins, we’ll be able to give every child special attention, and everyone will go to bed easily, happily, and without complaint. (Not only that but the house will be clean and everything will be ready for the next day.)
I don’t think there’s a magic recipe for the perfect routine as long as there is a routine that both the parents and children are familiar with. This is what works for us.
The Importance of Routine
During the summer, we stick to the same sequence of events, but the timing is more flexible because we know that we can stay up later and the kids can sleep in. During the school year, our sequence of events is ruled by the clock. There is still some flexibility based on circumstances, but we basically try to follow the schedule based on time. The kids really like it too. They’ll look at the time and remind us of what step we need to be on. I really think it makes them feel empowered and safe to know what is going to happen next every step of the way.
If you need a laugh, I love how comedian Jim Gaffigan explains what a bedtime without routine might feel like in his stand up from Dad Is Fat.
“Bedtime makes you realize how completely incapable you are of being in charge of another human being. My children act like they’ve never been to sleep before. “Bed? What’s that? No, I’m not doing that.”
Establishing a New Bedtime Routine After Having a Baby
Every time we’ve had another baby, we’ve had to modify our bedtime routine. It’s always a bit weird and awkward at first, but we keep tweaking it until everything is just right. Sometimes the kids are a bit defiant or unsure of the new routine, but we keep at it knowing that in time it will become second nature to them. We also know that if something is just not working or someone is throwing a fit, we just do whatever we can to plow forward and know that we will reconvene, make a new plan, and make the adjustments needed the next night.
1. Dinner (5:00 – 5:30 p.m.)
It’s funny to think of bedtime starting with dinner, but I like to send all of my children to bed with full bellies, so the sequence for me starts here! All of my kids are such picky eaters and have their own likes/dislikes/cravings/needs, so I like to think of a general theme and then supplement with what each child will require. We typically go for a family style meal with lots to choose from so kids can pick what they want, and I like us to eat outside at the picnic table whenever possible. (Far less clean up!)
Sometimes we all sit around the table to eat, but there is always someone who needs a diaper change or throwing a tantrum it seems, so the dinner table is kind of a revolving door. Also, Scott and I are eating a really specific keto diet for weight loss, so we eat our own food. After everyone has eaten dinner, Scott and I clean up while the kids run off to play. This is a nice time for us to finally catch up with each other!
2. Family Time (5:30 – 6:30 p.m.)
After we clean up dinner, we like to spend some time playing together as a family. Even if the house is messy or there are other things to be done, we pause all chores and spend some quality time together having fun. If the weather is nice, we love hanging out in our backyard or going on an adventure somewhere in town. But if the weather is bad, we’ll stay inside and find something fun to do. Before we start the next part of the sequence (which is pajamas and choice time), we have the kids help us pick up the yard and/or house.
3. Pajamas and Choice Time (6:30 p.m.)
At 6:30 p.m., we start pajamas and choice time. Once kids get their pajamas on, they have about 30 minutes to do whatever they want (which is usually some sort of technology like watching YouTube videos or TV, playing the WiiU, or playing a game on their tablets).
Ruby and Elliot are really good about putting their pajamas on and putting their dirty clothes in their hampers. Ruby likes to be alone in her room for her choice time and Elliot usually likes to use the computer in the kitchen. Ophelia could put her pajamas on by herself, but lately she has been pretending to be a baby and wants me to put her pajamas on for her, so I do. (This is a big year for her starting kindergarten and I am totally fine if she wants to take a mental break from that.) Scott and I put Julian and Jack’s pajamas on too, and then Ophelia and Julian usually cuddle up in our bed with their tablets. Sometimes we’ll turn the TV on for Jack if he’s cuddly and sleepy, and other times he still has energy to burn and continues playing.
While this is going on, Scott and I prepare everyone’s rooms by turning on fans, lamps, and air conditioners or heaters (if needed), get tooth brushes ready, tidy up the house, do the remaining dishes, prepare after dinner snacks (chips and cheese and any leftovers from dinner), and get things ready for tomorrow (backpacks out, set the table for breakfast, etc.).
4. Our Room (7:00 p.m.)
At 7:00 p.m. we tell everyone that choice is over, plug in devices, and meet in our bedroom. During this time, there’s usually some kind of show playing that everyone will like (Storybots is popular right now and a really cool educational show) and Scott wrestles with everyone while I get Ruby’s room and Jack’s bottle ready plus do all of the last minute things that need to be done including brushing my teeth and getting my pajamas on. After all of my jobs are done, I like to tickle, cuddle, wrestle, and play with the kids too. Sometimes kids play with legos at our lego table and sometimes the sleepy or sick ones will cuddle in our bed ready for nigh-night.
This is our last chance to make sure everyone has had enough food for the day, so we will usually bring in the leftovers from dinner, some chips and cheese, and some of my homemade cookies for everyone to snack on. We give last call for chips and cheese about ten minutes before the next step in the sequence.
5. Teeth Brushing (7:30 p.m.)
At 7:30 p.m., we whisper to Ophelia to brush her teeth (because if she’s not first she will have an absolute meltdown, and we’ve made the decision that this is best for all of us) then we do a clapping pattern and chant, “Let’s go brush our teeth! Let’s go brush our teeth!” We turn off the TV, gather all dishes, turn out the lights, and meet the kids in the bathroom.
The three older ones use flossers and then electric toothbrushes to brush their teeth. I still like to brush Ophelia’s teeth every few days, but she does a pretty good job of brushing them herself as do Ruby and Elliot. Julian brushes his teeth with the big kids and then Scott brushes them again in his bed. I hold Jack on my lap and brush his teeth. He opens his mouth for about ten seconds and then it’s like wrestling with a snake, but we get the job done.
6. Little Ones to Bed (Done at 8:00 p.m.)
Ruby, Elliot, and Jack
After teeth brushing, Ruby and Elliot watch Jack in the living room while Scott and I put Ophelia and Julian to bed. To ensure that Jack won’t leave the living room, we put up a baby gate and Ruby and Elliot put one of his favorite TV shows on (currently True or Trolls). *When Jack was a newborn, I would just carry him with me while putting Ophelia and Ruby to bed and then nurse him to sleep after that until he was about 3 months old and able to be left with Ruby and Elliot.
Daddy and Julian
Scott chases Julian up the stairs, and Julian squeals in delight as he tries to run up the stairs ahead of Daddy. Then Julian throws the door open and jumps into bed. Scott gives him a flashlight while he goes to fill up his water bottle with fresh cold water. When he comes back, Julian is hiding under the covers with his flashlight while Daddy creeps into the room and hides somewhere different each night. Then, when Julian can’t take it anymore (The anticipation is too much!), he pops out of the blanket and Scott runs at him with an, “Ahhhh!” Julian loves it!
Next, he takes a drink of water while Scott finds a book to read. After reading, they look at pictures on Daddy’s phone. When they’re done, Julian turns Daddy’s phone off and says “Boom!” as he drops the phone on his chest, and then Daddy gets into his little toddler bed and snuggles him. They talk about their day, then they give a kiss, and Scott gets out of bed, gives another kiss, and then heads to the door saying, “I love you! Good night! Sweet dreams!” Julian repeats what he says and sometimes changes the words in a funny way (like he does for everything), and then Scott shuts the door and creeps slowly down the stairs.
Mommy and Ophelia
Across the hall, Ophelia and I are going through her bedtime routine at the same time as Daddy and Julian. After she leads the way up the stairs, we always race to her twin bed (her second bed) and hop under the large silky blanket. She turns on my phone and we cuddle up to watch three Kids Learning Tube videos(before these videos we would watch Dr. Binocs). Then she goes pee on the little potty in her room, and I tuck her into bed. We talk about her day and what the next day is going to be like, then I turn off her light, and we kiss each other on the cheeks at the same time and forehead (her idea).
As I back away to the door she always says things like, “I hope you get good sleep and don’t get a virus!” and then she usually keeps trying to say one more thing and one more thing as I try to find a stopping point and say, “Goodnight darling, I love you, sweet dreams!” She often says the last thing after I shut the door and so I’ll say one last thing to her on the monitor when I get to the bottom of the stairs. After she knows that I’m gone, she’ll turn on her bedside lamp and read out loud to herself for about 30 minutes before turning out her light. (Before going to school, she would often stay up until 11:00 p.m. or later reading, singing, and playing and then sleep in until 10:00 or 11:00 a.m. the next day, but now that she gets up early for school, she goes to bed at a decent time.)
When I’m done putting Ophelia to bed, Scott is usually in the living room hanging out with Ruby, Elliot, and Jack. Sometimes they’ll read a chapter book together, sometimes they’ll watch a small part of a movie each night, and other times they’ll just continue watching what they were watching with Jack. When I come out, the party’s over, and Ruby always rides on Daddy’s shoulders to bed. I follow behind with Jack, and Elliot jumps in his bed to read with Daddy.
7. Jack to Bed (8:00 p.m.)
After I tuck Ruby and Jack into Ruby’s bed, we read Jack a bedtime story. Ruby is so in love with her little brother and thinks everything he does is adorable. She loves cuddling with him, reading to him, and giving him goodnight kisses. After story time, I get Jack’s bottle, and we pass by Daddy and Elliot reading saying goodnight. I sit in my big comfy rocking chair and snuggle Jack in his silky while giving him a bottle and singing him lullabies. I keep singing as I carry him to bed, tuck him in to his crib in our closet, shut the door, and walk away. He does so well going to sleep and as of a couple of weeks ago has finally been sleeping through the night! (He used to need a bottle in the middle of the night, but would always go right back to sleep afterwards.)
8. Older Ones to Bed (Done at 8:30 p.m.)
Ruby reads to herself while she waits for me (it only takes me about 5 minutes to put Jack down), and when I come in, she puts her book down so we can chat. Whatever time I get there, I like to stay to talk to her for at least 15 minutes. She LOVES this time of the day, and so do I! We always have these really deep and meaningful conversations that just can’t happen at any other time of the day. We talk about life, what she’s struggling with, what she’s excited about, how our family is doing, what everybody is working on, future plans and dreams that we have, and so on. When our time is up, she reads to herself until she is tired (anywhere from 10-30 minutes), turns off her light, and goes to sleep.
Scott and Elliot start their time together with Elliot reading out loud. He loves reading books like Amulet, Pilot and Huxley, Press Start, Magic Treehouse, and the monster books him and I have made together. After reading, they play a video game on Daddy’s phone or watch some funny videos. Then they chat briefly about random topics (anywhere from why people in fail videos do such stupid things, how to be a programmer, or why people have jobs) and say goodnight. Sometimes Elliot will read to himself for 5-10 minutes, but usually he just wants to turn his lights off and go to bed.
9. Time for Mom and Dad (8:30 – 10:00 p.m.)
Now that Jack goes to bed on the same timeline as the others and sleeps through the night, we are thrilled to get some time to hang out together every night! On many occasions, someone will get out of bed, need an extra cup of water, have to go to the bathroom, have trouble sleeping, or any number of things, so we are flexible knowing that some nights we might get a lot of time to hang out and sometimes we might not get very much.
Depending on the day we’ve had we might want to just sit and talk, watch a movie, play a video game, or get some work done. During the week, we try to make sure we are in bed by 9:30-10:00 p.m. We may push it a bit later on the weekends if we know we can sleep in. (*On the weekends, the kids can wake up, get their ipads or turn on the TV and have choice time as long as they leave us alone!)
**Once day light savings hits, we will pull the bedtime routine back by about half an hour to get everyone to bed before 8:00 p.m. so we can make sure we get enough time to hang out and go to bed by 9:30 p.m. We wake up at 5:45 a.m. and wake up the kids at 6:45 a.m., and this extra sleep in the cold winter months is crucial to avoiding sickness!
In Conclusion
Having a consistent bedtime routine takes the stress out of putting the kids to bed. Every night we know what to expect, they know what to expect, and it runs like clockwork. If someone throws a fit or has some sort of meltdown, we use distraction, humor, and whatever other tricks necessary to get to the next step of the sequence and everything continues to run smoothly. Our bedtime routine isn’t just about getting our kids to go to sleep, it’s about meeting everyone’s basic needs, enjoying time as a family, and spending quality time with each child. This is what works for us and helps us to not only get through our bedtime routine but ENJOY it as well!
https://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/bedtime-routine.png400810Stacey Maaserhttps://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/EM_Logo.pngStacey Maaser2018-09-28 07:16:232020-04-23 09:26:03How We Manage a Bedtime Routine with Five Young Children
As soon as a child is old enough to have his or her own room, the battle begins to keep it clean. After raising five children and finally finding a happy balance between clean rooms and happy children, I thought I would share what has worked for us. Keep in mind, we have young children (1, 3, 4, 7, and 8), and I am a stay at home mom who loves to organize and keep things clean!
My Philosophy on Cleaning with Children
I want to raise children who can someday take care of their own house and keep it organized and clean. I know that I only get them for a short time in their lives, and it is up to me to help them get to a point where they will be intrinsically motivated to continue with the lessons I have taught them.
I know that by having my young children clean or help me with chores, they will not do it to my standards, but the point isn’t just to have a clean house, it’s to teach them how to clean.
Maybe when they’re older, they will start to do things to my standard, but I think that as parents, a perfect cleaning job is far less important than a child who knows how to do every chore in the house in their own way. With this in mind, I guide them through the process and offer plenty of praise and support along the way. I know that they won’t need this scaffolding forever and will someday take off in ways I couldn’t even imagine.
Julian’s Room (3)
Ophelia’s Room (4)
What Doesn’t Work
It can be very frustrating to see your child’s messy room, ask him or her to clean it, and get no results. These are some common recommendations that I believe to be very ineffective.
Set a time limit, and if the room isn’t clean by that time, go in with a big black trash bag, put everything on the floor in the trash bag, then donate the contents to a thrift store.
Take away privileges like screen time or attending a special event if the room isn’t clean.
Keep all toys belonging to your child in his or her room without a place for toys in any other rooms in the house.
Leave the child in the room, shut the door, and don’t let him or her come out until the room is clean.
The ultimate lesson my husband and I have learned as parents when it comes to guiding children towards positive behaviors is that if you have to do the same punishment over and over again, then it is not working. Maybe you really do need to go into that room with a trash bag because you’ve allowed it to become filled with too much junk, but don’t rely on yelling, threats, and severe consequences to get your child to clean his or her room until you have first tried some of the following positive suggestions first.
What Works
While raising our five children, we have tried a multitude of strategies for getting them to chip in with chores, pick up after themselves, and keep their rooms clean. The most important thing we have learned about cleaning is that the ultimate goal isn’t for a perfect cleaning job with no effort on our part, but rather for our children to learn about the process along the way.
Below is a video tour of our children’s bedrooms along with some commentary from them about how their rooms are organized.
Here are some tips that have worked for us:
Make sure everything in the room has a home. I like to put things that are alike together in one spot and store them using baskets, bins, etc. I don’t typically label these containers, however, because I like to leave room for the contents to change based on what each child is into at the time. If the floor is littered with toys and there’s a question as to where they go, you (with the help of your child) should find them a home. Decide where the stuffed animals should go and how they should be arranged, have a place for books, and make sure every little toy, marker, basket, and structure has a place where it is supposed to belong. I cannot tell you how helpful this is!
Reorganize the bedroom to suit the needs of your child. Based on the furniture we have and the needs of each child, I really enjoy rearranging each room so it can maintain the best function for the space. Our oldest daughter Ruby, for example, really enjoys art so she has a desk for drawing and a space for all of her art supplies. Sometimes, a room just needs a little tweak here and there and some other times it needs a major overhaul. I like doing the major overhauls alone because kids are sometimes sad to see things change, but they always love seeing their “new room” when it’s done.
Only keep certain toys in your child’s room. In the video I shared earlier in this blog, you will notice that there are several places throughout our house where we keep children’s toys. I like to encourage everyone to play together as much as possible in central locations so I can hear what they’re up to while I’m doing other things, but children always love opportunities to play alone too! Having special toys in their room where they can get away from the hustle and bustle is a very important thing.
Keep it clean starting young. Children get used to having a clean and organized room (and house) and will enjoy playing in it more when they can find things. With my little ones (currently 3 and 4), I do all of the cleaning and organizing myself. If we are in the room together when I want to clean, I do sometimes get their help, but what typically happens is they get distracted playing, and then I slowly sneak away to do something else. 🙂
Be specific about what needs to be cleaned and give feedback. If I want my children to clean their rooms (usually when the whole family is working on chores) I don’t simply say, “Clean your room!” because this could mean like 12 different things. Instead, I break down each of the tasks that need to be done and have them report back to me after each task. To get it started, I’ll say something like, “I want you to pick up/clean/organize _________. ” Then I give them some time to do it, follow up by checking in to see how things are going, and finally helping where needed. Here are some examples of specific tasks children can do while cleaning their rooms.
Put all of the clothes on the floor in the laundry bin.
Pick up all of the toys on the floor and put them in toy basket(s).
Neatly stack up all of the books and make a pile of the ones you don’t want to read right now.
Find all pieces of trash and put them in the trashcan.
Make your bed.
Pick up all of the stuffed animals and put them neatly where they belong.
Organize your toys in a way that you want to play with them.
Clean rooms when they are not around. This is probably the most controversial thing I will say, but it works really really well. After the big kids leave for school, I go in and tidy up their rooms. I make their beds, I put all toys where they belong, I straighten books, and I remove anything from the rooms that should be in the common area. If I want to tidy up their rooms when they are home, I will either get them to help me or I will do it when they are busy playing somewhere else. I never clean their rooms while they are lying on their beds doing nothing! I also like to tidy up the house and make sure everything is clean before we go to bed. If a child’s room is trashed or really messy, then whoever made the mess will help to clean it up, but if it’s just a bit of cleaning, I like to do it myself.
Work together for big messes and reorganization. If rooms are getting REALLY messy, I don’t view this as the problem of the child but rather a problem with the system. A really messy room may mean that there are too many toys or other certain items in the room or that there needs to be a better system of organization. This is when I get the big kids to help me out. We talk about what is causing the most clutter and together figure out a way to keep it clean.
Recently in Ruby’s room for example, I noticed big piles of random drawing utensils, so we worked together to get several small cups and put pencils in one, markers in another, pens in another, etc. She also accumulates large stacks of books because she likes to read so much, so together we will sort through the ones she’s not reading anymore and put them in one of the family bookshelves.
Ruby’s Room (8)
In Conclusion
Learning how to keep a room clean requires many skills. As parents, it is our job to guide children as they learn these skills each step of the way. When we keep in mind that the goal isn’t a perfectly clean room, but children who are learning how to sort and organize things, how to appreciate cleanliness, and how to apply the skills we have taught them in their own way, then we can heave a big sigh of relief knowing that what we are really after is the process of cleanliness not the destination of a perfectly clean room.
Have you ever thought about making a stock tank pool for your backyard? My husband and I learned through a lot of trial and error how to do it, and in this blog you will find detailed step by step instructions including a video that will make setting up your own stock tank pool a breeze!
Swimming in Our Stock Tank Pool (2017)
With five young kids seven and under, we prefer staying home and finding ways to entertain ourselves in a simple, safe, and cost effective way. This stock tank pool has been an amazing addition to our yard for both us and our kids and provides countless hours of entertainment. When the temperature is above 70º F (we’ll even settle for 60º F on an early spring thaw), our kids will play in it for hours every single day. This is our fourth summer using it, and has held up beautifully. (*Note: I originally wrote this blog when we first made our pool in 2015, but I update it every summer to include any changes or modifications we’ve made, including 2018 where we replaced the hoses and installed real plunger valves.)
Swimming in our stock tank pool in mid April 2015! Brrrr…
They love sitting in their round doughnuts bouncing up and down, riding around on pool noodles, jumping off from the ladder, and just splashing around. My husband and I like to find a way to float and relax. When we close our eyes and feel our bodies bob around in the water, we can almost envision that we’re floating on the shores of some tropical island…until Elliot does a cannonball that is! (Check out all of our backyard summer fun ideas here!)
*Video note: We don’t typically run the filter while kids are swimming in it. The suction is incredibly strong and can be quite shocking if you accidentally press your butt against it! 🙂
When we started researching pools last summer, I was almost tempted to buy a 12 foot Intex pool, but after reading reviews about patching pinholes and knowing that my kids like to play rough (which it couldn’t sustain), I didn’t think it sounded like a good idea.
Growing up, my Aunt Sue always had a round stock tank pool that she placed on a deck in her backyard. She always kept the water crystal clear with a filter and had it set up on a little deck. It was beautiful! We had an oval shaped horse trough pool growing up, but we never really kept it clean, and it turned into a holding tank for the tadpoles and turtles that we would catch in our nearby lake. It was still really fun though!
I scoured the Internet for some good directions for making a stock tank pool and could only find really cute pictures (that often showed crystal clear water with no filter…not possible!) without many good directions, so I hope that in this post, I can be a little more specific. Needless to say, we learned how to do everything wrong before we learned how to do everything right, so hopefully, if you’re looking to make your own stock tank pool, you can avoid some of the pitfalls we had and do things right the first time around!
Stock Tank Pool and Sand Filter Filled with Water
Materials
8 Foot (diameter) Round Galvanized Steel Stock Tank Pool: I would have liked a 10 foot, but they didn’t have any at our local Tractor Supply Store and the 8 foot has actually been just perfect. They are typically 2 feet high – which is pretty much shorter than anyone who is really good at walking, so it’s safe for toddlers! We bought ours at a local farm store for $350, but if you want to buy something online, Amazon has 6′ diameter stock tanks available. Stockyards Ranch Supply in Colorado also has them online, and you can call for a delivery quote.
Sand Filter Pump: You don’t have to have a pump if you’re okay with just emptying the pool when it gets dirty or using some chlorine or bromine tablets, but I highly recommend buying one for the long haul. It’s great for filtering out algae and debris, has a 24-hour timer with preset cycles for automatic operation, is low maintenance (you only need to empty out the sand every 5 years), and has a six-function control valve that lets you filter, backwash, rinse, recirculate, drain, and close the system. We bought the filter for a 16 foot diameter pool. It filters 2,450 gallons per hour, and it does a very nice job, but we still need to add shock treatment or drain it completely several times over the summer. They also offer a 12′ filter that cycles through 1,600 gallons an hour and a 10′ filter that cycles through 1,050 gallons an hour (*FYI: a 10 foot stock tank pool holds 1,100 gallons of water). *Each pool filter also comes with two connecting hoses, but if you need to buy replacement hoses (like we did because they became full of algae), you can do that too.
Saltwater System: It pretty much makes its own “natural” chlorine. You could use this in addition to the sand filter for optimum performance.
Cartridge Filter Pump: If you’re looking for the cheapest option, you could get this cartridge filter pump, but you’d have to replace the filters every two weeks. I’ve heard that these don’t last very long, but it’s a cheaper up front cost.
Pool Water Shock: Kills bacteria and algae in one big shock of chlorine. (Because of the dangers of chlorine, we try our best to avoid it. We’d prefer not to use any of these methods, but we have used the pool shock a time or two when things got bad…mainly because we didn’t use our pool filter properly…it did a fine job of killing the algae, and then we just avoided the pool until it all evaporated, 24-48 hours.)
Liquid Chlorine: We recently purchased (in 2019) an Intex 15′ x 48″ Metal Frame Above Ground Pool at Menards because it was HALF OFF and the older kids (ages 8 and 9) have been BEGGING us for a bigger pool, and I finally learned about the miracles of liquid chlorine! Follow the directions and use a pool testing kit (you can get something cheap like this or more comprehensive and expensive like this…we opted for cheap), but basically for a 1,100 gallon stock tank pool, you’d put in about 6 oz (so half a beer bottle) to start things out, about 1 oz every night for maintenance, and then 6 oz once a week. When we just had the stock tank pool, I was fine to avoid chlorine and just empty the pool when it got green, but now that we have a 10,000 gallon pool and all around less time on our hands, I’ve been chlorinating both pools and it’s been a dream.
Plunger Valves: Unfortunately, the plunger valves pictured below are no longer available on Amazon. These plunger valves appear to be similar, but beware that while many people were very happy with their purchase, about 32% say they didn’t receive all of the parts listed. (I also found them here on ebay with great reviews.) These other plunger valves have good reviews, but they don’t include the part you’d need to attach to the inside of the pooI. When we originally made our stock tank pool, we just went to the plumbing section of the hardware store with a tape measure and bought some connecting pieces that had threads with a 1.5 inch interior diameter and 2 1/8 inch diameter and attachment pieces for the inside of the pool. We got it to work with a lot of trial and error and epoxy, but now four years later, we’re redoing it properly.
Hoses and Plunger Valves for Stock Tank Pool
I recently had someone ask for alternatives to the plunger valves, so I’ll share what we did originally, although I must say that it did not work very well! They would constantly leak and we had to add a lot of epoxy and other adhesives. I suppose if we had used something like these rubber rings, we could’ve gotten a better seal.
Exterior View of Connecting Hose (2014)
Interior View of the Connecting Hose (2014)
Original Stock Tank Pool Set Up (2014)
Drill: You’ll need to drill two holes (each with a 2.5 inch diameter) into the pool if you’re going to attach a filter.As convenient as a cordless drill can be, we have had much more success with drilling projects that need a lot of power to use a corded drill like this. You’ll also need a hole saw kit to attach to your drill.
PC-11 Epoxy: I accidentally hit one of the plunger valves with the snow blower this winter (2019) and needed something heavy duty to reattach the plastic pieces. The guy at the hardware store recommended this marine grade quality epoxy, and let me tell you it is a MIRACLE WORKER!!! How have I never heard of this stuff?!?!?! (We even used it to fix our leaky pump on our washing machine…amazing!) In case you’re wondering, I’ll include what I used from the video below. It has held up nicely, but if I had to do it all over again I would use the PC-11.
Plumber’s Epoxy: This stuff is waterproof and great for filling in all of the gaps. Two packages should do nicely.
Waterproof Epoxy: Paint this around all of your attachment pieces. Go really heavy on this and do 2-3 coats all over everything. 4-6 packages seems overkill, but better safe than sorry!
*18′ Intex Pool: If all of this is just sounding like too much (really, it’s not that bad), then maybe you’d be better off just buying the complete package…and why not get the dream set up! This pool looks rather appealing and has everything ready to go! 🙂
Check out the video below for a detailed description for creating your very own stock tank pool! This is my first video on my new Embracing Motherhood YouTube channel, so please like, subscribe, and be on the lookout for more videos to come soon!
Directions
Get the pool to your house! We bought our 8′ (8 foot diameter) stock tank pool from our local farm store. They would have delivered it to us for a fee, but my husband knew someone with a trailer so they strapped the pool down and drove it (slowly) to our house.
Prepare the pool location. You want to find a place that is level and not close to too many trees that will annoy you with their random leaves cluttering your pool. When we made our sandbox, we put an extra load of sand where we wanted our pool, and it made an excellent base. (You don’t have to do this, it’s just a nice touch.) You’ll also need to be close to an electrical outlet (the cord for the filter is quite long). We have a shed right next to our pool location, so we run the power cord through the shed window.
Laying Down the Stock Tank Pool (2014)
Set up the pool filter. This seems a lot more complicated than it really is, especially after you watch the instruction video, but bear with it, it’s not that bad. Basically, you’ll need to put it together and fill it with sand. You can put it on a base, but we never did, and it has worked just fine.
Pool Filter for the Stock Tank Pool (2014)
Cut two holes in the stock tank pool for the filter tubes. You’ll want to position the holes about 2-3 feet apart from each other in about the middle of the top half of the pool walls. Measure the outside diameter of the attachment piece that will fit through the hole before cutting. It should be 2 1/8 inches wide. We used a corded drill and a drill bit with a 2.5 inch diameter which was slightly bigger than the attachment pieces, and it worked perfectly. (The first time we made our stock tank pool, we measured the inside diameter of the tube which was 1.5 inches, so the holes were too small. Making the holes slightly bigger was a huge task that we finally took on four years later. This is why in the older pictures of our stock tank pool, the tubes are covered with lots of extra adhesive and towels!)
Stock Tank Pool (2014)
Attach the plunger valves and secure with epoxy. The big round end with the filter goes on the inside of the pool. *Originally, I used plumber’s epoxy and waterproof epoxy, which has held up nicely, but if I could do it all over again, I would use PC-11 epoxy which is designed to be underwater and withstand massive amount of pressure. To use the PC-11, mix the epoxy from the two containers together (using popsicle sticks and some cardboard), apply liberally around the attachment pieces, and let cure for 24 hours. **If you want to follow what I did in the video, roll out a nice long snake of plumber’s epoxy and put it around the top part of the threads. Roll another big snake of plumber’s epoxy and put it around the top part of the threads on the attachment piece that will be outside of the pool. (It’s a good idea to wear disposable gloves for this…I learned that the hard way!) Press them together (having an extra set of hands for this is pretty crucial), and then start twisting until they are connected. Use a big wrench to get it really tight! When completely hardened, paint with waterproof epoxy on every single part that could leak and let cure for 24 hours. Nothing should move! These plunger valves will stay permanently connected to your pool, but you want to be able to detach the hoses for cleaning purposes so don’t put any epoxy on the hose attachment.
Stock Tank Pool with Plunger Valves and Sand Filter (2018)
Attach the pool filter tubes and fill with water. You’ll want to let the epoxy fully dry for at least 24 hours before filling with water. If you notice any leaks as you fill the pool, you’ll have to drain it, let it dry, and troubleshoot. Sometimes the threading on one of the hoses can be off a little bit. Also, when you turn the pool filter on, you’ll have to release the small valve on the top of the debris catcher (near the intake) to release the air and allow the filter to work.
Stock Tank Pool Maintenance
Keep the junk out. We made sure to establish some rules with the kids about not putting sand or other debris into the pool and put a little foot rinsing bucket (or a small pool) in front of the ladder. I also like using a pool skimmer regularly to fish out any stray floaties and occasionally I’ll use the vacuum attachment for dirt that settles on the bottom. But seriously, we don’t get too strict here because it’s no fun if you start getting paranoid about every speck of dirt that might get in. *After some reflection: I think the ideal situation would be to place some patio stones with small rocks inbetween around the pool to keep grass out, but by the time we get around to it, I think the kids will have outgrown the pool! 🙂
Run the filter. Pay close attention to the owner’s manual for your filter and run all scheduled maintenance. We did a poor job of this the first year we had our pool, and as a result, the tubes filled up with green algae as did the filter, and it became very hard to keep clean. I highly recommend watching the instruction DVD that comes with your filter, but basically, you’ll keep it on filter all of the time, turn it on to the clock setting (24 hour timer) every day and backwash/rinse as needed when the pool looks dirty. *Note: Always shut off the filter pump before turning the filter valve or it could damage the gasket or internal filter parts.
FILTER: Keep it here all the time, except when backwashing, rinsing, or wasting.
RINSE: Use this setting for 15 seconds after backwashing to rinse the sand filter tank.
*RECIRCULATE: A filter bypass setting to use if your filter is broken or leaking.
BACKWASH: Use this setting to reverse the flow in the filter and send water out of the waste line. Make sure valves are open and the cap is off where it says DRAIN on your filter.
CLOSED: Put here to close off the flow from the pool if you need to work on the filter for some reason.
*WASTE/DRAIN: Another bypass filter setting if your filter isn’t working properly that sends the water out of the waste pipe. This is a good way to lower the level of the pool if need be.
Clean the tubes. If you’re like us and have a lot of grass getting into the pool, you’ll want to make sure you clean out the tubes every time you do a backwash. The small tube that is a part of the filter gets clogged with grass pretty easily and can lead to some pretty severe algae problems.
Drain it. After the first fill up during the first year of having our pool, it stayed pretty clean and clear for about 6-8 weeks. Then, it started to get a little green looking, and then like the next day we couldn’t see the bottom of the pool! When this happens, all of the shock treatment in the world won’t make a difference, and it’s better to just drain it. To drain the pool, unscrew the tubes from the filter and pull the plug out from the bottom. It will make the ground nice and swampy for the afternoon, but the water will all drain away eventually.
Draining the Stock Tank Pool (2014)
Power wash it. Having a good power washer like this is useful around the house for so many reasons, but for cleaning out a dirty pool, it’s simply the best! You won’t get every little speck, but it will dislodge most of the gunk, and the rest you can get with some cleaner and a scrub brush. (If you really want to go crazy, I recommend a gas power washer like this!)
Power Washing the Stock Tank Pool (2014)
Yearly cleaning. When you’re done using the pool for the season, detach ALL of the hoses (including the small one on the filter) and clean them. The sand in the filter only needs to be replaced every five years, but we empty it out every season because it makes it easier to move and store for the winter. Finally, tip the pool upside down. We let the kids jump and play on it when it’s upside down, but we are very clear that they are not to step on the plunger valves. There was a small leak that started in the seam at the bottom of the pool, but we just put some waterproof epoxy on it, and it’s been totally fine.
Additional Pool Items
Pool Ladder: This is the one we got, and it’s quite a bit taller than our pool, but our kids love jumping off from it into the pool. It’s also really good for keeping the baby from easily climbing into the pool.
Solar Cover: This could work great to keep debris out of the pool and to warm the water. If you get this, I don’t think you need a pool cover. *We have never used either, however, because it really just seems like too much of a hassle.
Pool Skimmer: This is GREAT for getting out grass clippings, small leaves, and any other little floaters.
Pool Vacuum: This is great for getting sediment that settles to the bottom of the pool (especially if you have kids tracking a lot of sand into the pool).
Life Jackets: These life jackets are our favorites for the little ones (30-50 lbs) and are great for teaching kids the mechanics of swimming. Our older kids are learning how to swim, but still like life jackets like these.
Swimming Diapers: As much as I love to have my kids run around naked in the summer, I don’t like them peeing and pooping in our pool!
Flotation Devices: This pool isn’t big enough hold anything too big, but our kids have enjoyed some basic round tubes. We have also enjoyed getting some fancy full body floating devices for a really tropical experience!
Pool Noodles: The kids have enjoyed playing with these in the pool more than anything! Scott and I like tucking one under our neck and one under our ankles and floating like we’re in the middle of the crystal clear waters of some tropical resort!
Diving Rings and Sticks: Once kids can hold their breath underwater, these diving rings and sticks (with goggles) make for a lot of fun!
Foot Rinsing Bucket: We like putting a large rectangular bucket in front of the ladder so that the kids will rinse their feet before going in. We have also used a small mini pool for this as well.
Slide – We picked up a slide like this at a garage sale and attached these wooden legs. The kids have loved it!
In Conclusion
If you want something sturdy and fun that will allow you to enjoy hours and hours of backyard fun in the summer sun, I highly recommend getting a stock tank pool with a sand filter set up. If we had gone with one of the cheap Intex pools of a similar size, we would constantly have to nag the kids to be gentle and then it would probably still pop a hole at some point anyways. This has stood up VERY well (on our fourth season of using it now) to lots of roughhousing, and I’m hoping that it will last for years to come! Check out our other ideas for making a fun backyard experience for young children here. If you’re looking for a detailed explanation for setting up a stock tank pool, check out my YouTube video here!
How to Make a Stock Tank Pool
*2019 Update: This is our fifth summer using our stock tank pool, and while the little ones (ages 2, 4, and 6) still love it, our older ones (ages 8 and 9) have been begging for something bigger so we got an Intex 15′ x 48″ Metal Frame Above Ground Pool at Menards because it was half off. I really need to write a blog post about the dos and don’ts for setting this up, but for now know that the most important advice is to MAKE SURE IT’S LEVEL!!! (Also, yes, we moved, and we brought the stock tank pool with us!)
8 Foot Stock Tank Pool and 15 Foot Intex Pool Upgrade (2018)
8 Foot Stock Tank Pool and 15 Foot Intex Pool Upgrade (2018)
15 Foot Intex Pool Upgrade (2018)
18 Foot Steel Frame Above Ground Pool Upgrade (2024)
*If you’re going with an above ground pool, I highly recommend the steel frame version. Notice how we put blocks of wood under the feet to prevent them from sinking into the ground. Also, you can see our stock tank pool in the background to the left which is now turned upside down and used as a base for our slide. 🙂
https://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/kids-swimming-in-stock-tank-pool.png400810Stacey Maaserhttps://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/EM_Logo.pngStacey Maaser2018-03-10 21:10:252024-11-09 19:27:02How to Make a Stock Tank Pool
Enjoying these years instead of enduring these years
*New nicer friends, friends who respect religious conviction
Easier vacations
More respect from kids
*Kids get to be kids
No Christmas compromise
*No Rock ‘n Roll on the bus
Less busy work
Less sickness
*Sickness won’t interfere with school
*Twins won’t miss the big kids
Won’t feel that someone else has control of our children
Less $ spent on clothes
Lots of fun!
*Field trips
**More excitement about parenting
Next kids esp.
Cons of Homeschooling
**Can I do it
**Can I do it well
*Less kids to play with
Ostracized by teachers if they return
Expensive
*No free time
*Hassles with family and friends
*Maybe new friends won’t like our religion
*Lunch-time and $
*Learning well already
Court case
Brethren reject
Less stylish clothes
Dad added: ***Is it the best use of our time, that is using the government (?) for the good it does and then adding our own good
May fear telling world about our religion
Homeschooling Pros and Cons Original List
The Decision to Homeschool
When I was in the middle of 2nd grade and Jarrod was in the middle of 1st, they pulled us out of public school to homeschool us. I ended up going back to public school in the 8th grade, my brother Jarrod went back in the 11th grade, and my three younger siblings, Andrea, Lisa, and David were homeschooled K-12.
More than anything, being homeschooled allowed us to follow our own passions. Sure we did our workbooks and mastered the necessary skills, but the majority of our days were spent engaged in creative and imaginative play, exploring nature, and pursuing our own interests.
Family Photo 1988: Stacey, Rich, Jarrod, Andrea, Lisa, Diane, and David
First Day of Homeschool: Jan 4, 1988
Wow! Was it scary! “Is the school going to call? What will the neighbors say? Russ? Mom? Can I do it? Do I want to?” I needed encouragement today. But Barb Welch is in California for the refresher. Rich calmed me down markedly yesterday afternoon. “Remember why we decided on this, Di? It was for good, sound reasons, well thought out. We have legal protection, etc.” I needed to be reminded of all of that. We worked hard and long. Flash cards, work books, 2 pages each book minimum. School zone book 1 pg. Jarrod. Stacey and Jarrod spelling words.
First Day of Homeschool
First Year of Homeschool: June, 1989
What about the cons? Yes, I can do it and do it very well! There are fewer children to play with, but it’s really special when they do come over. No problem with being ostracized if they return. The money is well spent and fun to spend! I have plenty of free time – they help out with the baby, twins, etc. Good kids. No hassles from family and friends. Very minor occasionally, but it doesn’t bother me. Money and time spent on lunch is no big deal. TV is no problem. Just hard, fast rules with few exceptions on TV and Atari. They are learning well now. Brethren don’t reject much. The kids do wear less stylish clothes. It is definitely the best use of our time. Our short comings surpass their strong points. Our religion just is. It’s not like we’re so different anymore.
What about the pros? 75% peer pressure gone. Definitely can blend in with all ages well. More of our values. No tug of war with school over whose kids they are (values, etc.) It is fun! We are very much a family. We are definitely enjoying these years. Jennifer Metskar – new good friend. Not many more. Kids are more respectful, polite. They are socializing and want to be cool still. Holidays don’t phase us at all. No bus ride. No busy work. Still get sick. Twins love them. No fear AT ALL that someone’s taking my kids away. LESS $ spent on clothes. Lots of fun. We need more field trips – Lansing, etc. Parenting is natural, what it was meant to be.
Family Photo 1989: Rich, Diane, David, Stacey, Jarrod, Andrea, and Lisa
Homeschooling Goals for 1989-1991
Play the piano
Speak Spanish
Know all the countries, US States, capitals
Know the presidents
Do real well in math and enjoy it
Read avidly
Be into Church literature – studies, etc.
Be able to write stories (interesting), reports, letters
Get exercise, ride unicycle, water ski, snow ski
Be interested and self-motivated in science
Be very comfortable on computers
Type
Family Photo 1990: Diane, Rich, Stacey, Jarrod, David, Andrea, and Lisa
Family Photo 1991: Rich, Diane, Stacey, Jarrod, David, Lisa, and Andrea
Stacey Wants to Go Back to Public School (8th Grade): July 31, 1993
Pros of Going Back to Public School:
She wants to
More variety of involvement and education (pottery, woodshop, reports, sports, etc.)
Makes high school easier
More people
Easier to learn
Have a change to excel
Cons of Going Back to Public School:
Fear that she’ll go over the deep end (common sense, though, says she won’t)
Less free time
Mandatory learning
Not home until after 3
No sleeping in or up late
No after school sports
There are gangs
Lots of hallway kissing
Age in which most girls have sex
Family Photo 1992: Diane, Rich, Stacey, Andrea, Lisa, David, and Jarrod
Family Photo 1993: Jarrod, Stacey, Andrea, Rich, Diane, Lisa, and David
Family Photo 1994: Jarrod, Stacey, David, Rich, Diane, Lisa, and Andrea
Update: Jan 25, 1995
Stacey’s in school – She has gotten into a “cool” attitude – disrespectful.
Family Photo 1995: Stacey, Jarrod, David, Rich, Diane, Lisa, and Andrea
Family Photo 1996: David, Lisa, Rich, Jarrod, Diane, Stacey, and Andrea
Family Photo 1997
Family Photo 1998
Family Photo 1999
Family Photo 2000
Family Photo 2001
Family Photo 2002
Family Photo 2003
Family Photo 2004
Family Photo 2005: Stacey and Scott’s Wedding
Update: Jan. 20, 2015
Stacey is considering homeschooling! I’m typing this up for her!! She’s a precious friend who uplifts me.
In Conclusion
So many of my young friends are asking me about my homeschool journey. It is so wonderful to see another generation of homeschool parents who are asking the same questions that I did. As time goes by, I feel even more happy about our decision to homeschool. A few doubts such as my inability to teach footnotes used to make me feel like a loser. Now I see that the greatest gift I could give my kids was to remove obstacles from them finding their own true norths. I think they each have.
Author Bio: Diane is a mother of five who home schooled her children and is passionate about learning, teaching, seeking the truth, living a healthy lifestyle, and spending time with her family. When not working as a Quality Engineer, she can be found supporting her husband in their family run fundraising business at Great Lakes Promotions.
https://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/family-photo-1987.png600810Stacey Maaserhttps://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/EM_Logo.pngStacey Maaser2017-08-16 08:32:132024-11-06 11:03:22Reflections on a Homeschool Journey from 1987
These are the ways that we have transformed our backyard into a super fun and engaging backyard haven for our five young children. We have about an acre of fenced in land behind our house, and with everything we have created, built, and purchased, we are very content to just stay home and enjoy ourselves.
I believe that children should be free and have autonomy to choose their own activities and be independently entertained. I also believe in giving kids as many natural settings and experiences as I can to help them develop their creative and imaginative minds. By incorporating these things into our yard over the past three years, I think we have done just that.
1. Sandbox
When we moved into our house three years ago, building a sandbox was the first thing we did, and our children LOVE it! They play in it every single time we are outside.
Our Sandbox
2. Stock Tank Swimming Pool
We wanted a durable swimming pool that all of us could fit in that wouldn’t break the bank, and this stock tank swimming pool has been perfect! Learn how we made stock tank pool here.
Our kids love challenging themselves with this simple obstacle course put together with nothing more than some old tires, boards, and a few screws.
Our Backyard Obstacle Course
5. Teepee
I got the idea for this teepee from the one my mom made in their field and from the one at Blanford Nature Center in their natural play area. Every year we add more sticks, stalks, old vines, etc. to it, and the kids love using it for imaginative play.
Our Backyard Teepee
6. Stepping Stumps
This was another idea I got from Blanford Nature Center. Whenever we see someone chopping down a tree, my husband races over with his pick up truck to collect the stumps. The kids love walking back and forth on them and jumping into the sand that is piled below.
How to Make Stepping Stumps
7. Hills
The first hill we made was unplanned. As we were digging up the sod for our sandbox, we decided to pile it up making a little hill. We were surprised at how much our little ones loved running up and down it, so we got some dirt and added a few more. This slide has also been a really fun touch.
Our Big Hill
8. Tent
I love setting up an outdoor tent in the spring, summer, and fall as both a holding tank for blankets, toys, and books, as well as a retreat for anyone wanting to duck away from the wind, cold, sun, or people.
We initially got a swing set like this at our local shopping market, but we always wanted a big wooden structure like this. As luck would have it, we knew someone getting rid of one for free! It took three guys seven hours to take apart and put back together, but it has been perfect for our older children.
Swing Set
Wooden Play Structure
11. Battery Powered Cars
For a brief time in my childhood I remember having a battery powered car, and my brother and I LOVED them! We now have an dune buggy, jeep, and mini four wheeler for our kids, and they get used every time we go outside. This is the 3rd summer we’ve had them, and with the exception of some new rechargeable batteries, they have held up very well.
Julian and Ophelia in Battery Powered Car
12. Water Pouring Station
In the winter, I have been brave enough to bring this inside, but in the summer, it is so nice to have the mess outside! My little ones play with this water table every day. I like having some kind of table (like this tool bench) nearby to hold the cups, teapots, buckets, and other pouring supplies. I also love having it near the sandbox so they can incorporate sand into their water play.
Water Pouring Station
13. Playhouse
Having a playhouse encourages all kinds of imaginative play. The kids love this one especially because of the little seats, windows that open and shut, and small door. We usually pick a spot for the house to stay for the season because it kills the grass underneath, but you could always move it around.
Our daughter Ophelia has particularly enjoyed this basketball hoop. She stands on a little stepping stool and the balls are collected in this little wagon. And of course we have an adult sized hoop as well. We debated laying some concrete, but have enjoyed simply having the ability to shoot baskets.
Basketball Hoops
In Conclusion
Occasionally, we do like to go places, but mostly we just enjoy staying home. Between the 26 learning stations we have inside and the fun we’ve created outside, our kids are never bored and neither are we. Here’s a video of us getting our yard ready for summer last year. You can really see how much things have changed!
https://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/backyard-park.png400810Stacey Maaserhttps://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/EM_Logo.pngStacey Maaser2017-05-28 10:16:132020-11-20 13:23:21DIY Backyard Ideas for Summer Fun with Young Children
Setting up a tent outdoors isn’t just for camping! Every spring, we set up a tent in our backyard to use as a sanctuary and a holding tank, and it has been a very beloved location, especially when we have little babies. In Michigan, we get REALLY excited when spring arrives! The problem is that even though the snow thaws, it’s still pretty chilly (and windy) until June. Having this permanent tent set up ensures that we always have a warm place to play that will allow us to enjoy the fresh outdoor air while staying protected from the elements.
Materials Needed
Tent – We usually just go to the nearest box store and pick up whatever is cheapest. (We learned the hard way this year, however, that it’s very important to make sure the tent has a window so you can get a cross breeze.) We’ve been setting up outdoor tents for the past 4 years and have never had a tent that lasts more than one year. By the time snow falls, the walls of the tent are so worn, they just rip apart. Because of this, we usually go with a cheap tent like this. This tent would be a a bit more luxurious and if you’re looking for a really permanent tent, you can go with one of these canvas tents.
Waterproof Cover – There is always a bit of water getting into the tent for one reason or another, so it’s a good idea to cover your foam padding with something like this.
Sheet – I like to put a fitted king size sheet over the waterproof cover.
Blankets – I don’t think we can ever have enough blankets in this household, so I am always on the lookout for good blankets like this at garage sales and thrift stores. I put one blanket down under the pillows and baskets of books and another blanket loosely on top. This second blanket can easily be taken out and shaken if it gets covered in sand and debris. This is also the blanket I’ll use if I want to have a blanket on the grass.
Pillows – Having about 3-4 pillows makes it really nice to stretch out for a little snooze.
Books – I love having a wide assortment of books, but I don’t keep my best out here in case of water or other damage.
Coloring Supplies – This is the first time I’ve included coloring supplies like coloring books, workbooks, blank notebooks, pencil boxes with pencils and crayons, and the bigger kids really enjoy it!
Toys – Because I have kids ranging from newborn to elementary school age, I have a variety of different toys that everyone can enjoy.
Little Chair – The kids especially love this little chair when I put it out on a blanket in the grass. Reading is always more fun when you’re in a little chair!
Diapers and Wipes – Because our tent is a little ways from the house, it’s nice to be able to change a diaper without having to go inside.
Outdoor Tent in Use
Directions
Find a good location. It’s nice to have something that can be in shade or partial shade so it doesn’t get too hot in the summer. It’s also nice to have the opening of the tent facing an area of high activity so that you can see what’s going on when you’re in the tent and vice versa.
Set up the tent. We keep our tent in the same spot every year, so after the grass died and it was all dirt, we leveled it with a rake to make it flat.
Put some sheets of wood in front of the tent. You could also use a big rug or Astro turf, but basically you want something to keep grass and dirt out of the tent.
Fill it with fun stuff. Based on the ages of your children, location of the tent, and the purpose of the tent, you will want to fill the tent with things to suit your needs. I like filling my tent with books, coloring supplies, toys, and pillows and blankets.
Play inside the tent. I like to keep the tent closed if it’s going to rain, but as soon as we head out to play I like to open it up and let the kids come and go as they please.
Use the tent as a holding tank. If we want to hang out outside with babies, I like taking a blanket out of the tent and putting toys, books, and the little chair on it.
Keep it clean. When our tent gets full of sand, dirt, grass, and leaves, I am so happy that I keep my extra blanket nestled lightly on top so that I can easily shake it out. If it gets really dirty, I’ll take everything out and either sweep or use the leaf blower.
In Conclusion
We enjoy setting up our tent as soon as the snow is gone and leave it up until snow threatens to fall again. We have enjoyed having a tent every year for the past four years and will probably continue to enjoy one for many years to come.
*Update: We had a big windstorm that ripped our tent to shreds, so we opted for a bigger more expensive tent, and boy am I glad we did! My husband recently spent the night out here with our two older children, and they all loved it!
https://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/play-tent-sanctuary.png400810Stacey Maaserhttps://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/EM_Logo.pngStacey Maaser2017-05-03 20:03:042020-11-20 14:22:19Setting Up an Outdoor Play Tent Sanctuary
We are always looking for quick and easy art projects, and this one fit the bill! Ruby actually found this recipe on YouTube Kids, and we just so happened so have all of the ingredients to make it laying around! This recipe was an instant hit with the kids, and after playing with the first batch, they wanted to make a variety of colors. This was quick and easy to make and the kids have really enjoyed playing with it…which is a win, win, win!
Dump out the glue into the bowl. Tip those bottles upside down and get out as much glue as you can!
Elliot Dumping Out Glue
Mix in the food coloring. Start with a few drops, stir, and then add more as needed to achieve your desired color.
Adding the Food Coloring
Make the borax mixture. Fill up a cup with warm/hot water and mix in about a teaspoon of borax. Let it sit/stir it until it dissolves.
Mixing Borax and Water
Add the borax mixture to the glue. *This part is really tricky and very easy to mess up! If you add too much of the borax mixture, it will turn to a hard blob, if you don’t add enough, it will stick to your hands.
Adding Borax Mixture to Glue
You want to add just a little bit, stir, stir, stir, add a bit more, stir some more, mix with your fingers (about 2 minutes), then only add more if it’s still sticky. Trust me, add less than you think you’ll need and you’ll be just fine.
Mix it By Hand
Final Slime Putty: The consistency should be soft and stretchy, but not sticky. (Although, if you do what Elliot is doing below, pieces WILL get stuck in your hair, and watch out, because this stuff can get stuck in carpet and on clothes too if you’re not careful!)
Elliot Wearing His Slime Putty
Play with your goo! Stretch it, pull it, roll it, and have fun! Store it in a ziploc bag when you are done so that it won’t dry out.
Elliot Rolling Out Slime Putty
*Now that you’ve got your Borax out, you might want to whip up a batch of some homemade laundry detergent!
“You want to make a mud pit…on purpose…in our yard?!?” I can imagine your spouse yelling as you try to present the idea of creating a mud pit in your backyard, but hear me out…
Having Fun in Our Mudpit
We kind of made our mud pit on accident when we were trying to cover a dirt hill with sod (which is a story for another blog post), and in the process, I noticed how much the kids absolutely loved playing on a hill of pure dirt. They would climb up it, roll down it, dig tunnels through it and holes in it, and basically get really, really muddy. We would have to strip them down before they entered the house, and it created a lot of messy laundry.
Well, the hill was eventually covered with sod, and the parts that weren’t covered sprung up with grass and other foliage, but the hole that we dug the sod out of still remained, ready to be used. We originally were going to make another sandbox on top to mimic the one we liked at Blandford Nature Center, but well, we kind of ran out of money and were looking for a cheaper alternative.
I had a bunch of leftover seeds and plants from planting our summer garden and the kids were still begging for another dirt hill, so I went to work digging and made a dirt hill surrounded by a moat, surrounded by a path, surrounded by some plants. We stretched three hoses connected together to allow water to flow to the furthest regions of our yard, and walla! Mud pit!
Plan It. Find a space in your yard that will be just perfect for a mud pit…preferably away from any pools you have, not right near the front door, but close enough to a water source.
Dig It. Using a pointy shovel, dig out small squares of sod. You can use them to build a small grassy hill if you’d like. Just place the sod pieces on top of each other. Eventually they will settle in and make a nice little hill. Our kids love playing on ours!
Shape It. Try to give it your mud pit some character. Build it up high in some spaces, level it out in others, use your imagination, and try to visualize how your kids will use it. I really think having a moat type structure is a good idea because it traps the water in and makes it more usable.
Use It. I highly encourage all play in the mud pit to be conducted with bathing suits on! This way, kids can be sprayed off with a hose, jump through a sprinkler, or jump into a kiddie pool to get clean afterwards! With a few shovels, buckets, and watering cans, this mud pit has entertained our kids and their friends for hours.
Playing in the Mud Pit
Conclusion
Yes, making a sandbox or setting up a stock tank pool are definitely cleaner projects, and ones that our kids have enjoyed very much, but there is just something so primal about a mud pit that I think all kids should have a chance to experience. Being able to interact with nature, feeling the cool mud with its abundance of free electrons boosting your immune system, getting completely filthy, and creating, digging, and exploring the properties of mud are all hallmarks of any good childhood.
https://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/mudpit.jpg400810Stacey Maaserhttps://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/EM_Logo.pngStacey Maaser2016-06-26 09:41:112022-10-09 12:45:52How to Make a Mud Pit for Summer Fun
It started out with educational apps on ipads, playing Starfall and Pixie 4 on the computer, and watching educational programs mixed in with a moderate amount of choice, but then we got lax on the rules and noticed one day that technology had taken over our lives.
We debated a gradual reduction or a reinforcement of the original rules, but it was too late for that…
We had to quit technology cold turkey.
First, the iPads
One evening, during our nightly wrestling routine with daddy, our daughter Ruby (6) just wanted to watch Digimon (I don’t even know how we came to allow this in the first place). Usually, we can ask her to put her iPad away and she does so graciously, but this time, there was ATTITUDE! When daddy asked her to put the iPad down, she flat out said no, and then when daddy got more stern she said,
“What are you going to do if I don’t?”
Hubba wha?!?!?!? We both looked at each other in shock! Where did this mouthy little teenager come from all of a sudden?? And so daddy said what all parents of teenagers must say,
“Trust me, you don’t want to find out!”
Well needless to say, we knew something needed to change. That night, I took all of the iPads and our touch screen computer and hid them away. I also unplugged our WiiU, Playstation, and computer in the homeschool room.
The Aftermath
We weren’t really sure how to handle the explanation of the disappearance of the touchscreen devices, and when Elliot asked me the next morning where they were, I relied on a little white lie to get me through it.
“Someone stole our iPads!” I explained.
Phew, that was easy. 🙂 Elliot was quite upset, but still a pretty easy sell. He said, “God must be mad at us to let this happen.” Honestly, I don’t know where he gets these notions!
But when Ruby came home from school, she was a little more skeptical. First she wanted to know every detail of said robbery including why they miraculously didn’t take my laptop. Smart girl. Then, she wanted to conduct an investigation including knocking on the door of every neighbor and writing letters to all of her classmates. When she wouldn’t drop it, I said, “You’re right, it probably wasn’t a robbery. I’ll bet Julian just took them and hid them somewhere.”
“Are you sure you didn’t just do it mom,” she asked.
I explained that no, I didn’t do it, but even if we had our iPads, we were going to restrict their use anyways because we didn’t like how addicted everyone was getting to them and the attitudes that were emerging as a result.
To explain the unplugged video games and computers, we said that we couldn’t afford the electric bill, and so we couldn’t play them until our budget was caught up. We talk about money and finances a lot, so although they were a little upset, they really understood and accepted this explanation.
Technology Free Days
The first day without technology was TOUGH! No ABC videos to distract Julian while I was cooking, no TV during breakfast, and no choice time to entertain them while I stole some time to myself.
As they engaged in play, it was almost like they forgot how to entertain themselves. So I sat on the floor and played with them as they went from room to room trashing everything in sight. I felt like I was constantly cleaning and constantly on the move!
We spent the rest of the day engaged in play outside, and my the end of the night, they were exhausted. So was I!
By the second and third day, something beautiful started to happen. They asked about their missing iPads less and less, the negative attitude was disappearing, and we were having so much fun as a family! Whenever it would get really quiet for awhile, I would worry, “Oh no! They found them!” But then I would sneak into the room to see them engrossed with reading, playing quietly, or find that they let themselves outside to play. It was beautiful.
“Why didn’t we do this sooner?” we wondered.
Well, at least we’re doing it now…especially as these fleeting summer days beg to be enjoyed.
It’s Okay to Be Bored
Children don’t need to be constantly entertained, and neither do we. Boredom is actually a gift, a mind break that allows us to come up with new and creative ideas. The longer our children went without technology, the less they relied on us to entertain them, the fewer messes they made as they became engrossed in sustained imaginative play, the more they interacted with each other and nature, and the closer we became as a family.
As we settled into this new routine, I started finding pockets of time for myself again to work out, blog, and create. Something else pretty amazing started happening too. As the children settled into their boredom, they were more interested in what I was doing and wanted to help!
Who knew that helping me make cookies, fold the laundry, and sweep could be so much fun!
The older ones were also more willing to pitch in and do chores, and I really appreciated their help. Ruby decided she wanted her job to be laundry, and so one day she helped me put daddy’s bin of clothes into the washing machine and put away her and Elliot’s clothes. Elliot said he was really good at picking up, so he picked up the toys in one room…then he got distracted and started playing with the toys, but hey, it’s a start!
Finding a Balance
After about a week of nothing, we decided that they (we) could watch one movie during rest time. Previously, they were engrossed in their own little iPad worlds watching toy videos on YouTube and Digimon on Netflix, but with a movie, it was something we could all cuddle up and watch together. We love finding old classics like the Last Unicorn, Little Nemo, and Home Alone and watching them over and over.
When school is out and summer gets into full swing, we plan on implementing our summer routine where the older kids have to do four workbook pages (handwriting, math, cursive, etc.), three activities, and one chore to have an educational computer choice (Pixie 4, Storymaker, working on Favorite Things books, etc.) or watch a movie.
We also are going to let them have 3o minutes (from 4:00-4:30 when daddy gets home) to have a choice to watch whatever they want if they good and do all of their work, activities, and chores. Having this time gives us some leverage (i.e. by taking away a positive reinforcement it becomes a logical consequence for misbehaviors).
In Conclusion
During the long winter months, we may bring back the WiiU, Playstation, iPads, and touchscreen computer in limited and regulated amounts, but we definitely agree that taking a break over the summer is what is best for everyone. Technology can serve a valuable role in many educational opportunities, but it is just too easy to let it be a babysitter and let limits slide until the devices seem to take over. Going cold turkey and taking a break really worked for us and is something we will continue to implement as needed with all things in life. *As a side note, if we need to do this again, I will just tell them honestly why we are taking a break rather than trying to make another story out of it.
https://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/ruby-in-a-tree.jpg400810Stacey Maaserhttps://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/EM_Logo.pngStacey Maaser2016-06-03 08:57:142020-11-20 15:05:50Why We Are Giving Technology a Break
