Spring is slowly approaching and it’s time to get planning on how you can make enrichment areas outdoors for them to play in. We found the best play areas you can easily create that will have your child happier than can be to get outside and play.

One big thing that parents are incorporating into play time is sensory. Sensory is important for a child because it allows your child to get hands on and experience their surroundings and the area through their senses, and it’s important for kids to be able to use their hands to explore. A sensory path is a great idea in incorporating a couple of different materials to let the kid explore freely. One good piece of equipment that can enhance sensory perception and allow children to play at the same time is a gaga ball pit. You can set it indoors or outdoors, as long as you have enough space for the octagonal pit. The game is played like dodgeball, but milder. Playing with a gaga ball can be a fun hands-on activity for anyone of any age. If you are putting it in the sun, we advise you to be careful with the materials you choose because you don’t want to get material that will heat up in the sun and potentially burn the child.

Majority of children love to get on their hands and knees and crawl all over the place. Some can’t walk yet and this is a great idea for those who can walk and those who can’t. Instead of your child getting all dirty from crawling on the grass and dirt, you can create a little obstacle for the children to crawl in, and they will be so excited whether it’s simple or intricate. In the Spring/Summer pool noodles are very easy to get ahold of and the foam puzzle pieces might be something you already have since they’re so popular. You can start the obstacle small, and then easily add onto it with the more supplies you buy. It is also a great way to make other games out of it.

We’ve all seen the wooden building blocks that babies and younger children use to help work on their fine motor skills. This is a great idea to incorporate in your backyard because it helps them continue to work on their fine motor skills with this puzzle which is pretty much the same thing as the wooden building blocks. This type of activity can also be used in different games, such as trying to match the colors, scatter the “blocks” around the yard, and let them use their gross motor skills as well as the fine motor skills.

We all know children have the wildest imaginations, and this is a great object to let them explore. Lots of kids like to use their imagination whenever they’re place into a seat with a steering wheel. This is a great object to let them use their imagination and explore the way they would like. It is even friend-friendly in case there are other children playing.

DIY Tic Tac Toe! This is perfect to get children learning how to play tic tac toe. This game is simple for children to comprehend and can incorporate their fine and gross motor skills. Let the children pick the object they’re using for the game and let them run around and explore to get the gaming pieces to use.

DIY your own rock garden! This is a cute area that is sure to bring color to your backyard. Let the children paint as many rocks as they would like and as time goes on you will have tons of colorful rocks. You can create your own rock garden, or scatter them around the backyard, either way it is sure to add color and uniqueness to your back yard.

For those children who love to dig, create a digging area for them to explore! It is best to add rubble or dirt for them to dig into instead of digging into the actual backyard grass, but having a designated area can help the children learn to only dig in that area, and leave the rest of the backyard alone. A digging area is great because you can keep reusing the area for multiple digs and when they get tired of it, you just start over!