This beautiful weather is REALLY making me want to get outdoors and have some fun with my family! Outdoor games are a great way to add excitement and healthy exercise to your family time. Basketball, soccer, and even chess can turn a regular day into extraordinary time! Even simple games like Murbles, which requires very little equipment, can keep you entertained for hours. You will get a dose of exercise and fresh air that will improve your health and well-being. Take advantage of the nice temperatures and enjoy some outdoor games today!
Category Archives: Backyard Fun
BackyardCity is Featured in Popular Mechanics Magazine!
The Pathfinder Wooden Swing Set from BackyardCity has been featured in the May 2012 issue of Popular Mechanics magazine. In the four page spread, PM explains that they chose BackyardCity because of the quality our hardware package and wave slide. A complete supply list and beautiful pictures detailing the construction process are included. If you have considered building a wooden swing set for your own family, the Pathfinder is a great option. To read more about this feature, you can read our Popular Mechanics Pathfinder Swing Set Article here. Be sure to check out the new issue of Popular Mechanics, as well as BackyardCity.com!
4 Easy Steps to a Safe and Healthy Sandbox
With spring just around the corner, the kids will soon be anxious to get outside and engage in some seriously fun backyard play time. Have you had a chance yet to spruce up the sandbox? Before the kids are allowed to start digging and shoveling, make sure the sandbox is ready for another season of active play. The following four easy steps will help you ensure that the sandbox is clean, safe, and inviting for your kids.
1. Replace the sand.
Over time, the sand in outdoor sandboxes gets dirty and should be completely replaced periodically. Generally speaking, replacing sand every year or two should be adequate, but more frequent changes might be needed depending on how often children play in the box and whether a sandbox cover is used consistently. Play sand, rather than building sand, is the best choice for children’s play areas because it is cleaner and free of materials, like clay, that are likely to stain clothing and skin.
2. Inspect sand toys.
Shovels, rakes, and other toys intended for sand play are not always the most durable of tools. Consequently, they don’t often last for more than a season or two. When sand toys or other tools used in the sandbox break, they can have sharp edges or pointy parts that can cause injuries. Before allowing kids to play in the sandbox this spring, check the condition of their sand toys. Toss out any broken or worn out tools, and replace them with tools made from more durable materials.
3. Check sand on a regular basis.
Don’t assume that the sandbox will stay in good condition over the course of the spring and summer. Sharp sticks, rocks, and other debris find their way into play sand quite easily. What’s more, sand toys may not be able to survive an entire season of active play. Checking the sand on a weekly basis allows you to discover and remove any potentially harmful debris and broken toys. You may also need to replenish play sand during these weekly check-ups, especially if kids have spent any time shoveling it out of the box.
4. Use a sandbox cover.
Sandbox covers are not used as extensively or as frequently as they should be, but they are one of the easiest and most important ways to maintain a safe and healthy sandbox. When used properly, sandbox covers prevent excess debris, like leaves, sticks, and rocks, from getting into the sand and creating a potential danger to children. Sandbox covers also protect sand from blowing away in strong breezes, and they keep insects from burrowing and nesting in the sand. Most importantly, sandbox covers prevent play sand from being contaminated by animals who would like to use the sandbox as their toilet.
The only way to use sandbox covers successfully, of course, is to use them regularly when children are not playing in the box. Use sandbox covers that are made to fit your sandbox. Tarps and other makeshift covers can be easily dislodged or removed by animals or strong winds, making them unreliable and ineffective.
Overall, maintaining the backyard sandbox is a simple task that requires little time and few supplies. Keeping all play areas safe and healthy for your kids will give you peace of mind, and will provide your kids and their imaginations with hours of good, clean, simple fun.
Swing Set Updates That Keep Kids Interested
The backyard swing set you bought for your kids when they were small was probably filled with challenging and fun equipment just right for their age and size. Bucket swings for safety, a short ladder leading to a scoop slide, and maybe even a club house for hours of pretend play. As kids grow older, though, their ideas about what’s fun and challenging evolve. Making sure that the backyard swing set doesn’t become an unused eyesore means keeping up with your children’s changing interests and abilities. By updating the swing set periodically with equipment and accessories that meets your kids’ current needs, you can ensure that the swing set continues to appeal to your kids over the course of many years.
Alternative Swings
Swings are an affordable place to start when it comes to updating a swing set’s accessories. If you haven’t done so already, swap out the bucket swing or half-bucket swing with a traditional belt swing or two. Don’t stop there, though. Swings come in all shapes and styles, and a little variety adds a lot of appeal to a backyard swing set.
Slides
Swing sets generally come with a standard scoop slide, which is straight, smooth, and adequately thrilling for little ones. As kids get older, though, they tend to prefer a more exhilarating ride. Replacing your original slide for a spiral slide can offer that extra bit of thrill to older kids. Spiral slides are often completely enclosed tubes, too, similar to what you find on commercial or public playgrounds. The enclosed spiral brings an additional measure of excitement to the sliding experience.
Climbing Accessories
Climbing equipment offers growing kids a fun way to challenge their bodies’ developing abilities. While not usually appropriate for young children, climbing accessories help older kids gain confidence, strengthen muscles, and refine gross motor and motor planning skills. Monkey bars may be the most common type of climbing accessory found on standard swing sets, but they can be added to an existing swing set that doesn’t already have them. Rope ladders and rock wall climbing kits are available, too, and are exceptionally appealing to adventurous kids.
Making small but meaningful changes to your backyard swing set over time will not only encourage years of continued interest by your kids, but will also reinforce the value of your initial investment in the swing set.
Solar Powered Chinese Lanterns Make Creative Lighting Year Round
Chinese lanterns make a colorful and distinctive addition to creative backyard and patio decor. But, you don’t need to wait until Chinese New Year rolls around again to adorn your garden or patio with Chinese lanterns. Fun and funky, solar-powered Chinese lanterns bring colorful illumination to any backyard gathering no matter the time of year. Since they’re covered in a weather-resistant nylon fabric rather than fragile paper, they can stay in your outdoor areas indefinitely. And, because they are solar-powered, these energy-saving lights require no wires or cords, making them easy to hang anywhere.