Outdoor Adventures
The natural world is a place for exploration, filled with exciting adventures and amazing discoveries. It’s a place to explore, learn about risk, build confidence and escape into the imagination – we don’t need theme parks when nature has provided us with such a vast and diverse playground.
Our outdoor games aim to provide ideas to encourage children to venture into the natural world around them.
Circle the pit with rocks. Clear a 5 foot area around the pit down to the soil.
Stack extra wood upwind and away from fire.
Make sure you have a shovel and plenty of water nearby or sand. An additional safety measure is to have sand and water on hand to smother and douse the fire if it does get out of the fire pit. It is wise to gather these materials before they are actually needed.
Only use dead wood collected from the ground.
Keep the fire as small as possible
Lighting the fire - Place dry kindling and small dry sticks in an a shaped frame in the
centre of the pit. Place slightly larger sticks in top. Keep dry kindling nearby and bigger sticks for when the fire catches. Light the kindling with a match. Once the large kindling is burning, all of the kindling should be put on the fire and then add the bigger branches or logs as needed to keep it going.
If the kindling does not catch fire, it could be because the wood is wet, the weather is too wet there is too much wind or there is a lack of oxygen.Blow a bit on the small flames to get the fire going. Make sure an adult does this.
After lighting, do not discard match until cold.
Make sure you extinguish the fire properly when you have finished with it. To properly cool a fire, water should be splashed on all the embers, including places that are not glowing red. The water should be poured until the hissing noises stop.  Then the ashes should be stirred with a stick to make sure that the water has penetrated all the layers; if the hissing continues, more water should be added. A fire is fully extinguished if the ashes are cool to the touch. If water is scarce, sand may be used. The sand will deprive the fire of oxygen quite well, but it is much less effective than water at absorbing heat. Once the fire has been covered thoroughly with sand, all water that can be spared should be poured on it, and the sand stirred into the ash.
If you are in a wilderness area, make sure you replace anything that was moved while preparing the fire site, and scatter anything that was gathered, returning it to its natural way you found it
Some don’ts
- Don’t build your fire in the wild
- Never build a fire during dry periods or when its windy, because the fire can spread quickly and out of control and the bush being dry will catch fire easier
- Don’t leave the fire unattended
- No fire should be lit close to trees, tents or other fire hazards. This includes overhanging branches; some carry dead, dry material that can ignite from a single airborne ember.
- Fires also should not be lit on bare rocks. The ash will leave a black stain that cannot be easily removed, but the fire’s heat can lead to more dramatic consequences. It will cause the outer layer of the rock to expand, possibly causing it to crack. It may also boil pockets of water contained in the rock.
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Growing your own veggies is a great way to learn about the world, get kids outside, save money and encourage healthy eating. Many people already do it, and lots of us say we should do it. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you don’t have the space or the money, because you can get around that. We live in a small ground floor unit, and we have a row of pots out the back with tomatoes, carrots and herbs growing.
Step one - work out where you are going to grow your plants. If you have a house with a big backyard, you can have as big a garden as takes your fancy. You might need to build a garden bed, or perhaps you already have an empty bed there. If you have a small yard, you might need to be a little more creative. Can you fit a garden down the side, or in a funny-shaped corner somewhere? If you’re in a unit, can you put pots outside or on a veranda? The advantage of this is that you can take them with you if you move; pots are also a good option for renters. Talking through the options of where to put the garden/ pots, what will fit where and the like develops spacial awareness in your children - a very important mathematical skills.
Step two - go shopping! This doesn’t have to be expensive. Give you children a budget ($10 gets you set up nicely) or at least get them to add up your purchases as you go. Also make sure that you compare brands and sizes of pots and plants at the hardware store/ nursery. This is yet another opportunity for you do weave numeracy development into everyday activities.
This is a list of things which you might need, depending on your circumstances, what you already have and your budget. Seeds, seedlings, pots and saucers, stakes, fertiliser (if desired), potting mix, watering can, shovel/ trowel etc.
There are also many ways to drop the cost down if you want. Instead of buying plastic pots (about $5) buy a 98c bucket and drill some holes in the bottom. Buy smaller seedlings, or seeds, as these are cheaper than larger plants. A watering can isn’t a necessity, a milk or soft drink bottle with some holes in the top and the lid on turned upside down is a good improvisation. Remember to keep your kids adding up how much you’re spending. Compare this figure later with the money you save with not buying veggies later. It might take a few goes to make up for purchasing non consumables like pots, but within two or three ‘crops’ you’ll come out ahead.
Step three - measuring out and planting. Plant your seeds/ seedlings according to the directions on the packet. Have the kids measure out the rows 20cm apart, and the 5cm between each carrot or whatever the directions are. More geometry! If you’re using soft potting mix, the kids’ beach toys will probably be enough to dig holes; why buy a metal spade if a plastic one you already have will do?
Step four - tracking the growth. Depending on how enthusiastic your kids are and how long you want to spend, you might want to keep track of how well your plants are growing. Make a list on paper or in Excel of the date (or number of days since planting) and the height. If your kids are really keen (and/ or doing graphing at school) you might want to make a graph of the growth rate. Remember to keep it fun. Phone Grandma and let her know how quickly the tomatoes are growing, or that there are now three carrot shoots coming through. Enthusiasm = good! The more excited they are, the more maths you can sneak in, and the more they’ll be looking forward to eating them.
Which is step five - eating! The kids should be really excited about eating food which they have seen grow from scratch. It also means that you’ll save money that week at the shops, and you won’t have to buy as many veggies!
centre of the pit. Place slightly larger sticks in top. Keep dry kindling nearby and bigger sticks for when the fire catches. Light the kindling with a match. Once the large kindling is burning, all of the kindling should be put on the fire and then add the bigger branches or logs as needed to keep it going.
