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So that the children in the country house or near the house do not explore the beds or any other places where they should not be, they need an interesting corner for them. As a rule, parents come to the idea of the need to create a playground or a sports corner – it depends on the age and desire of the children. A self-made playground is good because during its construction it is possible to provide for the possibility of its gradual transformation. After all, what is suitable for 2-3 year olds is no longer liked by 5-6 year olds, and even more so for older children. And besides, a do-it-yourself playground is often built not so much for reasons of economy, but for the desire to please the child: who knows better than parents what your child likes … Someone needs a pirate ship, but someone needs their own, real, house with a porch, a door and all the necessary attributes.
Select a location
It will be a difficult task to solve. Firstly, it is desirable that the playground be viewed from the house, and from the room in which someone is most of the time. Ideally, if the site is viewed from several rooms or points. Secondly, it should be located away from outbuildings with “aromas”, if any. Thirdly, it is advisable to take into account the fertility of the soil: an infertile area or with complex geology can be allocated for a play complex: there is no need to dig into the ground, maximum – 30-40 cm to bury swing posts.
When choosing a place, it’s a good idea to place a children’s play area near a wall or a solid fence. These zones can sharply be fully used, and in this case they can be used for games. For example, make a mini climbing wall on the wall, fix rope ladders, a slate board and other devices no less interesting for children. You probably know what your children like, and if you don’t know, you can find out: there are enough fences and walls, place different devices in different areas and watch where your child stays longer. So find out which games he is more drawn to, you will know in which direction to move on.
Lighting must also be taken into account. The place for children to play should not be constantly in the shade, but the sun is also not needed. Approximately 2/3 of the site should be in the shade (sandbox, swings), and 1/3 – in the sun – a pool, if any, an active play area. If there is no shade on the site, you will have to come up with a canopy or put up a large umbrella.
At the same time, please note that there is no constant draft in the area of the proposed site. Children, of course, need to be tempered, but not in this way. Even when choosing a place for a children’s play area, pay attention to the fact that electrical appliances or any shields, machines and other similar devices are not located nearby. Children are curious and inventive, so it’s better not to risk it.
What area is needed
A little about the area that needs to be taken away for a children’s playground. Small children don’t need much space – a sandbox, a few very simple projectiles, a small pool if you think possible. It’s nice to have a lawn, or a flat, smooth piece with some kind of suitable surface, where you can lie down to your heart’s content. That’s all. For all this, an area of u4bu5bXNUMX-XNUMX square meters is enough. meters.
For small children, it is desirable to enclose the area. This will give you the opportunity not to be constantly nearby, but to do your own business nearby: children in sight and safe. The fence can be any – it’s all about your imagination, desire and possibilities. The main requirement is that it must be safe and durable or completely inaccessible to children. For example, like the chain-link mesh that you see in the photo above. It comes with a plastic coating of bright colors and does not look as harsh as usual.
If for some reason you don’t like this option, you can put a picket fence, which will be about the height of the children somewhere on the shoulders, the distance between adjacent planks should be such that the head does not crawl there. Fences can be painted with different colors.
Just pay attention that the tops are rounded and do not have sharp corners, they are well processed: splinters are very frustrating for children. The fence must be firmly attached. With the expectation that the children will definitely hang on them and jump.
Rope fencing is rarely used, but it looks good, it performs its functions perfectly: durable, safe, aesthetically attractive.
For older children, the fence is a relic. For them, the field of activity is the entire site, and only something really interesting can distract them. More space is also needed here. If possible, take children under 7 years old 8-9 m2, from 7 to 12 years – up to 12 m2. Here the set of shells is already more serious, which is why large areas are required.
Playground cover
This is a complex topic with a very difficult choice. While the children are small, the lawn is perfect for them. Not ceremonial, but sports (there is a special composition of herbs with high abrasion resistance). He is not so attractive in appearance, but is able to endure little pranksters with almost no damage. The disadvantage of lawns is the need for regular care: watering, mowing, etc.
The lawn can no longer cope with the load from the games of grown children. Especially in the zone of active games: near slides, swings. These are the most problematic areas. If you leave these areas “as is”, then during the rain a puddle forms under them, after a couple of “races”, turning into a swamp. There is a good solution: make a drainage pad out of crushed stone, and fill it with sand or lay a rubber coating like that used in stadiums. It is durable and strong.
To remove moisture from the area of the playground, they remove the soil to a depth of 15-20 cm, fall asleep and ram the rubble, pour it on top and also ram the sand. Both layers are about 10-15 cm each. During construction, you can already stop at this: landing on such a site is already not bad. But the sand is gradually pulled apart, and it will have to be periodically updated. You can spread a rubber mat. This is already more serious, only it will be necessary to make a slight slope so that the water rolls off it during the rain. Someone just lays rubber mats, which are replaced as they wear out.
Another way out is to fill the entire site with fine, sifted sand. It will periodically need to be leveled and topped up, but this is perhaps the most practical way out.
Another option is to pour crushed bark. Another question is that not everyone has the opportunity to take this bark. But if there is, try it. The covering is soft and not traumatic. Only it is necessary to grind it well and remove the chips that may be there.
Of the more technologically advanced, we can offer the following:
- Regupol. Factory rubber coating, laid on a flat concrete or asphalt base. The cost is $25-70 per square meter.
- Coating of crumb rubber with the addition of a binder. It is poured onto a prepared leveled area (it is possible on compacted sand laid on top of crushed stone). The price is $25-80 per square meter.
- Modular high density PVC systems. Plates that are connected according to the principle of puzzles. The price of a “square” is $50-70.
- artificial grass. It is laid on a prepared base of quartz sand and crumb rubber, requires water drainage. Depending on the height of the pile, it costs from $40 to $80.
It’s hard to choose. There are too many mutually exclusive requirements and desires, but something will have to be chosen. The most common option is lawn, the second most popular is sand. The remaining coatings are applied only in places – in the most “loaded” parts.
The choice of equipment for the playground
Planning the elements of the playground is best with children. After all, it is for them that you are going to build a playing area, and it is their desires that you need to listen to. Often we try to reproduce what, in our understanding, should be interesting for them, and then we are surprised that the children play anywhere, but not on the site, which they built with such love. All because you embodied your desires and expectations, not children’s. Listen to what the child wants, walk around the guests who already have similar facilities, see where the child spends more time. On this basis, it is already possible to build something.
Sandboxes
For kids, there must be a sandbox on the playground. This develops their coordination, allows them to develop faster. The usual design – four boards – is not a problem to knock down, but I want it to be also beautiful. For the boys, the sandbox-machine will be interesting. It is made of two-color painted moisture-resistant laminated plywood.
Under the hood is a toy box. Inside in the cockpit, there is also an “entrance” to this box.
In general, wooden cars for boys are great fun. They are passionate about it. another option from an old barrel.
Another interesting idea is how to make a shadow over the playing area: fix a rod at a height, throw an awning over it, making a kind of tent. And it’s not hot, and there is shade.
Children’s houses
The most popular part of the play corner with children is your own house, where you can hide from the all-seeing eye of adults, set your own rules. For children, it does not matter what their house is built of. They play well in a fabric tent, a hut made of branches. There are many designs of children’s summer houses, which are quickly and easily “built”. Moreover, even the smallest can be involved in this construction: it will be even more interesting to play in a house built with your own hands.
For example, a hut. Watch children play. This is exactly the building that they erect most often. In different regions they call it differently: someone is their “headquarters”, someone is “home”, a hut, a halabuda. They usually use sticks, bedspreads, other improvised material. Based on this “chalabudostroenie”, several of the following designs of houses for children were made.
The cheapest way to build a summer house for children is to put a few poles in a hut, plant them around the bindweed and wait a couple of weeks for them to grow. The shape of this living hut can be any: in the form of a cone, as in the photo, a traditional hut, more like a house, etc. Tie the poles together with twine, plastic clamps, or something similar. It is only important to ensure a sufficiently stable frame, otherwise naughty children can overwhelm the structure.
In general, it is not necessary to wait until the plants grow. You can sew a fabric cover, make an entrance, like in a wigwam … There are a lot of opportunities for using fantasy.
A quick and absolutely safe way to build a children’s hut is to fix fabric panels on the hoop. Hang this design, for example, on a tree. Under it, lay out the mats, attach the panels to the edges. It will turn out an excellent summer house in which children will be cool and cozy.
Moreover, this design is suitable not only for girls. Hang a camouflage net or camouflage fabric on the hoop. The boys will definitely make their headquarters in it.
If your child dreams of a house like yours, there are even more options. It is usually built using frame technology: pillars are buried in the corners, the lower and upper trims are attached to them. The lower trim is the basis for the floor, the upper one is the ceiling. If the house is planned high, a sandbox is often placed below. The house located on top closes it from rain and sun.
If the house is planned at ground level, construction can be started in a different way. Set the blocks on which it will stand level, lay a beam (80 * 80 mm or 100 * 100 mm) on them, connect it into a rectangle, fasten the corners with metal patch plates. After already attach to the bottom frame in the corners of the rack, which will become a support for the walls and roof.
Some children like to have a house, just like adults have: with a porch, a real door and a window, a sofa … This is also what parents have done more than once. The basis is the same: a beam from which the frame of the building is assembled, and it is sheathed depending on the desire. Faster to work with sheet material, such as waterproof plywood, longer – with boards or clapboard.
Slides for children
Slides are no less popular with children. The fast descent is a lot of fun. This is where parents get in trouble. What to make a children’s slide? The traditional coating – a sheet of stainless steel – has now become very expensive, and it is dangerous to leave it on the street unattended – they will carry it away. Ordinary steel will not work – it rusts very quickly, so you have to look for a replacement. There are several options:
- Find a ready-made plastic tray. You just have to adjust to the sizes that are.
This children’s slide is made from a ready-made plastic tray. - Make a slide out of wood by polishing the boards very carefully. The descent will not be fast, but such a slide is safe for kids, although the elders will not be interested.
Wooden children’s slide must be carefully sanded - Sheathe the wooden frame with something more slippery. As an option – a piece of linoleum. You can use trimmings that are sold in the construction markets. Bring it high on the sides and fasten well. The slide is smooth, safe to ride, enough for a year. Appearance, though “not very”, but it all depends on the level of skill. You can close the edges with a well-finished plank, which can also be a railing.
For greater descent speed, the children’s slide can be sheathed with linoleum - Make a base from a sheet of smooth material, pour everything with liquid acrylic, which covers the bathrooms. This idea is experimental, there has been no experience of application yet …
And only a hill in the country or near the house is very rarely done. Usually this is only part of the game complex, which includes various shells: rope and ordinary ladders with different angles of inclination, hanging paths, nets, swings on chains or ropes, poles with crossbars and, in general, everything you can think of. You will find a few ideas below in the photo gallery.
Swing
Hanging swings are popular not only among children, but also among adults. There are many different options – from models for toddlers to older children. Some of them you saw in the photo above. To create such entertainment, not many materials are needed: chains or ropes on which the seat will be attached.
If you use ropes, you must regularly check their condition: they become less durable from exposure to the sun and can fray. Chains are more reliable in this regard: they can withstand heavy loads, but they pose another danger: moving chain links can pinch the skin. It is very painful, and large hematomas are obtained. But there is a way out. To keep it safe, hoses are put on the chains in those places where they are taken by hand. Their shell protects the hands of children and adults who swing the swing (or ride themselves).
Only bad luck – curious kids love to pick pipes, so check them periodically. Sometimes covers made of very dense fabric such as tarpaulin are used as a protective layer.
Often there are questions about how to attach chains or ropes to the crossbar. The most popular solution is the carbine. But they have two drawbacks: when rocking, they creak quite strongly, and besides, they gradually wear out. The rate of wear depends on the mass of the swinging children (they do not always sit on the swing one at a time) and on the intensity of use. Both problems can be partially solved by periodic lubrication, but only partially. The second option is to use bearings, but welding is indispensable here. See the photo below for a few options on how to attach a swing to the crossbar.
Where to get such devices? In shops selling rigging. You may find other ideas there.
Often the question arises: how and from what to make a seat. Yes, from anything. Even from a tire or from a piece of tarp, an old chair – wooden or plastic, just a piece of board. Craftsmen manage to use the old chair.
Having slightly modified them and hung them only slightly above the ground, we teach not a swing, but a simulator for developing balance. Of particular interest to the boys will be the option with a board from a skateboard. And on a wide platform you can swing while sitting …
Stairs and walkways
Ladders are one of the key elements that connects all the disparate parts into a single whole, allowing you to move from one projectile to another. They are made from well-crafted wood. The steps should be round (at least 5 cm in diameter, so that it is convenient to take it with your hands) and straight. You can make rope steps: they are harder to climb, but they develop coordination well.
Hang a rope net on one side, make a rope ladder. Rope shells are not in vain present in all extreme shows. They are safe, but require well-developed coordination and dexterity. At first, it’s hard for the kids, but it’s precisely for such “shells” that they are drawn.
Here is the basic set of elements from which children’s playgrounds are assembled. For older boys, you can add a horizontal bar and rings. They already need to develop not only coordination, but also muscle strength. In general, there can be a lot of ideas. Some of them are in the photo below. We hope that the playground made by your efforts will bring joy to children, and pleasure to you: it is always nice to look at what you have done with your own hands.