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TomChum
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# Posted: 6 May 2011 12:05am
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What do you do at your cabin to entertain kids? I noticed several folks have a pond or stream for kids to play in, or fish in, that's lucky!
- We have a tiny creek about an inch or so deep. They play in it but no fishing.
- We have a 22 foot rope swing
- And a new 100 foot zip-line
- In the summertime we fill a 12-foot inflatable pool about 20" deep (it takes 1.5 days).
- We have a 150 foot bank in front of the cabin. This summer we'll make a large slingshot to lob water balloons into never-neverland.
- We have some little dirtbikes, a 1982 Yamaha PW50, and a 1995 PW80. ( the 1982 is 29 years old!)
- We make trails, and prepare little campsites (for the friends who will come someday).
What other forms of outdoor entertainment do you have (or have you done in the past) for kids to play on at the cabin?
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hattie
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# Posted: 6 May 2011 12:54am - Edited by: hattie
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Wow...It sounds like your kids have it pretty good already. *S*
Here are some other ideas you may want to try:
- bug collecting (and identifying later)
- make giant bubbles (you can buy GIANT bubble wands)
- horseshoes (you can buy kid sized, light-weight horseshoes)
- if you have a paved area, giant chalk is fun to use outdoors on a driveway/walkway
- a sandbox (keep it covered for when you aren't there to keep animals out) - hide coins in the sand and kids love to search for them. I used to hide them after a rain storm and told the kids a leprechaun's pot of gold was above the sandbox and every time it rained, the coins would spill out into the sandbox.
- kite flying or make glider planes to launch
- board games and popcorn are great for rainy days
- marshmallows roasted on an open fire are always a hit
- depending on their ages, you could help them (or let them do it themselves) build a clubhouse/fort
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smitty
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# Posted: 6 May 2011 08:18am
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Don't know how old they are, but when I was a boy, my favorite things to do out on the farm was, BB/Pellet gun, Bow and arrow, a guitar, and my dirt bike. Oh yeah. And my best friend Jack, he was a good dog.
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TomChum
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# Posted: 7 May 2011 11:22am - Edited by: TomChum
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I hear that, when I was a kid, either a BBgun or a little dirtbike was with me at all times. We didn't have a cabin but we had recreational property that we camped at. The "sugar-eating" activities at the campfire are usually easy winners. I'll make a little 'glass case' with push-pins for bugs too.
Some great ideas, Plz keep the ideas coming. There must be hundreds of years of kids/cabins experience on this forum. And memories. That's half the reason to build a cabin, for the memories.
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Gary O
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# Posted: 7 May 2011 12:54pm - Edited by: Gary O
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Oh, the glories of witnessing the natural match of kids and country.
Basically, we just turn 'em loose and watch their minds go to work. (Cell phone/electronic game-ectomy is essential).
They've built forts out of dead falls, tried to identify tracks and sign, played with ant hills, chased each other thru the meadow, tried their hand at live trapping, played hide and seek (fun for the whole family out there), and dropped like rocks afterward (OK, it was us that dropped).
They do enjoy having their hand at sharing camp chores, and both know how to properly build a camp fire, chopping kindling and/or finding dry matter and all.
Our plan this summer is to direct and incorporate their energy toward some defunct camper tear downs. I'm sure they'll help with the hand pump installation too.
Depending on age (I'd say 6 to 60 something), having a few scrap boards and basic tools will yield their own 'cabin' of sorts, and will at the very least give them a bit of carpentry appreciation. Sometimes a little help from grampa keeps them from discouragement and/or abandonment, but keeping the hammer in their hand is key.
A hovel/hut with a crude door will foster 'frontier' play for days.
Teaching them how to build an emergency lean-to out of natural stuff is entertaining, educational and beneficial, all at the same time.
Dogs and kids create their own games without assistance.
BB guns, Smitty, you had to go there.
When I was a kid, we had BB gun fights almost every day.
A few years back, when cabi was steadying the ladder for me while I finished up a shed roof, she noticed a round hard thing under the skin of my calf. She said it kinda rolled around freely..gave her the creeps. Light surgery yielded an aged BB.
(Musta got winged when on retreat)
I know, I know...mother's minds are screaming as they read this.
But, yes, with me and cabi close by...I think I could pick 'em off at 30 yds (after 10 or so pumps)
OK, serious, strict supervision with safety training.
Recurve bows can still be fun......
However, if you are obsessed with safety, Tiddlywinks can be entertaining...but be mindful of the power scrunge, you'll put yer eye out.
We like to end the day with scary stories by the campfire, or snuggled in the cabin. Always a favorite when we take turns. Theirs are always quite entertaining.
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SEOhio
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# Posted: 7 May 2011 01:42pm
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Slingshots and a gravel driveway are a nice match
A garden of their own with plants to water
A playset with slide, possibly built around a tree, with raised deck and clubhouse
Croquet and badminton if you have the flat treeless space
Fishing gear for use nearby?
Art equipment for indoors and out (easel, paintbrushes, etc)
Coloring books and crayons
Backpacks and canteens for exploring
Digging tools, toy cars and boats
Viewmaster with slides are good for rainy days
Puzzles
Comic books by the stack (older ones have better stories, and some are even funny)
Crystal radio and long wire antenna
Books on insects, pioneers, animals/tracks, cabin building
On rainy days, we play old kids radio shows such as "Let's Pretend" (download from archive.org)
Mountain bikes
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unixfmike
Member
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# Posted: 8 May 2011 05:16pm
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Crystal Radio! Those things are awesome. I still have a couple. At almost 35 years old I am still impressed.
--MikeW
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bugs
Member
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# Posted: 10 May 2011 09:40am
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If the kids (of all ages) are inclined try laying out a golf course down the driveway or trails (Par 10's are not uncommon!). We used real golf balls but the club(s) had to be found naturally on the property. In some games the "clubs" could be modified (whittled) to improve them. In other games the club was required to be left "as found".
There is also star gazing with binoculars or there are some good table top telescopes available now.
A simple dissecting microscope still provides me with hours of enjoyment looking at plants, rocks and dare I say bugs. A compound microscope is great to look at a drop of water and watch the hidden universe within.
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TomChum
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# Posted: 27 Jun 2011 09:29pm
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Rope swing.
Rope Swing from Misletoe'd Ponderosa
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Montanan
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# Posted: 22 Jul 2011 10:32am
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Love this thread! Our kids are 10, 7, and 5 and one of my main jobs this summer while we're finishing the cabin is to find ways to keep them entertained.
Bug collecting works great. I got 3 "insect habitats" at the dollar store. It's a clear plastic container with a vented lid that hangs on a string around the neck. There is an integrated magnifying glass in the lid and it comes with a set of plastic tweezers. My kids spend HOURS collecting bugs and building habitats for them.
Another fun idea is creating a teeter totter out of a big log and a 2x6. Just turn the log on its side and lay the board across it.
I also got a cardboard play house at a craft store. It can be colored and decorated. But a big appliance box would work just as well.
We also put the kids to work- building paths, collecting firewood, and stones for a "patio" area, etc.
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SE Ohio
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# Posted: 19 Aug 2011 01:21pm
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This just in... A recycled playset. Pressure washed the old wood, let it dry, and used oil-based stain/sealant. Got swings from Meijer.com (no affiliation), assembled it on one of the few almost flat spots. The kids brag about their view from the platform! They entertain themselves now.
Craigslist has many free or cheap playsets around larger towns. The A-frame was free, I just had to haul it. The luggage rack on our mini-van did just fine. It was a one-trip haul.
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nicalisa
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# Posted: 19 Aug 2011 01:55pm
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Wow Tom!! I am never letting my kids see your post! zip lines, rope swings and dirt bikes?? They stain wood with us, plant grass seed, run and jump between the tree stumps and fish early in the am, and late in the evening (with sandcastle building etc at the beach) this year will complete most of our projects to get walls closed up etc. We will have some smaller projects next year and likely the kids will get on dads case to build them a tree house (it has already been brought up). Have no idea how this is possible with 200ft trees, but I am sure that we can figure something out!
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TomChum
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# Posted: 21 Aug 2011 04:53pm - Edited by: TomChum
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Filling the pool by gravity. It fills at 1 inch per hour, so tomorrow noon it will be 2 feet deep.
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hattie
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# Posted: 21 Aug 2011 07:16pm
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Quoting: TomChum Filling the pool by gravity. It fills at 1 inch per hour, so tomorrow noon it will be 2 feet deep.
Now that is PATIENCE!!! *S*
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TomChum
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# Posted: 21 Aug 2011 08:15pm - Edited by: TomChum
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Patience is standing in the pool with swimsuit on when there's not even one inch. If thats patience my girls have a lot.
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Malamute
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# Posted: 22 Aug 2011 11:22am
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We had a place in the country along a river in the midwest. There was a huge rope swing, we had mini bikes and motorcycles, pellet guns, and later 22's, tho we had to be carefull which direction we shot. There was the river, and a big riverbank on one side, woods all around and a cowfield thru the woods. Just exploring around was fun, looking for critters. There was a fox den thru the woods that now and then you could see them out sunning themselves. Winter was even more fun, the river often froze up, making getting around easy, and no undergrowth in the bottom lands and woods. There was an outdoor fire pit to make fires at night, and a fireplace in the cabin for fires inside in winter. It was a great place for kids to have fun on weekends.
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hattie
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# Posted: 22 Aug 2011 06:35pm
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Another really FUN thing to do with kids (or without 'em *S*), is geocaching. It is like modern day treasure hunting. You use your GPS to go to a general location and then look for a little box (usually Tupperware type). The box can't be buried but can be hiding behind a tree stump, etc. In the box is a guestbook to sign and small dollar store prizes. You are allowed to take a prize as long as you leave a prize.
If you go to a website: www.geocaching.com you can put in your location to see if there are any caches in your area. It is free to join the site and the caches are rated for their difficulty, etc.
Where we are, there are over 80 caches within 8 miles of us. Kids and adults love this hobby and, once you have a GPS, it doesn't cost anything.
I like it because it gets you into areas that you might normally have overlooked.
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