My Great Grandmother had a kid outdoor playhouse that we spent many hours in. Recalling those care-free and fun childhood years still makes me laugh! Thinking back to the little things that entertained us, we could care less about expensive stuff! A little mud, some worms, and some of Grandma's old baking pans was all it took to entertain us for hours.
Old cooking pans, a muffin tin, spoons and bowls were some of the fun we had in our kid's outdoor playhouse. Don't worry, if you don't have any older kitchen tools, rummage sales or asking grandmas and grandpas are an excellent help! They oftentimes enjoy cleaning out their clutter from years prior!
It's a good idea to specify to children what can and cannot go outside into the kid's outdoor playhouse. Let them take an older doll, and a couple sets of clothes. Playing house can be a lot of fun with friends! Making it very clear what stays in the house and what can go into the kid's outdoor playhouse will help them to understand what need to stay in the playhouse. Doing so will keep some of the dirt and grime out of your home!
Homemade play dough is another very cheap and fun way to help them create their own fun in the kid's outdoor playhouse. I would suggest making 2-3 batches of colorful homemade play dough. If you've got flour, salt, water, oil and cream of tarter, a couple colors of food coloring you can easily whip up a couple batches in just a few minutes:
Play dough recipe:
1. 4 Cups of flour
2. 1 Cup of Salt
3. 4 Cups of Water
4. 4 Tablespoons Oil
5. 1/2 Cup Cream of tarter
6. You're preference of food coloring!
Mix all ingredients into a saucepan. Cook and stir over low/medium heat until play dough is completely formed and no longer sticky. Allow to cool for a few minutes before storing in a zip lock bag or Tupperware container. This recipe is kid friendly should they decide to eat it! Eating is not recommended, but it does happen! Feel free to give them old cookie cutters. Encourage them to use their imagination in their kids outdoor playhouse and make play dough cookies, meals for their doll or just have fun making their own creations!
It is recommended to teach children to clean up after themselves! It may be traumatic, but the play dough will dry out if it's not put away. Putting away their toys is not hard or time consuming, but it does teach them responsibility at an early age.
Regardless of what you implement into your kid's outdoor playhouse, you'll be bound to create a place they can go to that's out of the sun, safe and will entertain them! Those fun summer days will lead to many wonderful childhood memories with cousins, friends and of course their brother or sister in the kid's outdoor playhouse!