11/08/10 - We could never pull off building a playhouse but my daughter and I built this wigwam from saplings we cut down on our land.  It's built in the true Wampanoag (they were friends of the Pilgrims) style from directions we found here.  It's very sturdy and a neat, dry hideout in the rain.  We put a pretend fire pit inside.  It has been a great attraction for many little adventurers on our homestead.

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Building a Duck pond is a great way to use a space that may not be suitable for flowers, vegetable gardens or lawns. Duck ponds are lots of fun and great places to observe wildlife in any season. These low maintenance water features are a great addition to any property and great fun for children.  

From time immemorial kids have loved a sandbox.  For playing, learning, building, wallowing, nothing beats clean, white sand for an outdoor play area.

Perhaps you have priced the tiny plastic sandbox shaped like a turtle or the complicated structures that can be purchased from a specialty outdoor shop. The cost can be prohibitive and the quality lacking.  For the best sandbox ever, take a look at these simple steps:

 The older generation knew how to build a rope swing.  It was not a flimsy metal frame set with cramped plastic seats.  It was not a thigh-squeezing rubber sling on finger-pinching chain either. No, these swings had stout wood seats that little knees could lock on to.  Thick boat-mooring line, suspended from sturdy tree branches, allowed for a firm grasp.  At the old family homestead, a swing at the river bank might be fastened so high that the rope disappeared  into the canopy of a huge black oak. Pumping hard, you could swing out 15 feet above the water... let go and fly almost to midstream ... and land in a cannonball worthy of the name.

You can build this Brio-Thomas-Lego Compatible toy train table in 3 hours and save 70%.  

Two plans are included:
1) The table plans will fit Thomas the Tank or Tumble Tree Woods table top - 32" x 48".
2) OR the plans will show you how to build and paint your own custom table top.

 The plans show you how to build a fun, sturdy, economical alternative to expensive train tables found in a store.