Fishing for thongs and other childhood games

Here is a photo of my two youngest fishing for thongs from our hammock which they have managed to string up perilously high (against a particularly ugly backdrop of our neighbour's construction sight - but that's another story). So high in fact that the littlest one needs a ladder to get up there! My thrill at watching this crazy game almost overrides my parental anxiety. Almost. But if you want your kids to play outside and use their imaginations, well, what can you do?

Here's an option just as creative and far safer (perhaps). Thanks to the fabulous blog Free Range Kids, I came across this wonderful mini-doco on a simple yet creative way to get kids involved in imaginative play. I found it very inspiring. It only goes for ten minutes and is definitely worth a watch if, like me, you love watching kids play. I almost feel inclined to set up a mini version of the playpod at home. Though on a bad day our whole house often looks like a playpod. I think the trick is to have a big space to lock all that junk away again at the end of the day...