Sticks

[Ariana]

With my own kids I fostered creativity and I allowed sticks and rocks wherever and whenever. Did not matter the size. With daycare kids and the liability I am much more strict. It also depends on the child. A well able bodied 4 year old can have a stick to play with, a crazy 2 year old cannot. Most of the time I allow rocks of all shapes and sizes as long as they are not being thrown. I have not had an issue.

Sticks can be played with on the parents time. A kid getting impaled by a stick in his own yard is a much better way to go::

[Jdy2222]

Yes to sticks, thinner than your thumb and not held above your waist - that said, we don't have many sticks that end up in our yard as we really only have one tree.

Yes to rocks, but no throwing and they must be put back where you found them in the rock garden (I don't want my yard guys to have to worry about mowing over them). I went to a landscaping place and bought all the flattest but not big rocks I could find there. Any that are heavy at all were left behind. I made a rock stacking garden with them.

Grass ... pet peeve, no idea why but it I have one grass picker and it drives me nuts, probably because she's then getting grass in the water table and sand table ... not a big deal but it displeases me sense of order.

[Miss A]

I have been following Denita since someone posted about her play accounts page a few weeks ago and she is where a lot of my thinking has been coming from along with other outside research I’ve been doing about the things she discusses.

I’ve also seen more providers turning to “nature scape” types of outdoor play spaces. My outdoor space leaves something to be desired in terms of daycare at least. I have visions of how I want my daycare to look 5-10 years from now with the outdoor area needing the most work as it just looks like a typical backyard with a playset and grass currently. I am only in my second year of full time in home daycare and other things have taken priority so far.

I remember sending you her page link now a couple months ago! Denita really has me thinking daily about my program and my approach to child care. I just love her.

And I hear you on the outdoor play space. I have slowly accumulated outdoor items that are loved and used daily, but it has taken a while. I try to buy lightly used items as often as possible to help keep my cost low. But, so many other repair/maintenance/necessary improvement projects have pipped up along the way

[Unregistered]

Rocks yes, picking grass-sure, sticks generally no

[Unregistered]

I have a fenced in play area that has mulch for ground cover. Usually, the kids stay in that area and don't go on to the grass so there's no grass or rocks for them to play with. When we take walks around the yard, I'm ok with them picking the grass and dandelions.

There is a maple tree in the play area that tends to shed its branches any time it gets windy. The kids help me pick up the sticks and put them in buckets but don't play with them. I never had a problem with kids playing with sticks until I attended a first aid class where we were taught how to use a Dixie cup to stabilize a stick that is stuck in someone's eye. No thank you! ::

In my state, you get written up for having sticks in your outdoor area.

[e.j.]

In my state, you get written up for having sticks in your outdoor area.

I'm not sure I'd get written up for a few sticks on the ground but safety is one of the reasons we (mostly me) work together to pick them up and put them in a bucket. The bucket is removed from the play area and my husband disposes of them when he gets home from work.

[Cat Herder]

In my state, you get written up for having sticks in your outdoor area.

Mine too, unless you write them into a curriculum plan. :: They are then natural manipulatives. It differentiates "yard waste" from "natural materials for exploration".

It is ludicrous to me but someone with an expensive degree behind a tax payor provided desk, somewhere in a big air-conditioned building, with lunch breaks and benefits says it grows better-prepared adults for their future to do it that way. And so, I am mandated to do so.

[Jupadia]

Sticks I don't allow play, but they are welcome to throw any sticks that fall from the maple tree into the fire pit (not lite of course during daycare). But my brother came very close to poking out his own eye playing sticks needed stitches under eyebrow. So no playing with them. They are welcome to play in the mulch under the playplace or dig in the sandtable. No rocks back there but I do allow all the dandelion picking the want and they help me pick the weeds that grow between the patio stones. They leave the grass alone but there is also lots of weeds in it.

[Kimskiddos]

My place space has quite a few oak trees and they shed! They are fairly brittle and break easily, so lots of twigs. My rule is you can play with sticks if you are sitting on your bottom. We also have a stick collection bucket. Rocks are put in a different bucket. I always have a few toddlers and they love to throw, outside is our safe place to throw things. so I have a no rocks rule.

[e.j.]

But my brother came very close to poking out his own eye playing sticks needed stitches under eyebrow. So no playing with them.

I'm not sure why your post reminded me of my dd's stick "incident" but...she was walking toward a friend who was holding and playing with a relatively large stick. He threw it down on the ground just as she took a step forward. The stick bounced and ended up going right into her leg, creating a good size puncture wound. It was a freak accident but it opened my eyes to what can happen even if kids aren't playing rough with sticks. In my heart, I'd love to be more like Denita Dinger but I tend to worry (probably too much) about liability and ending up as a story on the evening news.