With the sun shining at the moment and myself and Little Bird venturing out into the garden most days, I start to think about play items for outside to help LB with his play skills. One of the areas I am keen to help him develop is imaginative play as this helps him to learn about the world around him. A wooden playhouse would be perfect to work on this key developmental skill and would be great fun but also look gorgeous in the garden painted up in pretty colours.
We could personalise the playhouse to Little Bird's interests which is mostly anything to do with farms. I think this lovely Honeypot Dutch Barn style playhouse would be perfect and would certainly look very smart in the garden. LB could pretend he was the farmer, finding all the animals in Old Macdonald (a song that is sang many, many times a day!) Pretending to be different characters helps with social development, a skill that is so hard for LB as he has autism. Working on pretend play can also encourage and build confidence and help with problem solving skills.
A few props with the playhouse would work well, perhaps some mini gardening tools, play animals and furniture. We could pretend we were collecting chicken eggs or chasing after the naughty goat. Great opportunities for practicing vocabulary and at the current moment, leaning action verbs to increase LB's language skills. Playhouses provide an exciting and safe environment in your garden for children to play and have hours of fun.
Source: Pinterest
A playhouse could also incorporate play equipment such as slides and sandpits for plenty of make believe opportunities and a good space saver for a smaller garden. Extra fun to climb and slide and what an amazing clubhouse for your kids to have friends over to play in.
Another addition to a playhouse would be to have a play kitchen whether it is one made from old furniture with a bit of DIY or one already made. With sweet little cupboards, pans and play food, I'm not sure who would like this more, me or my son :)
Source: Pinterest
As I'm home educating LB, I am so keen to ensure that I provide him with the best opportunities and a playhouse would give us another location to play and learn in. Seeing for myself that imaginative play can be hard for a child with autism, I want to nurture and develop those skills very closely for they are key to encourage life skills.
Do you have a playhouse or what sort of style playhouse would you have?
A sunny day prompted a home ed meet up with friends. Brereton Heath Nature Reserve near Congleton, a lake surrounded by woodland and fields. Once upon a time a large estate planted with Scots pine trees but then becoming a source of silica sand before eventually the reserve it is today. The lake is actually the old sand quarry. There is also lowland heath here, comprising of heathers, ferns and mosses which is quite rare so this area has conservation work to maintain this important ecosystem.
The park is now a haven for wildlife enthusiasts and dog walkers, sometimes canoeists use the lake too. Little Bird loved looking for ducks and other birds and our home education friend was busy snapping away on his camera, trying to catch the perfect shot of a robin. Sadly the robin kept flying away, such is the luck of the promising wildlife photographer. 
We did spy a bee warming itself on a sign which posed patiently for a few photographs.
Flowers of course are ideal to capture except LB wanted to pick them all today and walk around with them. It was nearly the end of the world when one was lost but a quick replacement was found. He really loves nature and the little daisy was a source of such interest. The fine detail of life fascinates LB.
Like perfect little feathers, so delicate and so collectible for my budding naturalist. We now have a nature table at home where pine cones, pretty pebbles and leaves are displayed. LB learns the names of his natural treasures and it helps encourage his vocabulary which is increasing all the time. The home education route is working so well for him. No stress and at his own pace, learning about the things that interest him.
We met many dogs around the lake and LB shows no fear at all. At one point there must have been seven dogs around us, playing, running into the water collecting balls and he just happily looks on, smiling to himself. We have two dogs at home of course, so he has grown up with dogs being part of his life. He gravitates towards toy dogs in his play so I think we will build upon this and use this interest to help him learn new skills. 
Sadly not everybody remembers the above which is very annoying! 
Little Bird has started to venture into more imaginative play recently, well of a sort but it is super progress. This willow tunnel became a house which was amazing to hear him say. He's really starting to come more out of his shell and catch up on some areas of development. Also, when it was time to move on, he managed with no fuss at all and this has made such a difference to both of our anxiety levels. Together on the home education journey we are finding our way and it is exciting to see how when he is in the right environment he will make great steps forward.
It has been a busy few weeks with birthdays - mine and my mum's either side of Mother's Day, so plenty of cake and treats. I've had some lovely bunches of flowers brightening the house and my favourite had to be the purple hues of the Cape Flora bouquet from M&S with the exquisite Protea in it. They are still going strong now and make a nice change from my usual roses. I do still love roses though and received another bouquet with yellow roses, chrysanthemums and what I think is Bishop's flower (Ammi majus), a beautiful cow parsley-like white umbellifer. I need to grow this! Such a great filler in a posy.
Some of my birthday treats were the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette, a kitsch unicorn that you fill with cake sprinkles, tea-towels, a frame for my book map, an owl mug cosy and a cute stripy plant pot. Mustn't forget my Graham Turner Battle of Bosworth cards too. Being a Richard III enthusiast shall we say, well I joined my local group (more on that here) I therefore always receive something related to my favourite king.
Thrilled to have my book map finally up on the wall. Highly recommend this poster for any book enthusiasts. I can spend ages looking at it, searching for my favourites. Run past Jurassic Park, peer in Tom's Midnight Garden, cross the estuary to Treasure Island and around the corner to the Enchanted Wood.......
Of course there have been a few rainy days where we have cuddled up, dogs included and played or watched Cbeebies. Plenty of cups of tea and some plans put together for the rest of the year. Despite the cake, I have started to eat healthier and clean up my diet. I've reached the stage where I am annoyed with myself for being so unhealthy so changes are happening......
Happy Monday to you all.This will be a busy week for me. Lots of blog posts to write, allotments to tend to, Easter to sort for Little Bird - a sensory tub with Easter Grass and some Easter games to help him understand more about this time of year xx
Ere-Be-Dragons Wallpaper £60// Colour in tote bag £9.75 // Dinosaur who wants to be a dragon print £25 // Castle cushion £15.50
Dragon moneybox £22 // Little Knight bunting £20 // Knight rattle £14 // Made in England mug £13
