Backyard swamp!

What do you all do when the backyard is a swamp? Aside from going for a walk I find my options limited. It is beautiful out today but my yard is a mess. Luckily 1/3 of the space is cement patio so we stayed on there with the bikes/cars and in the sandbox. This will get old quickly though. It is not warm enough to do some of the classic summer time activities e.g. water table, chalk paint etc. I live in Toronto so my front is just a driveway but I have never played with them up there as I live across the road from a school and I find the parents whip up and down that street.

Activity ideas or anyone find a solution for swampy/muddy grass?

We had that problem last week. I literally had to towel dry my own 2 year old after we came inside, and then put clean clothes on her. Her boots had about an inch of water in them. Even being on the sidewalks was bad, because that's where the deepest puddles were. It was so warm last week, it broke some kind of record around here.
I just let them get soaked and dirty. They had a blast. I'm glad it's a relatively short "season", because that's way more than my mess tolerance can handle. ;)

So far my backyard is okay but I can tell one area is going to be a mess! I moved houses and structures around last year and one area is mud from the grass being killed. We seed our yard almost yearly (due to the toys lol) and will definitely need to work on that area soon!

In years past, we've had to do just daily walks, walk to a nearby playground or play in the driveway (which isn't ideal but it works in a pinch!) We live on a VERY busy street so I park my car back a bit and kinda angle it to act as a barrier. The other end is the garage/backyard and it's a fair bit away from our backlane so I don't have to worry about the kids on that end. I sit on my chair near the car to make sure that none of the kids go too close to the steet.

They actually prefer the driveway because the ride on toys work better lol. I bring out the chalk if the driveway is dry (this year we've already done hopscotch and it's still there) and bring the ride on and push toys and one small slide out there. If it's dry enough, the picnic table comes out as well and they can do art outside (if I remember to bring the stuff!) I think this year I will just leave paper and crayons in my outside backpack and I also have a large chalkboard they use that I attach to my fence.

I haven't yet but another thing I could do is bring out the car mat and cars and put that on the driveway for them to play with.

I don't know how helpful this is, but I make sure the kids have all the proper clothes (rubber boots, waterproof splash pants, etc) and just let them go to town in the mud and the puddles. Last year (before we put down new sod) our backyard was a big mud hole because half the grass was dead. So I let the kids dig and play with little construction trucks in the mud. There were some days I had to hose the kids hands and boots down before I would even consider letting them in the house.

We just play and get wet/dirty. I don't allow the kids to play in the puddles. Luckily with not having as much snow this year and the wonderful warm temps the snow is melting fast. Hopefully yard will dry quickly. We can't go for walks as that would be worse than the yard. I don't have any paved area either so we just make due.

U guys have grass? U have mud? No fair. Still sitting under a few inches of snow. To deep to walk play in. Lol. We do walks and driveway play :)

I'm all for letting them get muddy and we definitely do get muddy. I guess just because it is still too cold to hose them down after (we usually use the water table as an outside sink!) I wasn't sure how manageable this would be. Maybe I'll bring some towels out this afternoon to wipe them down afterwards. They got pretty filthy this morning just playing in the mucky sandbox so maybe I am over thinking things.

I don't have a sandbox so never have to worry about that lol! I cringe at the thought of sand in my house. Lol

My kids wear mitts still and usually do for quite some time

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Originally Posted by mickyc

I don't have a sandbox so never have to worry about that lol! I cringe at the thought of sand in my house. Lol

My kids wear mitts still and usually do for quite some time

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So you're OK with mud but not sand? heh heh

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Originally Posted by torontokids

I'm all for letting them get muddy and we definitely do get muddy. I guess just because it is still too cold to hose them down after (we usually use the water table as an outside sink!) I wasn't sure how manageable this would be. Maybe I'll bring some towels out this afternoon to wipe them down afterwards. They got pretty filthy this morning just playing in the mucky sandbox so maybe I am over thinking things.

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We don't even have our hose out yet so I would have no way to hose them down lol. I agree with you, it's still a bit cold for that. I let them play in the puddles when we go for a walk but I admit, unless we've planned to play in the mud, it's not usually allowed and I try to block off the muddy areas. I am all for mess but I have my limits lol. PLUS my husband is a clean freak and would probably have a heart attack if we tracked in all that mud haha.

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Originally Posted by torontokids

What do you all do when the backyard is a swamp? Aside from going for a walk I find my options limited. It is beautiful out today but my yard is a mess. Luckily 1/3 of the space is cement patio so we stayed on there with the bikes/cars and in the sandbox. This will get old quickly though. It is not warm enough to do some of the classic summer time activities e.g. water table, chalk paint etc. I live in Toronto so my front is just a driveway but I have never played with them up there as I live across the road from a school and I find the parents whip up and down that street.

Activity ideas or anyone find a solution for swampy/muddy grass?

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You so lucky. We have about 8' of snow in our yard, higher in place we shovel off deck or where drift is. We had 25cm more yesterday and getting another 25cm on Wednesday. I not think I ever see my grass again.

We live bottom of hill so when thaw comes we will be swampy too. Takes ages to dry out.

We tend to go for walk with wagon, sometimes go to little play area not too far from us, sometimes just literally go for a walk. Not always need a destination - just get outside.

We put in a deck just to have a place to keep the kids up off the ground when it was still too cold and wet to enjoy. We also use the deck first thing in the morning to get some outside time without being down on the ground so they come back in clean for the day. Then we go outside down on the grass, with sandbox etc. after nap and they go home from the back yard.

I decided one year to put a sandbox in the yard.....It was a HORROR STORY.... GONE THE NEXT DAY! LOL

We went outside this afternoon and the area I was worried about is actually doing quite well!! The snow in my yard has had a pretty nice, consistent, slow melt this year which I think helped! I have snow against one side of the yard, beside the garage where the sun doesn't hit it, and that's it. This might be the cleanest Spring yet :)

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Originally Posted by torontokids

So you're OK with mud but not sand? heh heh

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Not ok with either. Mud I can't control but sand I can. Never will there be a sandbox in my daycare!! Lol