Ways of improving a CM garden on a budget?

[Horshamchildminder]

I am trying to make the garden more appealing before I start childminding, but everything seems to be big expensive bits of equipment.

We have already:

• Ride ons and bikes etc
• Vegetable garden which is the bottom 1/3 of the garden sectioned off
• Loads of toys etc
• Sand pit
• Kids table and chairs
• Water table

What I am looking for is simple things, that can just add to the garden's appearance to the children and make it look more attractive and also some learning into it as well! Ideally things that don't take up much space.

Hope that makes sence . For an example, I got off ebay some little acyrlic butterfly mirrors on a string - hangs up and is great. Cost about £5 and doesn't really take up any space.

I was going to say old cds strung on ribbons hanging in the trees - my inspector liked them a LOT last week

Can you get a bit of this for ribbon weaving?

Thats interesting - I do actually have some trellis I could use - would that be OK do you think?

What ages do you think it would suit? I would think its quite tricky?

We also have an easel with a blackboard and painting board. And a playhouse on its way

Spare lengths of washing line that they can peg old sheets onto to make tents/dens/etc

My mindees do a lot of chalking on the driveway too

Oh yes we do lots of chalking on the paved areas and on the walls and sheds!

I want some colour added I think. Maybe some coloured solar lights or something (ones that hang up rather than go in the ground?)

Ebaying is lethal!

Thinking something like these: cgi.ebay.co.uk/SOLAR-POWERED-20-COLOURED-SPHERE-LIGHTS-BNIB-/120579329780?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Garden_ Lighting&hash=item1c13168ef4

or these:
cgi.ebay.co.uk/20-COLOURED-BUTTERFLY-LED-SOLAR-POWERED-GARDEN-LIGHTS-/280521198873?cmd=ViewItem&pt=U KGardenLighting&hash=item41505dcd19

What do you think?

We don't really need activities, just thinks that are perminant, to make the garden look more cheerfull (till next year when I have had the time to actually sort out the flowers etc!)

We have got one of those flower windmill things from poundland and might get some more if I see them again

I guess my OP is not very well written.

Its decoration that I am looking for I think (only realising this my self now! ). As we have loads of activities and toys.

Asda have some hanging ladybird things with streemers on a bit like windsocks, very colourful 3 for £2. Pound shop good for streamers and stuff. The solar lights are a good idea too, could you use some textures to make colour, like pebbles, glass beads, bark chippings you can get in red and brown shades, gravel etc.

If you are feeling very brave you could put some tinsel around bushes, trees, fence etc, most of us have some hanging around the place.

Re: the solar lights, if you have a Wilkinsons near you they are very cheap about £8 for 20 lights, berries or butterflys. Cheapest place I've found for them.

Thanks! I will pop to poundland and wilko today and have a look! And search for the nearest asda!

Oh and we do have a hanging wind chime thing from poundland that is nice, but as it said welcome on it, it ended up in the front garden.

Have just assembled a new wooden sandpit, which looks much nicer than the plastic thing we had before.

Could you paint a fence/wall in a cheerful colour? Then when its dried have the children do handprints on it in another cheerful colour?

You could prob get some leftover paint from freecyle/freegle.

I did think about painting the fence but I am not sure about it as its so perminant. One side is brand new and cost a lot of money so I don't want to do anything to that side. The other side is old but doesn't belong to us? Guess I could maybe get a big bit of wood, do the painting and handprints on it and then nail it on or something? That sounds quite good. In fact, the older side has some bits that need patching up until next door replaces it - could kill 2 birds with 1 stone?

laminated pictures,chalk board,plastic miror