We’ve been having fun lately finding ways to make old toys seem new again, whether by dressing them up or moving them from outside to inside. Here’s a third idea!

I gathered together a few indoor toys that I haven’t seen the kids play with much recently and took them outside. The best time of day for this game was in the evening, when the heat of the afternoon had passed. It was the perfect way to fill the after-dinner hour, taking advantage of these last weeks of summer sunlight!

Veronika immediately got started playing with the items I’d arranged on a picnic blanket. The train set that she normally ignores was soon chugging around.

And building blocks were fun to build with.

Then she discovered the joy of tossing the blocks into the grass.

She delighted in scampering down off the patio, retrieving a block, and tossing it again. She kept this up for quite some time.

Travis, meanwhile, found new life in old stuffed animals once they were outside in the “wild”.

There was a very imaginative game at work.

Of course just by being outside kids can find inspiration for their games and toys. They stopped to watch insects, lay down to look up at the sky, or walked through the grass with bare toes. All while happily being entertained.

I think we’ll bring a different batch of old toys outside tomorrow!