When I was in elementary school, I came up with the idea for a “trash playground”, imagining a mini playground crafted from leftover trash. For a brief moment, I was sure this idea would a) save planet Earth and b) make me famous. Imagine my delight, then, when I spotted the same idea in a recent Parents magazine: have kids raid the craft bin or recycle bin and turn the odds and ends into a playground for toys!

This project was great because it engaged both of my kids, but for different parts. First, Travis helped me design the playground. He loved mapping out elements like a giant slide (an empty paper towel tube taped to stacked plastic cups), a seesaw (a wood scrap balanced atop craft sticks as the fulcrum), and more.

He decided that the slide should lead into a “ball pit” (made from pom poms and lollipop sticks).

Then we needed a trampoline, which was crafted from playdough lined with more lollipop sticks.

We left the glue to dry overnight and in the morning it was time for our expert toy tester (a.k.a. little sister Veronika) to test it out.

Her bunnies loved the slide!

Not to mention the seesaw and the tunnels to crawl through. She had fun in this miniature playground for ages!

What will your child put in a mini playground? A jungle gym? Monkey bars? Swings? We’d love to hear in the comments!