Building a den in the woods

One of the nice things about my husband working from home more is being able to take advantage of Thomas’s nap time and have some one-to-one time with Sophie. It’s nice to get out for a walk together without taking the buggy or having to keep a constant eye on an inquisitive toddler!

 

 

It had been raining that day so we headed for ‘the meadow’ as there are some big puddles to splash in on the way. This particular spot always makes us think of Jessica too. The girls used to have such fun splashing together in the puddles.

 

 

In the tiny woodland area just off the meadow is another place full of memories of Jessica – the ‘Billy Goats Gruff bridge’. It’s a great spot for a bit of imaginative play. We had fun recreating the tale of the Three Billy Goats Gruff and revisiting happy memories.

 

 

After Sophie had finished playing on the bridge, we decided to build a den together. It was the first time that Sophie had tried building a full-size den, although she’d made a mini den for her toys as a home leaning project at the start of lockdown. The mini den had been a free standing structure but we decided to build our big den leaning against a tree as this would be easier. She had fun hunting around for sticks that would be big enough to make the sides of our den. Gradually, it started to take shape.

 

 

 

It wasn’t quite big enough for Sophie to stand up inside once it was finished. At least she could still get inside though!

 

 

We weren’t the only ones who had been busy den building in the woods. A little further into the woods, we found another den. This one was bigger than ours; easily big enough for Sophie to stand up in. She loved the little enclosed ‘garden’ area with a ‘campfire’.

 

 

It was a lovely way to spend some one-to-one time with Sophie. It would have been trickier to build a den had Thomas been with us trying to ‘help’! We did come back a couple of days later with him though. Sophie was very pleased to see that most of her den was still standing. It might have been a little on the low side for her, but it was the perfect size for Thomas!