DIY "construction sight"

Garrett loves sand, dirt and rocks.  Probably just like any other boy.  But we don't have a place where he can dig and play.  When we bought our little water table for our porch, we debated for a long time whether or not we should get the half sand/half water one.  I knew Garrett would love it, but I also knew I'd be cleaning up a mushy sandy mess every day.  So we opted for just water.  But I came up with something a little less messy, that can be played with outside or inside, and it satisfies Garrett's digging/scooping/dumping desires.  I had an almost empty flat storage bin in my closet, and I had a bag of dollar store rocks.  That's where my inspiration began.  I dumped them in the bin and their weren't nearly enough so I bough two more bags.  I also went to IKEA where they sell decorative rocks, but they're smaller, and I think they were .89 cents a bag and I got two or three bags of those.  So less than six bucks for all the rocks.  Mine ended up being a little more expensive than that, because right after I finished the bin we went on vacation and of course came to a souvenir shop that sold pretty, colorful rocks.  Fortunately, we'd been given vacation money from the in-laws so I didn't feel like I was using real money, and I spent $12.00 on colorful rocks to add to the mix.  The trucks were also purchased on the vacation.  I think $4.00 each at Ace Hardware.  I think they're too big for the bin because you can't really drive them around, but Garrett loves them.  We have a couple others, (not pictured) that are the perfect size.  I found them in the summer seasonal section at Target for $1.99.

Addie is still too young for this to be a good co-playing activity. (Think throwing and sucking on rocks.)  So it's become Garrett's little alone time activity during the half hour or so after she's gone to bed and before he does.  He could play for hours.

The kids and I also painted some of the rocks one afternoon to brighten up the bin. (For some strange reason I thought that would be a good idea.)

And Garrett has also started collecting rocks to throw in with the others.  At the beach, on our walks, etc.

Easy and inexpensive.  And you can snap the lid on it and slide it under a bed when it's not being played with.