Children engaging in unstructured play with nature

BASECAMP

Our Story

We are two sisters who strongly believe in connecting kids with the tactile, natural world through unstructured play. Integral for child development, unstructured play fosters cognitive growth and cultivates physical, social, and emotional development.

Unstructured play nurtures creativity, imagination, problem-solving, and social skills – and happiness.

The photos on our website are real moments captured in our childhood or photographed by us. We hope you enjoy the fun, skill-building, and unstructured play ideas based on our many play adventures.

The ideas are limitless, from the indoors to the outdoors, animal interactions, camping, family activities, STEM, and kid-friendly crafts!

Curiosity and discovery led to our greatest adventures – real or imagined – which helped us build confidence and life skills, stimulated our minds, and nurtured our growth into (reasonably) stable adults.

Our home was regularly invaded by myriads of creatures, large and small, and was filled with jumbles of hobbies. Our favorite vacations were family camping trips – no radios, TV, or technology. These are the memories we treasure the most.

We want to share some of these memories, hoping they will inspire other kids and families to have fun and experience the joy and happiness of a playful mind.

Happy children hugging, sisters best friends

Play is our brain’s favorite way of learning

Diane Ackerman
Small child engaged with nature, smiling at a dragonfly on her shoulder.

The Projects

Play makes kids happy.

You’ll find a wide range of play ideas on this site for a wide range of ages. Most activities can be simplified or adapted to be more challenging.

We are grateful to our parents for encouraging creativity, our many hobbies, the many hours preparing for camping trips, and attentively enduring our plays. It’s those simple joys that remain with us.

Play is the highest form of research

Albert Einstein

The Science

Ever notice that the most intelligent creatures on earth are the ones that play?

Creative play is spontaneous, unstructured play inspired by a child’s interests, curiosity, and imagination. It’s also vital for a child’s emotional, social, intellectual, and physical development.

It includes gardening, cooking, sewing, building, exploring, and more. The possibilities for play are endless! We hope this website will help spark new adventures for the young and young-at-heart.

After all, playing never grows old.

Young child in red jacket unstructured nature play

Imagination is Calling

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Please note, most of the photos on this website are from our childhood, or captured by us personally. We wanted to share real life experiences with you, but respectfully ask that photos are not downloaded or copied from our website.

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