Outdoor Play for the Brave Parent: Making Concrete Blocks

After finishing pouring the concrete for our outdoor counter, we had a wheelbarrow full of leftover concrete, and an eager boy who wanted to be like his daddy.  What’s a parent to do?

We found our four year-old a tray that plants had come in and set him to work making concrete blocks for his sandbox.  I had him take off his shirt not knowing if concrete comes off clothes (it did in our case), and he was even happier.  And then, when my husband offered him a real trowel to replace the plastic cup he was trying to scoop the concrete with, he entered little boy heaven.

I would never mix a batch of concrete for this purpose, but I was pleasantly surprised by this activity.  It was not a messy disaster that permanently encrusted my son or our patio in concrete forever.  And my son loves his blocks.  He wants to do everything that his daddy does anyway, but to be able to do a real project and have a real result, it was like the boy found his calling in life, which makes any mess (almost) worth it.  But really, this one wasn’t that bad.  So if you have extra concrete and an eager four year-old, I say go for it.