A Hill and a Hole

A long time ago I read in a book that every child needs a "hill and a hole."  What they meant by that is that children, by nature, all love wild places…places where they can dig and climb and get messy without being told how to play or where to play…or where not to play. 

When we moved to our home here over fifteen years ago our yard needed some leveling.  We have an acre of property and so, since we had the space, we had the backhoe guy build  a nice big hill in the very back of our land with the extra dirt from the leveling.  Over the years that hill has provided so much fun for our children.  In the early spring wild grass covers it making it an ideal hiding place.  In the winter, covered with snow, it becomes a great mini sledding hill.  They build jumps at the bottom to get an even wilder ride.  One year, after reading the Great Brain by J.D. Fitzgerald, Brandon and Kyle decided to dig a cave into the hill.  Wearing their protective safety goggles, they looked very official. It's also used as a "lookout tower" by children using binoculars.  

In the back of our property we have one corner where we have dumped rocks through the years that we have removed in the course of landscaping our yard.  Our children have turned that area of the yard into their own secret fort area.  They've dug a big hole and covered it with spare boards to make a hideout.  Rocks are used to create rooms and lookouts.  The game changes every time they play.  Sometimes they forget about the fort for a while and when they rediscover it the game starts anew and is fun all over again. 

Our big old dirt hill may not be the most aesthetically pleasing aspect of our yard, but it has provided hours and hours of fun for our children and their friends.  "A hill and a hole" has been a blessing to our family.