Imaginative Play: Tree Rope Ladder for Toys

She was making some sort of fairy land with a plush toadstool cushion (like this one).

“If only they had a ladder to climb up,” Miss 7 said wistfully as she showed me the set up.

And so we made a small ladder of twigs and string.  That was a few months ago now…but the idea sparked my imagination and I held it in the back of my mind.

I thought it would be a fun thing to add to our backyard tree, the one my children play at so often.  It’s school holidays and the seed in the back of my mind came to be.

Here’s what we did.

Twig Tree Rope Ladder

Materials

Twigs of similar size and length

Twine or string (I used divine twine)

Scissors

Two nails or screws

Instructions

It’s possible to just tie the twigs on the rope, but it’s quicker and easier to do a simple slip knot.  Here’s how I did it.

1. Lay two even lengths of string on a flat surface.  Using one string, make a loop in the general area the first twig will be (so near the top of the string).

2. Thread the working rope back through the loop.

3. It should look like this.

4. Place one side of the twig in the loop.

5. Tighten by pulling either side of the string.

6.  Do the same with the other piece of string, fastening the other side of twig 1.  Adjust each slip knot as you tighten it, to ensure each twig is approximately level. Continue down the ladder, with even spacing between twigs, until the ladder is the desired length.

Video

To show how easy this is, I did a quick video.

On the tree

Two screws flush with the trunk of the tree did the trick. My kids are older now, and so I’m not too worried about this being a choking hazard but it’s good to be wary and so I did put some ground rules in place.

Play

It reminded me of the tree house in the well known story Robinson Crusoe with pirates and ladies in pretty dresses.

I don’t know how long it will last, but it doesn’t really matter.  Just a simple fun thing to add to play time.

Update!

I drove in the driveway this morning and took a moment to enjoy this little tree the kids play in.  I thought the twig ladder might last a couple of weeks, a month at best…and yet 10 months since I wrote this post and here it is, still holding strong and being as imaginatively gorgeous as ever.

More Posts About This Tree

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Fairy Door

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Tree art (this tree drew a picture for us — true story!),

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