We Speak Playground

Designing a playground structure can be overwhelming. There are so many types of equipment out there, that you may find yourself wondering what you need on your playground and why.

Making a school playground inclusive is an all-in intentional effort. It’s more than building a ramp. While providing universal access is a major part, it's only a head start. The structures and equipment within the area need to encourage and challenge every child no matter what his or her abilities.

As adults going through a typical day, we often take our senses for granted. But remember back to when you were a child, and you never knew what wondrous sight, smell, or sound was awaiting you. You formed your opinions of foods by how they tasted, or in some cases how they smelled or felt.

Inclusive playgrounds have started popping up all over the nation, and for good reason. Their innovative designs elevate the community space by providing every kid with a safe and inviting place to play.

Once upon a time the school day, like a sentence, was punctuated by class periods. Children's thinking was confined to one area at a time. Learning was compartmentalized. One class period ended, and they put their math books away and opened their readers, and so the day went, with science textbooks following, readers, math workbooks, and perhaps a trip to the gym, And so it went until the dismissal bell put an end to their day of disjointed learning.

If you are responsible for purchasing equipment for a school playground or city park, you may be researching different types of park equipment. One of the types of equipment that is gaining in popularity is obstacle courses for kids.

In addition to typical play equipment, such as climbing structures, slides and swings;  playgrounds and parks are opting for obstacle courses. These courses may include things such as climbing towers, breakaway footwork equipment, sprawl walls and crossway climbers. The reason these items are gaining in popularity is because there are numerous benefits to kids who play on this type of equipment. Here are some of those benefits. 

Never underestimate the power of a kid’s imagination. The more we do to help children develop their creativity and to explore the world of make-believe, the easier it is for them to socialize with one another, learn to cooperate and have plenty of fun in the process.

Today, we are able to give our youngsters a bit more of an advantage than we might have had. As adults, our era involved a bit of climbing, but we mostly only had trees to satisfy our urges to get higher in life. Thankfully, we have access to playground equipment that lets our kiddos (and playful adults) get as high as they need. Let’s explore some of the benefits that climbing offers the mind and body.

While there is no denying that adults love music, we can potentially not recognize how beneficial the sweet sounds of harmony can be for our young ones. In early childhood, the wonderful sounds of music can have a major impact on the development and growth and development of children. With that in mind, let’s cover some ways to cultivate this musical environment in the playground.

Kids spend most of their time during the school year inside of a classroom, doing school work. Most schools allow at least thirty minutes of free time outside to play with their classmates. To improve their playtime, schools should implement playgrounds because they are great tools in the development of kids' social and mental skills.