Playground designs: Koochieplay.com provides quality outdoor playground equipment

Careful design for school playground equipment will allow a playground to work for all ages, and make it accessible to school children during school hours as well as on weekends. A variety of structures, or one very large structure with several activities contained within it, keeps kids interested. Small movement oriented structures, or some building blocks or other construction items, also allow children to have more control over their play. The addition of a school playground can keep the community visiting the school, and keep a school safer, while keeping school kids active. What should playgrounds for young children be like? Do those design suggestions that have appeared in the contemporary literature make a difference? What design factors seem to influence preschool children's behaviors on playgrounds?

Building a great playground involves combining those ideas to create a single, integrated space that kids will love and that will aid their development. Complex, yes, but part of the magic of playgrounds is that those aspects do go together well. When designing a playground there are several specific areas of concern: Proper surfacing, safe equipment and its placement, and fencing. In addition, however, some general tips should be followed. Metal equipment can become extremely hot in the sun. When possible, place it in the shade. If this is not possible, consider wooden equipment, or place metal units so they are least affected by the sun. Also, locate benches so they too are not overly affected by the sun.

Areas for small children should be especially marked off from the other parts of the playground, and equipment in general should be segregated according to the age of the users. Paths should lead. Here are three points you should know about playgrounds.

Kid Stuff

How do you make sure your playground promotes free play? Start by adjusting your perspective.

Playground companies can offer detailed of information on which pieces of equipment develop which skills. Rockers increase balance, swings help with balance and coordination, horizontal (overhead) ladders build upper body strength and coordination. Each piece is appropriate for a certain age, meaning you’ll want an assortment geared to the grades your school serves. In addition, you’ll have lots of decisions to make about size, safety, and cost.

It’s important to keep these issues in mind. They encourage skills children need. But there’s another equally important issue: What do they want? The answer isn’t what you think. It’s not slides or swings or equipment of any kind.

Young Designers

Playgrounds tend to be better loved by children when children are involved in the design process. That may seem obvious, but it’s not uncommon to see pieces of equipment that seemed exciting to the adults gets little attention from kids.

Koochieplay.com is a nonprofit organization that has built more than600 playgrounds When Koochielay.com participates in a playground design; the organization asks kids to draw pictures of what they want. Sometimes the ideas are too far out to implement, but often they are things that can be integrated into the design.

Highs and Lows

Falls to the surface cause 70 percent of all playground injuries. Safety concerns and fear of lawsuits has created a long-standing trend toward lower play structures. But now there’s growing recognition that providing a variety of levels, both high and low, plays an important developmental role.

Higher isn’t better, but a variety of heights is an important feature of a good play structure. The National Program for Playground Safety recommends that equipment for school-age children be no higher than 8 feet and for pre-school children no higher than 6 feet. Also, it’s crucial to have a safe, well maintained surface that is appropriate for the height of the equipment.

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