community built playgrounds
From: strinichung (strinichungearthlink.net)
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 2002 12:47:01 -0700 (MST)
I would not recommend that you focus on a Leathers type playstructure.  They are good for public parks,and even somewhat for schoolyards, but large pieces of stationary equipment are expensive and do not hold children's interest for long, especially when the children will be using that playspace for many years, and through many developmental stages. Better to focus on loose parts (raw materials that children can use to construct their own enclosures, forts, teepees, playhouses); good storage for those loose parts; and plants for play (trees to climb, plants they can hide in and among, and plants with flowers, seed pods, etc. that can be picked and used in play). Sand and water are fundamental. A big dirt pile provides tons of fun for a wide range of ages, a high place to climb to, good for digging and rolling down, and all for very little money. Think back to your own fondest childhood memories, and they probably involve someplace more connected to nature, and not to a big piece of play equipment.  That said, there is a place for single and group swings, hammocks, and pieces of equipment that allow some climbing and good upper body exercise. Partly a good outdoor space for children involves adults letting go of their sense of what is aesthetically appealing and tolerating some of the messiness that kid-owned spaces entail.  Check out the www.naturalearning.org or books by Sharon Lovejoy.  
Nancy Striniste,
designer of children's environments
(who also has a GREAT house for sale at Arcadia Cohousing in Carrboro, NC)

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