By carefully planning for outdoor play, adults can help ensure that outdoor experiences are challenging and safe for young children. Creative outdoor play should encourage healthy risk taking; offer graduated challenges; include variety in types of play; focus on child-centered and child-planned activities; and include the use of moveable…

Discusses the importance of providing enough activity choices for young children during outdoor play. Defines simple, complex, and super play units. Describes the application of an equation for determining the number of available play spaces in a playground. (RJC)

Describes how problems with water drainage on the playground, and the resulting puddles, provided a wealth of learning opportunities, children's fun, family-school communication, and challenges for one early childhood program. (KB)

This booklet provides non-professionals with the guidelines, information, and procedures necessary to design, plan and build stimulating outdoor play environments for children. Information on technical issues related to site selection, play area design, landform and drainage, climate, lighting, safety and vandalism are provided in Chapter I.…

Argues that there are three areas to evaluate when creating safer playgrounds for children: environment, supervision, and education. Discusses the importance of safe and properly installed equipment, resilient surfacing, removal of hazards, proper maintenance, appropriate adult-to-child ratio, and enforcement of proper playground safety and injury…

Describes constructive play and its importance to young children. Offers suggestions for facilitating constructive play outdoors including: (1) providing access on the playground; (2) bringing the classroom outside; and (3) addressing the challenges of loose articles outside. Calls for reversing current trends that discourage outdoor constructive…

Based upon the principle that all children have a right to play and to experience the benefits of recess, this book assists elementary school teachers and parents in offering children in preschool through Grade 6 appropriate recess games and activities and provides a variety of readings that support the need for recess activities. The book is…

Notes that the purchase of playground equipment is one of the most important decisions center directors make. Offers advice from a number of playground equipment manufacturers that suggests directors consider activities, safety, construction, installation, and warranty when purchasing equipment. Also suggests interviewing other directors about…

This guide addresses the planning and architectural design of play/learning environments for special needs children. The exceptional children discussed include those with most types of mild to severe handicaps and developmental disabilities. Specifically excluded from consideration are health impairments, severe psycho-emotional difficulties such…

This special section contains articles on outdoor activities in early childhood programs which can be used as training materials for directors and teachers. Articles discuss the value of outdoor experiences; a playground evaluation instrument; attitudes about outdoor play; ideas forteachers to stimulate children's outdoor play; and strategies to…

This illustrated guide for designing and building children's playgrounds opens with a definition of "play space" as a joyful, safe, healthy environment which builds strong bodies and develops emotional stability. Section 1, "Why Play Spaces Are Needed," includes some observations about children's developmental needs and how those needs are being…

The purpose of this book is to help designers and teachers think about the quality of outside school environments as learning places. The first chapter defines the players' roles as: (1) the designer, a maker of school form; (2) the teacher, the maintainer of the environment; and (3) the child, who is a major force in the use of the space. These…

Notes the increase in after-school programs for school-age children and discusses ways to meet the outdoor play needs of this age group. Stresses the need to recognize the unique physical, cognitive, and social needs of school-age children; offers suggestions for developing or modifying playgrounds to meet those needs. (TJQ)