The Elephant 2020 9
Creating Environments Where Children Thrive There is no doubt in the minds of educators, parents, and researchers, that outdoor play improves physical development. When children play outdoors, they increase their ability to balance, jump, climb, throw, run, and skip. For our youngest learners to thrive, it is important that outdoor play spaces feel open-ended and allow for active exploration and different types of play. It is with this in mind that our new Early Learning Centre playground was designed. Our new playground provides inspiring play spaces that are welcoming and engaging. From a child’s point of view, an engaging play environment is all about what the child can make of it. Children will often find uses for objects and spaces that adults do not anticipate or intend. Seeds and seed pods become food in the play kitchen, pinecones become a family going on an outing, the fernery becomes a jungle to hide in, and bridges become precarious escape routes from the imaginary characters beneath. All of our play spaces, both indoor and outdoor, are nurturing and familiar, inviting children to discover and investigate by capturing their attention and provoking their interactions with the space. Our play environments include areas where children can play together or by themselves, as we know children need time and space to play with others and on their own.
The new playground brings some exciting new additions. The slide off the decking, and the timber ramps leading down to the lower level, invite the children to seamlessly transition from their classrooms to the outdoors where they can enjoy the sound pipes, swings, sandpits, climbing equipment, cubby houses, balance boards, and even a water pump. Our children have loved exploring, creating, and imagining in their new environment, and it’s easy to see why. Miss Melissa Schoorman Head of Wardle House, Deputy Principal
