Educational playground designs: Enhancing play and learning by incorporating educational elements in playground equipment

Posted on May 25, 2023 by PlayLSI

Playgrounds offer learning and growth opportunities, not just fun and physical activity. Incorporate educational elements into your playground designs to foster cognitive, social and physical development. Explore some effective ways to infuse educational playground designs into your school, childcare or community playgrounds below.

Lower Huron Metropark playground overhead image

Themed Playground Structures

Consider incorporating educational playground design themes into the design of your playground environment. Whether it’s a nature-inspired structure or a space-themed play area, themed elements can spark children’s imagination and encourage imaginative play. Themed playground components like climbing walls resembling mountains and entire structures offer endless learning possibilities.

Alphabet and Number Panels

Integrate alphabet and number panels into your playground. These play panels, installed on walls or integrated into climbing structures, help children learn letters and numbers as they play. Encourage interactive learning by incorporating sensory elements, such as different textures and braille.

Musical Play Equipment

Including musical elements like our Rhapsody® Outdoor Musical Instruments in your playground can enhance auditory skills and creativity. Install a selection of chimes, metallophones and drums to engage children in musical exploration. These features encourage collaboration, rhythm recognition and the development of fine motor skills.

Science and Nature Zones

Create dedicated spaces where children can explore scientific concepts and nature. Incorporate planters for gardening, sensory paths for tactile experiences and weather stations to teach about climate. By encouraging hands-on learning, you can foster curiosity and a deeper understanding of the natural world.

Sensory Play Stations

Incorporate sensory play elements into your playground design. Sand play like fossil digs, water play areas, and interactive sensory w a lls stimulate children’s senses and promote cognitive development. Sensory play encourages problem-solving, fine motor skills and social interaction.

Storytelling and Reading Nooks

Designate areas for storytelling and reading within the playground. Install benches, small libraries or even mini amphitheaters where children can gather for storytime. We also love incorporating Talking is Teaching panels from Too Small to Fail into the playground design. Story trails along a walking path also encourage children and caregivers to talk, read and sing with each other. Encouraging literacy in a playful environment fosters a love for reading and language development.

Incorporating educational elements into your community, childcare and school playground designs create an enriching play space for children. Themed playstructures, alphabet panels and outdoor musical instruments are a few examples of how to infuse learning opportunities into the playground. Remember to consider age-appropriate designs and create an inclusive play environment that caters to children of all abilities. The combination of play and education will not only ignite children’s creativity and curiosity, but also provide a foundation for their lifelong love of learning.

Promoting language-rich interaction on the playground

Posted on August 25, 2017 by PlayLSI

There is a general notion that there is a gap between the number of words that lower-income children hear compared with their higher income peers, and that this gap leads to a gap in early vocabulary and kindergarten readiness. But even more importantly, research shows us that the more parents meaningfully engage with their young children, the more their child’s brain will grow and develop. And that is an amazing opportunity.

That’s where Too Small to Fail, a joint initiative of the Clinton Foundation and The Opportunity Institute, comes in. Their goal is to make early brain and language development a part of communities. And to do this, they’ve created the “Talking is Teaching: Talk, Read, Sing” campaign, which brings visually engaging and colorful signs to supermarkets, laundromats, bus stops and playgrounds to encourage talking, reading and singing between parents and young children. The signage is intended to provide families with reminders about the importance of engaging with their young children, as well as provide specific ideas for things to talk about.

We’re proud to partner with Too Small to Fail on the “Talking is Teaching” campaign. By incorporating these interactive play panels, we’re meeting parents where they already are with their children and helping them boost their children’s early brain and language development through play. The panels are strategically positioned throughout the playground design so that children and their caregivers can sit near each other, and use the language prompts to interact with each other. Even better, there is a seamless theme of play and education in these language-rich playground designs, so parents and caregivers are helping their children get ready for kindergarten and set them up for success in school.

To date, Too Small to Fail has partnered with Landscape Structures to open 20 “Talking is Teaching: Talk, Read, Sing” themed playgrounds across the country. Learn more about our partnership with Too Small to Fail by contacting your local playground consultant.

Connecting play and learning at Greater & Greener 2017

Posted on August 3, 2017 by PlayLSI

More than 1,000 park leaders, city planners, design professionals, and urban park advocates came to Minneapolis and Saint Paul from around the world for Greater & Greener 2017: Parks Connecting Cities, Cultures, & Generations. The five-day indoor and outdoor conference focused on the role of urban parks in creating healthy, resilient and economically competitive cities.

In addition to being a Gold Sponsor of the Conference, we hosted two events throughout the week. On Sunday, July 30, we welcomed 40 volunteers from around the world to construct a playground at Central Village Park in St. Paul. The volunteer’s finished building commercial playground equipment for kids ages 5 to 12, a Clubhouse for kids ages 2 to 5 and playground panels, which featured Too Small to Fail‘s Talking is Teaching creative content with parent-child conversation prompts to foster healthy language-rich interactions.

On Tuesday, Aug. 1, we hosted a mobile workshop that showcased the most imaginative playgrounds in Minneapolis. Attendees heard from the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board and community members about how the city encourages healthy outdoor activity, brings families together and builds community. Even more, Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges joined the group at Powderhorn Park to share her commitment to cradle-to-K development and how the city is using the Talking is Teaching campaign to support early literacy in the city.

Encouraging whole-child development with toddler playgrounds

Posted on July 27, 2017 by PlayLSI

Toddlers and preschoolers always find new, but not always safe, ways to play. That’s why we make playground safety a top priority by creating age- and developmentally appropriate products like our Smart Play® playstructures. The Smart Play designs specifically for toddlers and preschoolers are packed with play activities to help build their senses, and motor and cognitive skills. See below for more details about these designs:

Nook: Designed for kids ages 6 to 23 months, its 20 interactive components prompt adult-child conversations and support whole-child learning across key developmental domains.
Loft: Handrails lead 2- to 5-year-olds up into a world of imaginary play, with a built-in find-it game, learning activities, lower level clubhouse and so many more interactive elements.
Cube: Plenty of activities in this modern, compact playground design means plenty of fun for little explorers ages 2 to 5.
Motion: Packing 16 activities into a compact space, the whimsical Motion playstructure keeps kids ages 2 to 5 entertained in a safe, developmentally appropriate way.

Even more, we’ve partnered with Too Small to Fail to create language-rich playgrounds using their Talking is Teaching creative content on panels and signage throughout the playground. These literacy panels will encourage parent-child conversations to help prepare children for success in school and beyond.

Learn more about how to create a dream playground for toddlers and preschoolers at playlsi.com, and get started on an early childhood playground design by contacting us here.

Promoting literacy through inclusive playground designs

Posted on July 16, 2015 by PlayLSI

Thanks to the collaboration of some very hard-working organizations, there is a new inclusive playground ready to welcome children and families of all abilities. On Saturday, July 11, Shane’s Inspiration along with First 5 LA, the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, Too Small to Fail and the Exceptional Children’s Foundation hosted a grand opening to celebrate the new Landscape Structures inclusive playground at Sepulveda Recreation Center in Panorama City, Calif.

The playground offers a train theme with custom play structures that mimic a train depot and train cars, and all of the structures are designed to welcome children of varying abilities. Even more, this playground is the first in the country to highlight Too Small to Fail’s “Talking is Teaching: Talk, Read, Sing” campaign to boost children’s early language development. The playground at Sepulveda Recreation Center incorporated the Talking is Teaching materials into playground signage to prompt fun conversations, stories and songs while parents and children play together.

We’re proud to collaborate with Shane’s Inspiration and Too Small to Fail to support families build a foundation of early literacy skills and help close the word gap.

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