Playgrounds for Small Spaces
If the place you have set aside for a playground is small, whether for your home or for a day care, recreation center or school, you will have choices to make. Not everything will fit in the designated area. The trick is to consider the interests and preferences of the children involved and to interface the playground with the environment as a whole.
A playground is designed to provide gross motor and dramatic play activities including, running and climbing around along with exercising the imagination. Gross motor play, the use of a child’s large muscles, can be accomplished almost anywhere. If there is a spot of grass to jump rope and a sidewalk to play hopscotch or roll riding toys, gross motor play will happen. Children can pretend almost anywhere, as well, but a lawn and a sidewalk does not seem like much of a playground.
- A tower reached by a ladder provides not only climbing activity but also infinite dramatic play, and in its basic form need not take up much space at all. A pole to slide down or a climbing rope provide additional exercise of both body and imagination. If space permits, slides and swings are additions popular with children. Additional levels add to play value. For extremes of fun, add a second tower connected to the first with a horizontal ladder or a net. Remember to provide a safe surface under elevated play areas, because falls will happen. Also, consider whether you need or are required to have handicapped access to these facilities.
- A sandbox in the playground adds more developmental activities in the form of measuring and building, and if the filling is varied, from time to time it can provide sensation based learning as well. The plastic sandboxes found in discount stores work quite well if filled with clean builder’s sand. Any sandbox should have a tight fitting lid to cover it when not in use, of course, particularly if cats roam the area.
- Simple sports facilities may be appropriate for tiny playgrounds. A basketball hoop or a tetherball provides a lot of fun in very little room. Even a simple path can provide exercise, and, particularly if it leads to an initially unseen area, dramatic play as well.
- Temporary additions can enhance a very small playground. A sprinkler or wading pool for water play, an improvised net for volleyball or badminton or miniature versions of games like croquet are all great changes of pace. Of course, riding toys can roll up and down suitable paths. The possibilities are endless.
Parents or playground administrators can design play spaces to fit in the tiniest imaginable corners. Defining exactly what both adults and children want from the space is the key. Do that and everything else falls into place.