Built playgrounds are boring!

It started when I was on a church committee that wanted to re-do our playground. We are landlocked by urban development and spaces that cannot be developed as a permanent play space because they provide income from seasonal parking for football- that most sacred of games. This is a tiny space, mind you. The whole area is only about 24' x 15' wtih significant safety hazards and outdated residential equipment that was essentially taking up over 60% of the playable space. (More on that in an upcoming post). Since the space backs up to our nursery and toddler rooms, it was determined that this would be designed as a play space for ages 0 - 5. First the committee said, we have a little bit of money we want to spend. "We thought we should buy a climber." I cringed. Then I sighed.

If this is your line of thinking, or if you are trying to persuade others why other alternatives should be included, here are some reasons why a climber may not be the first thing you want to spend your money on:

1) They only foster one kind of play, at the expense of others

Playgrounds may be the most dangerous place you take your kids. Some believe this is because they only lend themselves to one way play. You climb up, then you climb out, then you fall off. After the brain and body has utilized the equipment the intended way a few times it gets bored and tries to give itself new challenge. This is when the equipment gets used, say by the third visit, in ways outside of what the manufactures intended it for. This is how my own son broke his arm- climbing on the outside of the tube slide to battle his friend, who then pushed him off.
Also play structures work on the development of gross motor play, but only a small subset of that, but do little to foster fine motor skills, emotional development, or imaginative play. On most play structures kids can not easily skip, there is little to push or pull, they can not lift loads across the playspace. Kids can not perceive differences in heavy or light or different kinds of sensations. There is very little pinching, handwriting, threading. It is harder to invite a friend to tea on the top of the slide, or to include very many friends in the top of your tower. And since the essence of imaginative play is loose parts- those bits that can be structured and restructured into infinite creatures, emotions, role-play, costumes, vehicles, counters, or alphabets- it is disappointing when there are few to be found besides wood chips. These areas also are usually designed for a very specific targeted age range and are inappropriate or even dangerous for other siblings who may find themselves playing at the same location.

2) They demand very expensive materials for filler and shading

If you decide that you are going to build a playground, the conversation will then turn to necessary fill requirements to make the space safe. Very quickly you will realize that your budget has been consumed annihilated to go towards rather boring materials such as pea gravel, poured rubber, rubber tiles, artificial turf, or maybe wood chips, the later must be refilled annually to maintain safe fall heights. (Many areas on existing playgrounds have inadequate depth of filler to meet fall height and safety guidelines!) You may have started out wishing to have other things in your playspace: elements for art, music, bikes, cooking, or construction and find that at the end you have nothing left in budget or space except for making these giant, too often gaudy, rainbow colored industrial structures.

Additionally when most large playgrounds are built, one of the first things that is inevitably done is that trees are removed. Now you have no natural shade and natural play elements are removed. The exposed playground equipment gets hot! This makes the space more limited to certain hours or seasons for comfortable play to occur. Many pediatric and dermatological associations are also beginning to worry about the consequences of excessive sun exposure in young children. So shade sails, which often cover a very small part of the space, must be ordered.

3) They don't usually lend themselves to imitating nature in structure or function

With few exceptions, most playgrounds do not imitate or leave room for nature. How lovely though when there is a "nest" to climb into, a cave to go through, or a forest to lie in. In most playgrounds it is hard to find much which imitates  biological, chemical, or physical processes. There is not usually available water. Where are the life-cycles, evapotransporation, or melting? Does the space foster biodiversity or are the humans the only ones allowed? Are there rocks to turn over, layers to unearth, decomposition to witness?

The children hope so.

When is it too cold to play outside?

While doing my thesis I was shocked when teachers revealed to me that here in Central Oklahoma sometimes the students could not even go outside when it was below 50 degrees F outside! Many of the students were not acclimated to spending any time outside. They often could not afford adequate clothes. The school or the district had overly prohibitive policies. Also some of the necessary clothes are difficult to buy here.

So, how cold is too cold to go outside?
The more you research this question you may realize that in many places it is largely an arbitrary judgment call.  Teachers and parents in northern states and countries are much more lenient then are schools in places like Florida.  Some states (like Missouri) have set up a simple traffic light frame of reference. (Even these guidelines are a bit on the cautious side compared to what schools in sites like Minnesota or outdoor recreation leaders will endure with their students). I could not find parallel regulations for Oklahoma.

Green light: Temperature above 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Wind below 15 mph. Children may play for long stretches bundled to their comfort level.
Yellow light: Temperature between 13 and 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Wind 0 to 40mph. Bundle children in several layers with a non-cotton base. Children should also have mittens, hats and water-proof winterized shoes. Play should be limited to short bursts of up to 30 min.
Red light: Below 13 degrees it is unsafe for children to be outdoors at all.

The NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) website is the most accurate place to check the temperature and wind. For a more precise estimate of what your conditions actually feel like on the skin check out their wind chill table below.  Find out the temperature and then your wind speed. Read down to the number where those two columns connect. This will tell you the wind chill, or what temperature it actually feels like.

Borrowed from

http://www.weather.gov/os/windchill/images/windchillchart3.pdf

http://www.weather.gov/os/windchill/images/windchillchart3.pdf

Using this table you can see how dramatically wind can change the conditions. Almost any wind would put you into the yellow zone. A 40 degree day with 20mph makes the temperature feel like 30 degrees and extra caution should be taken to make sure children are properly bundled. However, this table also serves as a reminder that in most winter weather conditions (at least here in Oklahoma!) the dangers of frostbite or other severe tissue damage are highly unlikely in a typical playtime period.  (Note: It is very important to keep children dry so if children go out in sleeting or snowing weather they will need dry clothes to change into. Children also should always be taken inside if they are shivering or have bluing lips. Infants will need additional bundling and less time outdoors as they cannot adequately warm their own bodies).

In a region where the temperatures fluctuate so widely during the winter, care givers should make their assessments on whether to play outside based on the actual weather conditions (taking into account the clothing students have available). Playing and learning outside everyday is a right that should be entitled to all children everyday, when the conditions are safe.

Stay tuned for the next post for more information about how to dress properly and creative ideas to make winter wear available at your site...

Book Review: What will I do without you? (lower elementary fiction)

Jefferson Bear and Figgy Two Socks are best friends.  But when Jefferson Bear must go hibernate, Figgy must figure out how she will occupy herself in his absence. She feels abandoned, sad, and angry when he must leave. And nothing seems fun anymore. She starts out exploring by herself and finally finds a new friend in Hoptail the Squirrel. Gently and permissively this book explores the more challenging emotions that can come from interactions with friends. Especially, you will love the gentle watercolor pictures that make the winter forest so playful and inviting. There is much to talk about in the backdrop. And in case you are wondering, yes, red foxes really do enjoy red worms- but even more so in the spring and early summer.

Admittedly, I probably am drawn to this book in part because it makes a top carnivore and a lowly scavenger lovable. After so many children's books that vilify them and perpetuate stereotypes of them as raging man-eaters or worthless competition that warrant extreme fear and thoughtless hunting, it is a welcomed change when they are featured as the main characters. I feel that introducing animals in such fanciful ways in children's books is one way we can start altering public perceptions towards them. (For two GREAT explanations and definitions of the importance of Keystone species and the crucial role of predators see these links. These are direct links to articles in Mother Earth News that I have found to be among the best non-technical and compassionate explanations I have ever seen. These would be a great review before teaching about food webs).

This is a great early elementary book for introducing curricula related to topics such as winter, snowmen, real verses pretend, hibernation, snow tracks, seasonal animal (and plant) adaptations, carnivore verses omnivore, and signs of winter coming verses signs of spring coming. On a social level this book discusses giving our friends space to be different from us, not being clingy, playing alone, dealing with teasing, and making new friends. 

You can share with your students what a real baby fox looks like:

Image borrowed from Lylaandblue.com

And you can remind them that in real life bear/fox interactions are much more intense. Go here to see an amazing photograph of the two chasing each other.

Winter outdoor education curricula ideas

Photo by Oakley originals at creativecommons.org

For early childhood/lower elementary:

From Growing Up WILD, Exploring Nature With Young Children:

• Hiding in Plain Sight- Use Hide and Seek to teach adaptation
• Tracks!- Explore and make tracks
• Oh Deer- Explore parts of habitat
• Field study fun- Explore a plot over time

From Project WET- Water Education for Teachers

• Cold cash in the icebox- Make an insulator to keep ice from melting
• Molecules in motion- Act out three states of water  

From Project WILD

Thicket game- use hide and seek to teach adaptation.

Non-fiction books

• Tracks, Scats, and Signs by Leslie Dendy
• Wild Tracks! A Guide to Nature's footprints by Jim Arnosky
• When Winter comes  by Laan and Gaber

Fiction books

• Footprints in the Snow by Cynthia Benjamin
• In the Snow: Whose Been Here? by Lindsay Barrett George
• Tracks in the Snow by Wong Herbert Lee
• Stranger in the woods! by Sams and Stoick
• What will I do without you? by Sally Grindley and Penny Dann

 For upper elementary:

From Project WET- Water Education for Teachers

• Cold cash in the icebox- make an insulator to keep ice from melting
• The Incredible Journey- act out the water cycle
• Hanging together- act out hydrogen bonds in surface tension, ice formation, etc.
• Just passing through- Imitate how water moves down a slope (*Adaption: Change the game by declaring different temperatures in different rounds)
• Molecules in motion- Act out three states of water
• Water crossings- simulate various water crossing situation (*Adaptation: build a replica of something used historically or modern day to pull cargo across ice or snow. OR simulate a sled dog race)

From Project WILD

• How many bears can live in this forest?- Students become bears and look for components of a habitat.
• My kingdom for a shelter- Construct a lifesize habitat replica 
• Oh Deer- students use tag-like game to learn about carrying capacity
• Urban Nature Search- gather data about what habitats exist in your area. (Winter is great time to find bird's nests).
• Quick Frozen Critters- Use freeze tag to teach adaptations.

Fiction books

• Julie of the Wolves
• Narnia series by C.S. Lewis
• Little house in the Big Wood by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Nonfiction books

• Arctic Tale by Wolverton, Richards, Gore
• Snowflake Bentley by Martin
• Learning about Winter with Children's literature  by Bryant, Keiper, and Petit
• Who lives in the Snow? By Jones and Powell
• The Kids' Winter handbook by Drake and Love

For middle school
From Project WET- Water Education for Teachers

• Hanging together- act out hydrogen bonds in surface tension, ice formation, etc. 
• Just passing through- Imitate how water moves down a slope (*Adaption: Change the game by declaring different temperatures in different rounds)
• Water crossings- simulate various water crossing situation (*Adaptation: build a replica of something used historically or modern day to pull cargo across ice or snow. OR simulate a sled dog race)

 From Project WILD

• How many bears can live in this forest?- Students become bears and look for components of a habitat.
• My kingdom for a shelter- Construct a lifesize habitat replica
• Oh Deer- students use tag-like game to learn about carrying capacity
• Urban Nature Search- gather data about what habitats exist in your area (Winter is great time to find bird's nests).

 For high school:

From Project WET- Water Education for Teachers

• Hanging together- act out hydrogen bonds in surface tension, ice formation, etc. 
• Water crossings- simulate various water crossing situation (*Adaptation: build a replica of something used historically or modern day to pull cargo across ice or snow. OR simulate a sled dog race)

 From Project WILD

• Artic survival- Do a simulation of hunter gather lifestyle in the artic. 

What active winter curricula have you found useful?
Bonus points: What animal makes the footprints in the above photo?