It’s getting to that time of the year where the playground is in hot demand, and the warmer weather will mean everyone wants to spend their time outside! We here at PlaySmart understand the value of a great outdoor playground, and we’ve got some ideas on how you can add an extra element of fun to your own. Read on for our best tips on how to make your play are more enjoyable and exciting:
Fun Zone Ahead
Splitting your playground up into zones can have a great impact on the children playing on it! Zoning helps separate different activities and equipment in order to give your outdoor playground some structure and map out different areas kids can relax, play or learn in. Zoning comes with a whole host of additional benefits, helping children develop their mental and physical skills, playing with other children and developing interpersonal skills.
It also avoids the problems that come with traditional play areas where sections overlap and create safety issues – just imagine how many footballs you’ve seen gone awry on a playground! Another benefit – especially important – is the opportunity for inclusivity that zoning presents. Creating a quieter area of the play area where children can remove themselves from loud and crowded spaces is a great way for those who struggle with sensory overload to recharge and relax without becoming overwhelmed.
From The Ground Up
A sure-fire way to improve your outdoor play experience is to shake up the playing level! Even adults enjoy switching up the scenery from time to time, and incorporating different heights and playing levels into your playground is guaranteed to inject some fun and change into children’s every-day routines.
This could be anything from swings, slides, climbing frames, to monkey bars, see-saws, fireman poles – the options are endless! The fun lies in creating play opportunities at different levels and heights; this can help improve children’s balance and motor skills, as well as offer a more interesting play experience.
Colours and Themes
Here at PlaySmart, we love a fun colour scheme, and children are no different! There is plenty of research backing up the fact that bright colours are positively received by children, and that they can aid visual and cognitive development.
There are plenty of ways you can incorporate bright and fun colours into your play area – a good place to start is your playground’s flooring. You can brighten up the place with some green artificial grass, some cool wet-pour patterns, or multi-coloured rubber mulch. You can check our products for more inspiration here.
Themes are also a great way of creating a more appealing playground. You could take inspiration from your local environment; for example, if you’re near some woods or a forest, you could have a jungle adventure-themed outdoor playground, or if you’re more coastal, you could consider an under the sea theme? If you don’t want to tie into your surroundings, however, there are plenty of creative outlets you could explore – a quick Google search will give you more themed playground ideas than you bargained for!
Make Your Mark
This might be a blast from the past, but play area markings are a simple way of adding excitement to children’s playtime! Having a prompt can inspire creativity and encourage games, which in turn adds to children’s social development, as a lot of playground games are played with two or more children.
Just think about a road marking design, for example, where children pretend to drive, stop at traffic lights, give way to other ‘cars’ and so on. Not only does playing with other kids develop communication skills and social relationship skills, getting children up and active can also help improve their fine and gross motor skills.
Learn Your Lesson
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that educational play is a very good thing! Keeping children’s minds stimulated is important for cognitive growth, and there are plenty of opportunities for you to include educational elements into your outdoor playground in order to create a fun and positively-associated learning experience for children.
For example, have you considered a corner of your play area being dedicated to an educational experience? There are plenty of options available for transforming your space into one where children enjoy learning new information and skills.
One good idea is to create an outdoor classroom, or reading corner. By separating free play from educational activities, this helps narrow focus to the task at hand, rather than getting distracted by the commotion and loud noises of more active parts of the play area.
By adding some benches or a hut structure, and an easel with some chalk, you have a new classroom! By changing the scenery and moving the teaching outside, this creates a refreshing change to children’s everyday routine. And of course, the young bookworms will love having a reading space away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the playground!
If you want to find out how we can give your playground some creative new ideas, please don’t hesitate to contact us on the form below – we’ll be back in touch within two business days and we guarantee you’ll love the results!