Play Matters

Close your eyes for a moment and picture what it would be like to maneuver around your home with little or no sight. You’re probably familiar enough with the layout that it might not feel like the worst struggle.  It

It’s a Saturday morning, after a long work week. The house is a mess, the yard is two weeks overdue for a cut, and “I’m bored” has been groaned a dozen times so far.  We’ve got a few hours to

Sticking your tongue to a piece of metal playground equipment in the middle of January is basically a rite of passage if you live in a cold climate.  Forget about whether your tastebuds would ever heal or if you’d live

There’s a running joke in the parenting world that you can buy your child a new, amazing toy but they will subsequently end up playing with the box. Why? Because the toy, say a truck, is just a truck. Whereas

Designing a playground that is accessible and inclusive can feel overwhelming with so many potential situations to consider. Intellectual disabilities don’t often have physical limitations, whereas developmental disabilities typically do. Physical obstructions for somebody in a wheelchair may be a

Physically active children aren’t just healthy children, they’re happy children. Being active helps to foster an active lifestyle and is crucial for both mental and physical development. Exercising regularly can reduce the risk of health conditions such as diabetes and

As discussed in the first part of this article, perceived risk is a necessary part of play when it comes to commercial playground equipment. Without it, children become bored and lack the opportunities to test themselves and grow.

Would you play a game if you knew that the other team would lose every time? The obvious answer is no. None of us would want to do that because there wouldn't be any challenge. What would be the point

In the first part of this article, I covered four of the eight types of intelligences and how they can be improved upon in the playground. In the second part, I will conclude with the remaining four: Musical/Rhythmic – Imagine

A prominent theory in education is Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. Gardner proposed that, rather than intelligence being a single trait that you either have or don’t have, it is instead something composed of 8 factors which we all