Outdoor Play Equipment
The Exhilarating Experience of Outdoor Play
Playgrounds are intended to be places where children’s minds and bodies can both flourish through the experience of engaging outdoor play. And a proper outdoor playground should be designed to be large enough and fleshed out in a way that children’s play can come to full fruition. This is a place where children can run, jump, climb, and explore while experiencing some of the heights that outdoor play has to offer.
Looking back, most modern adults remember their times spent out on the playground with great fondness. When you were a student, you appreciated being able to leave the classroom behind and set out on a playground adventure with your peers. Whenever you visited a local park, you also enjoyed being able to experience a different outdoor environment and take in all that the playground had to offer. And the same is just as true for the children of today.
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The Importance of Having the Right Outdoor Play Equipment
Why does having the right outdoor play equipment installed at your school, preschool, daycare, park, or community facility matter? It can help to define the experience of your playground users in a positive way and offers many other notable benefits for children, as well:
A well-designed school or community playground enables kids to leave their screens behind while enjoying some needed outdoor play. Having access to the right playground equipment helps children to experience outdoor activities that are personally engaging and meaningful while also providing a healthy avenue for personal growth.
Playing outdoors is really one of the best ways to get children’s hearts pumping and to get those young muscles moving. There’s nothing better than giving kids the opportunity to enjoy some fresh air and sunshine while stretching out their limbs on some exciting playground equipment! Playgrounds also serve to help children grow and refine many important motor skills.
Any time a child enters a playground with other children, it gives children the ability to learn to work together. This also teaches children to appreciate the value of engaging with peers in healthy ways. Gaining important social skills like these helps children to build confidence and also serves to help with important communication skills development.
New, fresh, open-ended play opportunities encourage children to become more creative, and this delivers a payoff in terms of problem-solving skill development, as well. With a well-designed, well-engineered children’s outdoor playset, no two play experiences are necessarily identical. Whether it’s outdoor play equipment for toddlers, outdoor play equipment for preschoolers, outdoor play equipment for schools, or outdoor play equipment for children of all ages, each play experience can offer its own positive benefits for developing creativity.
Think back to when you were a student yourself. What do you remember from those early years? Some of your best learning experiences may not have occurred in a classroom. In fact, some of your formative memories may have occurred out on the playground. Teachers and parents who want to be intentional can use this fact to their advantage. You can use children’s experiences on the playground to help supplement and enhance what is being taught in the classroom – like math, science, and vocabulary skills. You can also use outdoor play experiences to reinforce what you’re trying to teach your children as a parent.
The stresses of a long school day or a tough family experience can really be pretty stressful for a child. Giving children the opportunity to enjoy some physical activity on outdoor play equipment can facilitate the release of endorphins which help to neutralize the feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression in children. Playground activity serves to benefit the development of other valuable cognitive skills in children, too.
Outdoor Play Equipment for All Ages
You know that playgrounds are a common staple of preschools and elementary schools, but what about outdoor play equipment for older students? Research suggests that both middle school and high school students benefit from having access to constructive outdoor play opportunities, too. To that end, having some age-appropriate play, recreational, and/or fitness equipment available for students of ALL ages to be able to enjoy is truly important.
Preschoolers and Elementary Students
When it comes to young children, there’s really no debate. These kids NEED to be able to run loose outside in order to burn off some excess energy! At the same time, you don’t want to just send them out into any old, uncontrolled environment either. Young children need access to a safe, controlled play environment that’s also designed to be both fun and engaging for them. In order to address that goal, what you really need is some good, commercial outdoor play equipment. A solid, central playground set is essential, but you’ll probably also want to build in some other essential play equipment elements. This will likely include popular items like swings, bridges, monkey bars, and climbers, as well as some ADA-compliant components for more inclusive play. It’s also a good idea to include some other great freestanding play equipment like sensory play panels, tunnels, sand & water play features, etc.
Middle School Students
Research also shows that middle schoolers need as much time and opportunity for outdoor recess as elementary students do. In fact, you could argue that middle school students actually need MORE of these opportunities. Why is this true? Students in the middle school age bracket are facing some of the most awkward times of their lives and must face all sorts of unique stressors, including changing hormones, heavier school workloads, and a whole new set of social pressures. And since middle schoolers have bigger bodies and different play interests, they require a different set of outdoor play equipment as well. Thankfully, there are many commercial playground sets and play components available which have preteens and young teens specifically in mind. For example, outdoor fitness systems and fitness trail elements are very popular with middle school-aged children.
High School Students
High schoolers are just too old for a playground, right? Actually, no. High schoolers need daily physical activity just as all children do. And high school students can benefit by having a healthy break from all of their many academic, extracurricular, and social stressors. While many high schools may not elect to install a traditional “playground,” it’s still a smart move to have the right teenager-friendly outdoor recreation and fitness elements installed for your school, park, or community organization. Standalone fitness equipment, wellness equipment, and fitness circuit trail equipment are good for students, and they’re good for health teachers and coaches to use with their classes and sports teams, as well. And you can still install some big kid-sized play equipment, too. If we’re honest, most high schoolers (and adults) still like to get on a swing and even go down a slide!
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Carolina Recreation & Design Is Your Preferred Provider of Outdoor Play Equipment in NC, SC, VA, and TN
Carolina Recreation & Design offers an amazing selection of commercial playground sets, along with many great outdoor play equipment features for freestanding play, recreation, and fitness. And Carolina Recreation & Design isn’t just a dealer of a quality playground, outdoor recreation, and fitness equipment. We also install everything we sell, and we can help with everything from site design to site prep, to safety surfacing, to fabric shades, to outdoor seating, to complete covered shelters.
We provide a full complement of site amenities and furnishings, too, all the way down to themed trash receptacles, benches, and more. Need help with permitting, electrical, water, fencing, masonry, stonework, or landscaping? We happen to be general contractors, so we can take care of all of that for you, too! At Carolina Recreation & Design, we’re really about delivering complete, start-to-finish, turnkey solutions to meet your needs. You won’t have to worry about a thing!
Got questions? Ready to get started on your outdoor play project in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, or Tennessee? You can also reach out to us online here, or for an even faster connection, you can simply give us a call at (704) 664-1833 today!
Carolina Recreation & Design has all of your playground, outdoor play equipment, recreational & fitness equipment, and other essential site needs covered!
