| PLAYGROUND EXTREME MAKEOVER COMPLETE! |
Last year we realized that the time had come for us to replace our original playground equipment because the galvanized steel slide and swings had started to rust and have been repainted twice. We have taken into consideration that young children are concrete learners, and they begin to learn about God through nurture and nature. They start to understand His love, forgiveness, kindness, generosity, patience and faithfulness through the loving adults in their lives; and they learn about His wisdom, creativity, provision, order, and sovereignty through His creation. With this in mind, we decided this would be the best time to do a “Playground Extreme Makeover” by converting this space into an Outdoor Classroom where children can explore nature, experience science, creativity, gardening, music, dramatic play, and develop their large and small muscles.
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Our plan called for planting a variety of trees, bushes, native grasses, and perennials to give the children acorns, pine cones, seeds and pods for exploration and creative projects, and attract wildlife for children to closely observe. We want to invite the children into the garden to plant and to play musical instruments. We created a large mulched area for construction with natural elements, woodworking, and a science table. This mulched area is bordered by a dry river bed and a stationary canoe. The river rocks provide a different natural element for the children to manipulate.
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The current slide and swings have been replaced with new equipment that provide multiple slides, a variety of climbers, and swings. The old sandbox was replaced and a magnetic sand activity wall added. Our plan also included a large stationary vehicle, gas pump replica, and traffic signs installed next to the riding toy track that is now concrete instead of blacktop.
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