The Children’s School of Oak Park: Nature-Play on a Paved Courtyard and a Tiny Budget

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The Children’s School of Oak Park, a progressive K-8 school outside Chicago, turned their parking lot into a nature play space on a nonprofit budget—a little over $1,000 all told…. Read more »

Restoration of a New Deal-Era Gem in Central Park: A Case Study of Toll Family Playground

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In the era of the New Deal, federally sponsored public works projects led to the creation of parkways, beaches, zoos, golf courses, and hundreds of playgrounds in New York City…. Read more »

Playgrounds of Culture and Place

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Several weeks ago, we caught up with Angelica Rockquemore for a designer profile. Our conversation was illuminating and brought to light an emerging area of interest in the field: how… Read more »

Benefits of Outdoor Activities for Children with ADHD

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If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know we’ve touched on ADHD before. It’s important, of course, as a matter of public health and wellness. But it’s also… Read more »

The 7 Best Playgrounds of 2016

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The days of monkey bars suspended over pea gravel are far behind us. But the evolution of playgrounds is happening so fast, and in such varied ways, the change can… Read more »

Designer Spotlight – H Nyunny Kim of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates

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“Who needs to escape the city when you can walk down the street or take the F train to Jay Street or the No. 22 to Clark Street or the… Read more »

Beach Series: Need Things to Do With Kids? Try Playing!

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Beach Series

It never ceases to amaze me how intensely the adults are playing along side their children: filling up buckets of water to pour into the pits that have been tirelessly dug out, carefully arranging turned over pails of sand to create the walls of a castle, patting sand and making proper use of the dry sand verses wet sand. I can’t help but smile because the adults are really having just as much fun as the children.

Learning by Playing: Cause & Effect Has Never Been So Fun!

- Written by - filed under Living & Learning, Natural Playgrounds, Videos.

I have seen children play on many different playgrounds.  They are always attracted to anything that moves: swings, merry-go-rounds, spinners, see saws and spring riders.  There is something about the action and reaction created… Read more »