Building A Discovery Playground

Playgrounds have long stimulated the imagination of children around the world. However there are other types of playgrounds you can make in your backyard that are far different then the expensive sets of metal and wood you buy in the department stores. The idea to design a child’s playground in your backyard might sound like a good idea but it’s not as easy as it sounds. However it can be really inexpensive.

One of the first things you want to look at is the area, the environment in which the child is going to play. Sometimes you want to take into consideration the surrounding areas, like hills and plants can be part of the play area. Nice scenery adds to the atmosphere. These are called discovery playgrounds which are different from traditional playgrounds. It is a proven fact a natural surrounding area can add to the adventure and imagination in children. This can include scenery with animals, gardens and ponds. Much to a point of adding out of the way rock formations these way children can’t hurt themselves.

A discovery play garden requires some gear and materials to make. Elements such as sand and water are required as well as props that children can use in their everyday play time. The idea is to change the environment so the natural imagination and cognitive development of the child is stimulated. You can make many structures for children to play on from things such as logs, stumps and even large boulders.

You can secure the stumps and logs after cleaning and treating them for insects and fungus growth as well as sand down and smooth the edges of the boulders making them less of a danger to the safety of the children playing. You can then secure structure such as beams from boulder to boulder making a natural looking balance beam catwalk or even add heavy duty rope from a secure tree limb for an adventure swing. This is where the sand comes into play as you would require that surface for the child to make their landing on from the swing. Even mounds of dirt and sand which make small hills and higher plateaus work wonders for children.

Make sure to have plenty of vegetation around the area. Such as plants and trees and other wild flowers that grow. This can do more than stimulate the imagination but also teach a child to appreciate his habitat and learn more about nature. Incorporating running water into a play area can have many effects.

Outdoor play areas such as this are never-ending and can always be added onto. This allows for the children to have their own creativity which flows freely instead of being confined to spaces of pre-made areas. This may sound rather unconventional but can be very impacting on young children and easy on your finances and even look nice in the way of landscaping your back yard. Something both children and adults can appreciate.

By: Mark J Gregory

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Mark Gregory is writing on behalf of Smith Brothers, who have been providing services to the manufacturing and engineering industries for over 24 years. They offer a number of services, including Rubber Safety Mats and Rubber Playground