Community Preschool, a cooperative alternative preschool in Loveland, CO, is seeking to rebuild our playground area, which has suffered massive equipment loss due to current restrictions set by the state of Colorado. Right now, we are asking for donations so that we can start Phase 1 of our project while school is out for the summer, which will allow us to enlarge the courtyard and install the rubber tile flooring and fencing so that our children will have a safe area to play once school begins in the fall.
In recent years, industry standards have forced us to remove several play structures from our playground due to inadequate fall zones. According to regulation, all play structures over 18” high must have a 6’ fall zone of an appropriate substrate to minimize injury, making the current design of the play area too small to support even the smallest play structures. Our students now have limited access to equipment that would otherwise allow for large motor skill enhancement, and increase their involvement in outdoor creative and cooperative play. As we all know, outdoor play is an integral part of our children’s physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development. Keeping this in mind, we have worked, parents and teachers together, to design a new play area that will engage all areas of child development, and will exceed industry standards to allow for fluctuation and changes for years to come.
The current courtyard area will be enlarged to create a new 30’x40’ playground area. Playground structures for this area have been chosen specifically to promote upper body strength, creativity, and cooperative play. Rubber tile flooring will be used as our ideal substrate for underneath and around the equipment, creating a generous fall zone for each piece, which also provides the added benefit of being clean and maintenance free.
In order to create this area, the existing cinder block wall, as well as several juniper bushes outside the current courtyard, will be removed. The juniper bushes inside the current courtyard will also be removed to make way for a new benched seating area.
To further enhance the aesthetic appeal of the courtyard and provide additional learning and play opportunities, we have re-designed the perimeter of the courtyard. In place of the juniper forest, we will have a peaceful and beautiful benched area for parents to sit and visit, or for children to rest in the shade. In place of a currently unused gravel area near the school's entryway, we will build 3 or 4 raised garden beds to engage the children in outdoor educational opportunities, including planting vegetables, lessons on caring for the earth, the life cycle of plants, and much more. In the opposite corner, next to the sandbox, the gravel will be replaced by a nature corner, with a small footbridge over a rock river, tall grasses for children to play and “hide” in, and other interpretive plants. The sandbox will remain and will possibly be enlarged as we all know how much CPS children love their sand play. The grassy area in the middle, as well as the bike path, will also remain as they are.
We have divided this project into two “phases.” Phase 1 includes preparing the area—removing the juniper bushes, demolition of the cinder-block wall, installing the rubber flooring, and installing the fence around the new play area. This phase, by far, is the most costly, but completing this phase before the next school year begins is crucial for our children to have a safe area to play in come fall.
Phase 2 includes the installation of playground equipment and changes to the existing courtyard area. This phase can take place over a course of a few weeks, or even months, as each small area can be completed separately, and each piece of equipment can be installed separately and quickly over a weekend or in off hours without detriment to the rest of the playground, or our children’s playtime.