Getting kids to play creatively and actively is one of the goals at Community Connections Inc. Early Learning and Child Care, and that goal has gotten a little easier with a recently completed outdoor playspace. The $25,000 project was designed to give kids an open and natural outdoor area conducive to varied and active play.
Early Childhood Development Educator Ruth Love says the new space is a large improvement, both to the facility and the community at large, as it takes an undeveloped property and both gives it a purpose and makes it more attractive.
The first phase was a partnership with the Aboriginal First Steps program, to give both programs a space for their kids to play in. Between both groups, 100 children will be using the grounds. The initial goal was to get a safe, active environment, with future phases building on it.
"We are laying the base with phase one. What we really wanted was a more natural playground, but really phase one gave us a safe place, with some pieces in it," Love says.
The goal of the new grounds is not to have static pieces, but to instead bring in a range of things that kids can experiment with and find new ways to play with.
"This playspace is about what we're bringing in to it. You're bringing new things all the time for children to experiment with, where as opposed to if you bring in a very expensive piece of climbing equipment, they climb over it and there's nothing new about it. They're not even safe about their climbing anymore because they've done it so many times they're not even thinking," Love says.
The next phase will be about bringing in natural elements, with plans for garden areas, paths, vines, more grass, and other natural features. Love says that as some parents don't have time to get out in nature with their children, this gives an opportunity to have kids larn about it and get in the dirt in a safe environment.
Love says that in order for this plan to happen, there will need to be community support. While it is a licensed daycare, that doesn't provide funding for projects like this. The hope is that it can be put into place next year.
"It's a very expensive piece of property, but the kids are worth it," Love concludes.
