The Learning Landscape

Saturday, February 02, 2013

A Hidden Art Studio on the Playground

A Month of German Inspiration

This rock with small bowl shaped divots, sat under a willow dome. It served as a quieter place on a busy schoolyard for a small group of girls to gather. The activity today was' tattoos' with a wet colored pencil. It actually worked really well!

Friday, February 01, 2013

A Month of German Inspiration!

I visited Germany, Berlin specifically, a few years ago and did a 4 day bike tour of nature playscapes. The spaces were amazing. Their outlook and approach to play are very different then the US. I returned feeling energized and hopeful. This month I want to share some of those images with you. I will focus on visuals with a little explanation rather then my regular depth into a topic.

This climbing wall was designed by the school children. they helped carve it out of native stone. There were about 8 large stones all lined up. It seemed to be one of the most popular spots on the playground! May of the schools we saw had carving rocks for the kids to use on the playground.

PS: If you get irritated with the frequent emails, stick with me. I will be back to my usual blog approach next month. :)

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Stormwater at Schools

It is the middle of winter and stormwater is on our minds here in Portland. It is a topic most kids are drawn to. What little kid can resist a puddle? We have a fabulous opportunity to teach with stormwater at our schools. It is visible, occurs all winter long and can be quite beautiful.

Collecting Stormwater at Schools
Schools often have large surrounding sites. In Portland they are one of the largest urban land holders. That means lots of rain and lots of roof to capture rain. Plenty of our schools have lots of asphalt too. The wonderful thing about working at the school is students can help throughout the entire process. See some of my favorites below.

Bridge Water Garden Before

At Bridge School not only was asphalt pavement removed, but stormwater from the roof was diverted into the water garden.

Bridge Water Garden After
http://www.pps.k12.or.us/schools/bridger/208.htm

Safety Hurdles
Safety is always a top concern at schools. Some of the ways you can avoid the unwanted combination of kids and water (or kids and mud) are
- locate the stormwater facility away from the high traffic areas liek the playground or main door. Place it somewhere there is a watchful eye; outside the office or classroom.
- Design it to have a maximum level of water that is still very shallow
- Avoid steep slopes
- Don't try to hold the water in a container and release it later, especially if kids will come in contact with it. You start to get into sanity issues.

Examples
Portland Public Schools has a great stormwater website with photos of their school stormwater facilities. Below are some of my favorite projects. The best projects,

GET THE KIDS INVOLVED!

Fernwood MS Students Installing Their Swale

Fernwood MS Downspout Disconnect and Swale

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Harvey Scott Students Forming Their Swale

Harvey Scott School Swale and Outdoor Classroom

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Maintenance at DaVinci Middle School

Da Vinvi Middle School Rain Garden

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Metropolitan Learning Center
Students picking water loving plants

Metropolitan Leaning Center Swale-
Kindergarden kids compacting the soil on the edges.

Metropolitan Learning Center Swale Completed

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DeLaSalle Parking Lot Swale

Thursday, December 20, 2012

It Wood, Its Outside, Lets Build!

Some kids are born to build! I can remember building lots of forts indoors and out. My favorite hiding place with a grove of fir trees (old family Christmas Trees) with a concrete block inside that was my table, couch, potions lab all in one. There are a lot more tools out there today for building and creating outdoors.

BLOCK TYPE CONSTRUCTION

Imagiplanks

Builder Boards

LOOSE PARTS FOR CREATIVE BUILDING

Curvy Board

NYC High Line building kits

MORE NATURAL WOOD PIECES AND FORMS

Auburn University Nature Play Area

from http://www.modhomeec.com

Building frames and loose stick building

Happy Holidays and Happy Building!

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Music in the Playscape

There are many options out there for music in outdoor play spaces. From large drums to chimes and many percussion instruments. These early encounters with sounds and music can instill a love of music and get kids over the fear of not being able to 'play' the instrument well. Below are a few ideas to remember when installing music pieces and a few of my favorite instruments.

WHEN INSTALLING MUSICAL PLAY CONSIDER...

- How tall are the kids? Make sure the piece is not above their comfortable playing level, or offer a stool or seat.
- How many kids may want to play at once? There are some great large pieces, but it many be a good idea to add a few more instruments if you have more kids. Most kids like to specifically hear the noises they are creating and have trouble picking them out of a cacophony of many kids playing.
- Do they need sticks or mallets to play? If they do, spend the money to get tough ones, lots of them and attach them well.
- How does the instrument sound? While an old trash can lid will be fun to bang and make loud noises there is also a place for instruments that make very beautiful sounds. I find children play these much more often and won't tire of them in the long run.
- Consider water from above and below. I live in Oregon! We always consider water. :) But if a puddle develops in front of the piece it is much less playable. Nicer instruments may want to consider a roof structure for long term protection.