San Gabriel Mission School Revitalizes its Play Space and Demonstrates the Value of Play for Children
Just recently San Gabriel Mission School turned to Pacific Play Systems to successfully design and install its new school playground equipment. The school was in need of a playground renovation for their up and coming academic school year. This playground was specifically created for the age group of 2-5. The project included the provision and installation of the new equipment, as well as new poured-in-place rubberized surfacing. Pacific Play Systems covered the entire scope of the project – from play equipment to surfacing to shade. Pacific Play’s project managers worked closely with San Gabriel’s principal and staff to create the perfect playground for the school’s needs and financial budget.
San Gabriel was looking for a playground that would complement the mission school. Pacific Play incorporated a natural color theme with green, brown, and tan colors to match the Spanish style mission. The firm incorporated traditional components such as slides and interactive panels, but also provided some “non-traditional” elements to give the playground a twist with a deluxe grip climber and disc climber to transfer to the deck. These components are perfect for the age range of 2-5 to introduce them to climbing and learning how to utilize their gross motor skills. San Gabriel’s new playground also included swings and a new bike track. The playground is the perfect balance of challenge and fun for the younger set as it offers a little bit of everything that will keep the children active and engaged with classmates during recess and lunch.
There are numerous benefits to schools investing in playground equipment. Outdoor physical activity is a very important aspect of the mental and physical development of young children. Playing on playgrounds during recess and lunch helps youngsters develop cognitive abilities such as problem-solving, strategical thinking, and decision making. Almost all components of a playground help to enrich and develop a child’s cognitive abilities. For instance, when children are playing on monkey bars, they have to strategically plan the transfer from one bar to the next and when they fail, they evaluate how to achieve it on the next go around. As they become more capable, they work on skipping bars or going backward which develops their motor skills and cognitive abilities even further. Even having activity panels on the playground such as a maze or Tic-Tac-Toe, the kids still have to strategize and work on their decision making. Playgrounds are very beneficial for the development of cognitive skills and abilities and the more the children challenge themselves the better they will be able to solve and evaluate problems in the future.
Schools that invested in playgrounds actually reported that the absentee rate actually went down because the kids were playing on the playground which made the kids in return healthier and the odds of them getting colds and minor illnesses were lowered. Physical activity keeps kids healthy and healthy kids are less likely to be absent and sick. Kids that are healthier also do better in school and are more present during the lessons the teacher is teaching. It is important for kids to get a minimum of 60 minutes of physical activity each day. When schools have fun and challenging playgrounds, kids are more likely to play on them and are capable of achieving part of the 60 minutes of play each day. School playground equipment is a great way for kids to burn off energy and build muscle. Kids get cardio exercise from chasing one another around the playground or running from one component to the next. They build their muscles from overhead components like monkey bars or a pull-up bar and climbing components work on the full body. Overall, playgrounds are essential for physical and mental growth and development.
This academic school year San Gabriel Mission School is going to have stronger and smarter kids! San Gabriel Mission School is just one example of the many schools realizing the importance and value of an interactive playground. Investing in children’s growth and development helps them transition into adulthood smoother as well as giving them the cognitive abilities to resolve problems and make good choices. The students of San Gabriel Mission School are going to be very excited to return back to school with a brand-new playground!
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