A Changing Play Space

Our Nature Explore Play space is alive and well into month four! If it were an animal, I would compare it to a chameleon.  The physical entity remains the same, but changes with the colors of the seasons.

In the fall when we had our grand opening, it was resplendent with leaves of bright red, orange, yellow and green from our maple and oak trees .Pumpkins, hay bales and corn stalks filled our Messy Materials Area while corn cobs, leaves and straw beckoned from our Nature Art Area. Children climbed and created, built and biked and saw the coming of winter.

Our first snow brought the shovels and buckets to clear paths and move snow from one spot to another. Teamwork abounded as children worked together to roll and construct large snow, earth, mulch balls. These were rolled until they could be rolled no more, thanks to their size and weight. That didn’t stop the children from trying though!  Those were fun photos to post on our Facebook page.

As the weather changes from cold to colder, the children navigate the play space through their senses and their mittens. Where cornstalks once stood, pieces of log now await strong muscles. Planks straddle the pine log barrier creating the perfect launch pad for mounds of sand. There is still fun to be had riding the track on a bike or scooter, stealing a quiet moment in the Zen Garden Area or rocking to the beat of instruments in our Music Area.

As the seasons change so will elements of our space. Plenty of opportunity to play, think and interact with nature and each other will still occur. With spring and summer a renewed interest in our Art and Water Areas will come bubbling to the surface. The play space will be reborn, ready for another year of seasons and another and another…