Active Playground Spaces Flashcards
1
Q
5 types of playing on a playground:
A
- constructive
- functional
- fantasy
- social
- games with rules
2
Q
Examples of constructive play:
A
- sand castle
- forts
3
Q
Examples of functional play:
A
- monkey bars
- swings
- fire pole
4
Q
Examples of fantasy play:
A
- making up games based on animals
- house
- cops and robbers
5
Q
Examples of social play:
A
- cooperating
- deciding what games to play
- including people
6
Q
Examples of games with rules:
A
- war
- set rules that have consequences if broken
7
Q
KFC playgrounds =
A
Kit, Fence, Carpet
8
Q
KFC playgrounds:
A
adult designed standardized playscapes created without the involvement of children
9
Q
Describe KFC playground design:
A
- designed based on parental fear and desires
- no input from children
- doesn’t provide enough stimulation for play
10
Q
KFC playground features:
A
- kit of fixed play equipment
- fence surrounding it
- carpet of rubber surface
- requires little supervision
11
Q
Children enjoy playing with and using _____ ____.
A
natural elements
12
Q
Contact may nature may…
A
be a human need
13
Q
The way children understand and experience nature has changed radically -
A
Nature Deficit Disorder
14
Q
According to the Bienenstock video, by using trees, tunnels, boulders, and ropes, children are establishing…
A
- trust for the world
- more stimulation and exploration
15
Q
According to the Bienenstock video, the problems with new playgrounds are:
A
- immune
- social/behavioural issues
16
Q
7 Cs link _____ conditions of outdoor play environments with what is known about the _____ of young children.
A
- physical
- development
17
Q
The 7 Cs should be used to …
A
inform the designing of play spces
18
Q
7 Cs:
A
- character
- context
- connectivity
- change
- chance
- clarity
- challenge
19
Q
Character: 4 design types:
A
- modular
- organic
- modern
- re-use
20
Q
Character:
A
overall feel and design of the outdoor play space
21
Q
Modular character:
A
equipment dominates play area, leaving inadequate room for play
22
Q
Organic character:
A
- design highlights changing outdoor environment
- includes things children can manipulate
23
Q
Modern character:
A
design highlights infrastructure and mechanism of landscape and building
24
Q
Re-use character:
A
adaptation of space that was not originally intended for children
25
Context refers to ...
- the small world of the play space itself
- the larger landscape that surrounds the centre
- how they interact with each other
26
What questions are asked when looking at context?
- area surrounding?
- rooftop?
- roads?
- open?
- type of neighbourhood
- neighbours?
- space?
- micro-climate issues?
27
Context: more space allows for more...
gross motor activity such as running
28
Context: less space =
increased aggression or withdrawal
29
Context: microclimate issues:
- too hot (not enough shade)
- too cold (not enough sun)
- too damp (not enough drainage or shelter)
- too noisy or polluted (from traffic or industry)
30
Connectivity refers to...
the physical, visual, and cognitive connectivity of the play space
31
Connectivity helps children understand ...
how they should move in different places
32
Connectivity: Why should the outdoor places be linked to the inside play space?
- convenience
- increases use of outdoor space
- contributes to interior atmosphere
33
Different pathways should accommodate different forms of ______.
mobility
34
Looped paths and subordinate paths provide opportunities to _____ the space a different _____ and for ____ _____ at intersections.
- explore
- speeds
- decision making
35
Without defined pathways, children...
retreat to the margins of the space
36
Pathways can reduce...
chaotic tricycling
37
Change refers to...
- the range of differently sized spaces an equipment
| - seasonal changes in plants, vegetation, water etc.
38
What questions should we be asking when assessing change?
- Offer changes in height, speed, direction of
movement for children?
• Offer changes in “potential group size” that can use equipment?
• Does space offer children opportunity to change zones (e.g., water to sand to gravel to vegetation to climbing to swinging)?
• Opportunity to watch vegetation change with the seasons?
39
Chance refers to...
- opportunities in the play space that allow the child to create, manipulate, and leave an impression on the play space
- open-endedness/flexibility of space
40
2 components of chance:
- messy zones
| - mystery
41
Messy zones are places to:
- dig
- play with water
- sand
- loose parts provide opportunities to design (molding, shaping etc.)
42
Mystery:
- spontaneous exploration
| - stepping stones, plant material
43
Clarity refers to...
physical legibility and perceptual imageability of the play space
44
Clarity: large play structures in the centre makes...
- games like tag or imaginative play difficult
| - interrupts the view of adults
45
Clarity: play spaces should have _____ points clear to prevent accidents.
entry/exits
46
Clarity: how does soundscape contribute?
- hard surfaces, little vegetation, close to busy streets = louder = confusion and stress
- soft materials, plants, and distance from traffic are quieter
47
In clarity, we should ask if the different _____ are clear, such as...
- zones
- messy play
- sand play
- water play
- tricycles
48
In clarity, we should ask if there is ____ for adults and kids.
seating
49
Challenge refers to...
the degree to which the play space provides sufficient/appropriate physical and cognitive challenges for children
50
Challenge is the concept of ...
risky play
51
Lack of challenge leads to...
bullying
52
We should challenge kids to take _____ without being _____.
- risks
| - hazardous
53
Graduated challenges involving several levels of difficulty enables..
optimal level of difficulty
54
What are the 3 dimensions in evaluating outdoor playground spaces?
- play types/value
- physical elements of a play space
- environmental characteristics of a play space
55
The play value can be derived or assessed by...
its ability to maximize a child's developmental functions in 5 key areas
56
What are the 5 key areas in play value?
- environmental development
- physiological (physical) development
- creative development
- educational development
- social development
57
Environmental development:
- understand environment through manipulation of movable parts
- variable landform
- natural elements
58
Physiological development:
- physical fitness challenges
- fine and gross motor
- sensory elements
59
Creative development:
- enhanced by moving parts
- textures, materials, heights, vegetation, varying landform
- variety of spaces
60
Educational development:
cognition developed through exploration of shapes, sizes, numbers, movements in multiple mediums
61
Social development:
- small scale and large scale interactions
- small areas for retreat
- large areas for team games, social re-enactment
62
11 factors in physical elements of a play space:
1. Range of fixed equipment
2. Moveable equipment
3. Varying sizes of equipment
4. Vegetation/trees
5. Landform (flat vs hilly)
6. Loose materials
7. Natural materials
8. Water & Sand
9. Physical boundaries (fences)
10. Seating opportunities
11. Range of surface materials
63
Dimension 2 is:
- description of the physical elements that actually exist within a play space
- greater variety = greater play value
64
Dimension 3 allows for...
the refinement of specific relationships between the physical elements and environmental significance
65
5 questions for dimension 3:
- enticing?
- stimulating?
- challenging?
- educational?
- appropriate for all ages?
66
What do parents want?
- shade
- safety
- independence
- splashpads
- cleanliness
- surfaces
- lighting
- social opportunities
- environmental/natural elements
67
What do children want?
- age appropriate equipment
- places to play with friends
- variety
- no teenagers
68
What do adolescents want?
- casual open spaces
- flexible uses
- variety
- range of youth-controlled social activities
69
Playground spaces can be evaluated using:
- the 7 C's
| - 3 "play value" dimensions
70
____ playground spaces typically offer more "play value".
natural
