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New playground promotes physical activity
By Jeanette Fich Jespersen, MA, International Manager of the KOMPAN Play Institute
The staff at the Danish H.C. Andersen School (for children aged 7 to 16) talk about the good experiences they’ve had with their new playground. It encourages greater physical activity and reduces conflict among the children.
In the autumn of 2006 the H.C. Andersen School in the Vollsmose suburb of Odense got a new playground. As a full-time school open from 8 am to 3.30 pm, the breaks are much needed periods of activity. This is why SFO manager Elsebeth Kyed took on the role of coordinator for the playground group. The pupils were involved by being allowed to choose the equipment, with help from a KOMPAN Play Consultant. Architect Gerda Vaaben was responsible for the design of the actual playground – a real challenge due to the fact the site was long and relatively narrow and had neighbours very close by.
Today the value of the playground is clear to see in terms of both physical activity and social interaction. After-school club manager Elsebeth Kyed and PE/Maths teacher Thomas Dreisig tell us about their experiences with the playground.
“As a PE teacher I can see that the playground is making a big difference. It acts as an obstacle course. It’s a real playground Olympics going on out there,” says Thomas Dreisig.
“Some good basic moves are practised through playing on the equipment. And what’s more, play is well spread out thanks to the positioning of the equipment. When the children come running out there’s always something for them to do. They can’t just take a short-cut. So they have to decide how to move to get around the course. And there are variations and challenges all over the place.”
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Elsebeth Kyed and Thomas Dreisig, H.C. Andersen School: “The level of activity in the breaks is noticeably higher!” February 2007 – at play in part of the new playground.
“Yes, they get involved in the activity,” adds Elsebeth Kyed. “And as a result there’s much less conflict than there used to be. Partly thanks to the number of activities. But the way they are divided up also means that the children get together in smaller groups. This wards off lots of conflict.”
Thomas Dreisig has lots more ideas for how to make the most of the playground, both as a tool for promoting health and as a teaching aid:
“Here at H. C. Andersen we work with a number of different teaching styles. For example, the Supernova can be used to teach circles to the very smallest pupils, using the body. And don’t forget that PE lessons can be held on the playground itself. I think we should be soon able to notice a difference in quite a number of the badly behaved children if we make use of the playground more in teaching time.”
Elsebeth Kyed adds: “The playground also lets the children learn a great deal about their own bodies. And then there’s the social aspect too. I predict that the playground will be used by all the family in the summer months, as
it’s open to the public outside school hours and during the holidays.”
Outside the playground is teeming with swinging, skipping, singing and ball-playing children. And whatever they learn, they learn it with their entire body – and with a smile on their face.