Friday, March 5, 2010

Playground Maintenance Guide and a Playground Supervision Guide

Playground Maintenance Guide and a Playground Supervision Guide
We know that 84% of all playground accidents could be avoided through better

adult supervision and proper playground maintenance. That is why Snider & Associates provides a Playground Maintenance Guide and a Playground Supervision Guide with every order. We believe that by designing and

implementing effective playground maintenance and playground dsupervision programs at your

school or park playground, we can help you protect your investment and improve children’s play experiences.

Call or click here to get your Playground Maintenance Guide or Playground Supervision Guide today!

The Power of Urban Play

The Power of Urban Play
is a national report developed with the expertise of urban
park and recreation
leaders across our nation. This rich resource provides information

for park and recreation agencies, school districts, and other youth serving

organizations to make lasting changes for children’s health and well-being in urban

communities. Data was collected and summarized through a series of interviews,

surveys, and roundtable discussions in order to capture a broad representation of

urban communities across the county. The report reviews the importance of play in

urban communities
, defines the trends and unique characteristics, and discusses best

practice strategies for developing and maintaining wholesome play environments.

Play On! is a standards-based physical fitness program

Play On! is a standards-based physical fitness program that was created in
partnership with the American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation
(AAPAR). Play On! promotes physical fitness through the use of playground
equipment
and fun creative learning activities. This program fully aligns with the
national physical education standards promoted by the National Association for Sport
and Physical Education (NASPE) and can help promote moderate to vigorous levels
of physical activity to combat childhood obesity. It is successfully being implemented
in schools and parks and recreation programs across the nation during physical
education, recess, after-school programs, camps, and as ‘mini-energizers’ to help
meet required number of minutes of playground physical activity. Offering many developmental
benefits, playgrounds are the perfect place to keep kids moving, socializing, and
learning. This one-of-a-kind program adds value to your investment by providing unique activities and
playground designs based around six key elements of play to increase overall fitness!

standards-based playground curriculum

Snider & Associates is committed to helping each child reach their full potential through standards-based playground curriculum
Snider & Associates is committed to helping each child reach their full potential
and offering creative and imaginative ways for educators to reinforce important
academic concepts outdoors on the playground! We include standards-based
activity folders with each purchase of A-maze motion panel systems and Music
Makers instruments to help bring the playground equipment alive. Through the use
of this product-specific curriculum we can help you bring new learning experiences
to the great outdoors- while encouraging movement and the development
of important physical, social, emotional, language, and cognitive skills.
Snider & Associates is committed to finding ways to maximize the value of your playground and help
children meet physical, social, and academic goals. We are proud to offer a variety of research-based
programs that provide best practice playground design guidelines and bring standards-based play and learning activities
to the playground, positively impacting the lives and development of children, families, and communities.
These tools and resources are critical as we work together to build a “gateway to imaginative play.”


Call Snider & Associates for your playground curriculum today!
Get playground and athletic equipment here

What is NatureGrounds?


What is NatureGrounds?

NatureGrounds: Putting Nature Into Play is a comprehensive program that provides best practice guidelines for creating and retrofitting play environments for parks and school grounds that integrate manufactured play equipment and the living landscape. The purpose of NatureGrounds is to create a dramatic shift in the standard playground development process by deliberately designing nature back into children’s lives, not only to benefit children’s play but also to engage communities in working together to create richer play experience for all users.



Bringing nature back into children’s lives

Remember when time stood still as we played outdoors with best friends, enjoying the wonders of the world around us? We learned to interact with each other and our natural surroundings — climbing trees, swinging on branches, playing games, or enjoying the quiet contemplation of leaves floating down a stream. Elements of nature created magical expressions of childhood musings about the world.

Like children throughout the ages, we experienced the universal childhood delights of discovery and fascination set free by boundless imaginations and unstructured play in nature — even in a few square feet.

New health research recognizes everyday outdoor play in nature as a powerful preventive strategy for healthy childhood development — including protection against childhood obesity.

A generation ago playing outdoors in nature was usually taken for granted; but times have changed. Now, nature must be deliberately designed back into children’s lives. In today’s urban and suburban environments, natural spaces are often too remotely located for visiting on a regular basis.

A playground paradigm shift


The industrial playground model based solely on manufactured equipment is being reconsidered. A greater diversity of play opportunities is desired to extend curricular activity in schools and to meet the needs of a broader range of children and their families in parks. The integration of natural components helps fulfill these needs as well as creating richer play experiences for all users.


Safety and playgrounds


Contemporary playground components are manufactured to meet high quality industrial design standards of health and safety. Constant upgrading and innovation are recognized characteristics of the playground industry. National injury statistics show compliant playgrounds to be much safer than other everyday childhood environments.

Playground safety, which has been the focus of playground design for the last fifteen years, has reached the point where children may find playgrounds boring and therefore not attractive for everyday use or for repeat visits.

To counteract this trend, naturalization is an effective strategy to stimulate, motivate, and encourage children’s play, and to increase the attraction of playgrounds for children and caregivers.

Playgrounds cannot fully eliminate risk and indeed should provide children with opportunities to engage in healthy risk taking and activities that provide developmentally appropriate challenges. On the other hand, providing safer environments must continue to be a priority with every effort made to reduce unforeseen hazards.

Added value


Naturalization adds value to play equipment structures by enhancing their visual quality as focal points, thereby attracting children outdoors to use parks and school grounds. Equipment, combined with natural elements, tells children that playgrounds are their special places. The added comfort and aesthetic enhancement of nature encourage accompanying adults to also become enthusiastic users.

Why naturalized playgrounds?

Inspired by Richard Louv’s book, Last Child in the Woods, a grassroots movement advocating outdoor play in nature is growing across the USA and Canada, driven by parents, environmental educators, recreation and health promotion professionals, naturalists, and others. Naturalized playgrounds can support the outdoor play in nature movement in many ways:

Play structures are heavily used by children
“Children and nature” and “active childhood” community initiatives and legislation are focusing attention on the spaces of children’s daily lives, including playgrounds
Innovative projects generate positive press and new funding streams

“Mixed” play environments are more attractive and comfortable for adults, encouraging caregivers to spend more time outdoors with their children
Well-designed playgrounds are a primary attraction for families using neighborhood and community parks
Naturalization adds visual interest, shade, and comfort — resulting in sustained repeat visits, a relaxed and playful social atmosphere, and growth of community social capital
Users of all abilities discover a wider range of play opportunities
Curvy pathways provide attractive, accessible, active settings for children, and social strolling by adults
Naturalization provides new opportunities for nature-based professionals to offer rich outdoor educational and recreation programs for a wide range of children

Artificial Grass for Playgrounds - Playground Safety Surface

Only Snider offer the best synthetic grass that gives you unmatched realism built on a proprietary technology platform that ensures quality from the ground up. With our playground safe artificial grass, the possibilites are endless.



Meet the new generation of playground surfaces! Playground Grass is lush, beautiful synthetic grass that is safe to play on, soft to fall on, and cost effective. Playground Grass offers many unique benefits, including:


•A soft, cushioned play surface with fall zones safety-rated to 12 feet
•An ADA accessible play surface
•A consistent safety rating even after heavy use over time
•Antimicrobial protection available for a cleaner, safer playground
Call us at Snider & Associates for a playground site visit today! 1-800-888-2889