This article is the first in a series which will focus on the effects of music in the lives of Seniors, particularly those living in Senior or Elder Communities where shared spaces and facilities can be provided to enhance mental and physical health.
Storytelling (or Story Telling) is one of the oldest forms of human interaction. Oral story telling probably pre-dates written history by millennia and could be older than the images found in cave paintings. Many cultures have kept alive the tradition of oral story telling to this day.
The importance of story telling has not diminished over time, in fact it is recognized now as one of the most important influences on a child’s developmental process. Let’s think about why that is true, and how to elevate storytelling beyond children’s everyday experiences.
Most children’s first experience of story telling is of their parents reading bedtime stories to them followed by their first steps in learning to read for themselves. Some children though will not have experienced story telling before attending day care or Pre-K. These children will quickly benefit from storytelling, either read from a book or imagined and spoken aloud. In all young children, storytelling will promote a readiness for school and a foundation for literacy.
The benefits of listening to stories, reading them out loud and improvized storytelling sessions are many, they include:
Day care facilities, Pre-K settings and Kindergartens recognize the importance of storytelling and incorporate it into their daily schedules. The usual way might be to get children sitting in a school room, cross-legged on the floor, in a semi-circle in front of a seated teacher. Oftentimes though it can be difficult to engage the children’s attention for long, or even keep them awake! So why not take storytelling outside into the fresh air!
Think about creating a permanent story telling space outside the classroom; first think about the location:
Story telling can come in many different forms so research and plan to include a variety of these in your story telling sessions:
Schoolscapes was founded on the principle of ‘Learning through Play’ and creating a Storytelling Circle was one of the first design commissions we worked on – way back in 1996! Since then we have created or supplied items to create Storytelling spaces to many types of settings in many countries around the world.
If our little story has inspired you to think about creating a Storytelling Circle or Space of your own, take a look at some of these ideas and call us on 315-906-0050 to discuss your project – we love to help!
As soon as an infant’s vision develops the ability to focus they start wanting to reach out, touch, grasp, move and manipulate objects in the world around them. At first these attempts are quite uncoordinated and the infant needs to follow with their eyes the movements of their hands in order to control them.
As the child grows into Toddlerhood their vision continues to develop and they gain the ability to direct their vision, focus better, use their eyes together to judge distances and direct their hands to an object.
These are important skills and children continue to develop, enhance and improve them to eventually take on more and more complex tasks, such as writing or using electronic devices. By the age of eight or nine most children have developed sufficient skills to enable them to deal competently with commonplace, complex, manual tasks.
All the while they have been developing their hand-eye coordination, their motor skills have been developing too. Fine motor skills give us the ability, through the activation of small muscle groups, to manipulate objects to carry out more intricate tasks, whereas gross motor skills give us the ability to walk, run, jump, balance, climb, push and pull.
It is in the Toddler/Preschool/ Pre-K/Kindergarten and Elementary stages that Schoolscapes can help you provide opportunities for children to rapidly advance these vital skills, through interaction with playground structures designed to be challenging and enjoyable.
Take for example the Adventure Course: the activities involved in this range of items all take place just above ground level. The child has the thrill of having climbed off the ground and is now presented with a varying series of structures where they can get from one end to the other in different ways: by grasping, balancing, stepping, jumping and swinging. To complete the course, they must use hand-eye coordination, depth perception, decision making, risk perception, balance and strength. The more of this kind of activity they engage in, the more these skills improve.
Of course, there are children whose abilities are impaired in one or more ways – many of these children can benefit from assisted use of an Adventure Course as part of a therapeutic program.
Children who are unable to use an Adventure Course can still experience movement above ground level in the complementary range of Bird’s Nest Swings that safely position the child in a comfortable, wide, dished, hammock or basket shaped swing – the Bird’s Nest! The range of swing movement is limited to avoid the danger of a child falling out – without the need for security straps.
Schoolscapes has a great range of Adventure Course and other, related, play structures to choose from. We welcome the opportunity to talk to you about your needs. Please follow the above links to our website and fill out an inquiry form there – or call us on 315-906-0050 if you would like more information on this, or any other, range of playground equipment.
Recent advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on visiting and using playgrounds.
Staying physically active is one of the best ways to keep your mind and body healthy. In many areas, people can visit parks, trails, and open spaces to relieve stress, get some fresh air, and stay active. Schools and Kindergartens provide playground equipment to promote healthy development and physical fitness among their students.
Playground operators have always had a duty of care to the users of their facilities but the coronavirus pandemic has added a new layer of responsibility. There should be a source of hand sanitizer provided at each playground, and users should be encouraged to sanitize their hands before and after using the playground equipment. Hand sanitizer from the same source can be used by the playground operator to wipe down the contact surfaces regularly to help control the spread of infection.
Schoolscapes has a range of secure hand sanitizer stations that can be installed in playgrounds and a further range of portable sink units that can be used indoors to increase the capacity of hand washing facilities.
Here is the CDC’s guide for playground users:
Carefully consider use of playgrounds, and help children follow guidelines.
In communities where there is ongoing spread of COVID-19, playgrounds can be hard to keep safe because:
If you choose to visit a playground:
Maintain a distance of at least 6 feet away from people you don’t live with.
Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
Adults and older children who can safely use hand sanitizer: Use hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol and rub hands together until dry, if soap and water are not readily available. Editor’s note: playground hand sanitizing stations are available from Schoolscapes.
Wear a cloth face covering if you can. Cloth face coverings should not be placed on:
Children under 2 years old.
Anyone who has trouble breathing.
Anyone who is unconscious, can’t move, or is otherwise unable to remove the cloth face covering without assistance.
For children, play is their work. It is the means that they use to truly express themselves, to communicate with one another as they grow and to learn to understand the world around them.
When sufficient, free play time is not readily given to children, their development is stunted. When this happens, it is easy for children to become agitated at times that they should be listening, causing problems with their approach to learning in the future. There are many lessons that are vital for children to learn, lessons that are taken for granted at such a young age.
Music plays a key part in the lives of so many people. There are some whose very prospects and careers are based on that defining moment that saw them play their first ever note.
Making it possible for children to access and play musical instruments from the comfort of their playground will boost their creativity, confidence, and self-belief, in-turn creating a positive impact on them and your school.
Brightening up your play space can be tricky. You want the best equipment to increase opportunities for children, but also equipment that will go with the aesthetic theme of your area.
Musical play comes with many great benefits for children, which we discussed in our previous post The Benefits and Impact of Playing Music, and the Tung Drum is one colorful and exciting item from our musical range which we simply love.
