Montview Community Preschool has been working with staff, parents, designers and the church in pulling together a concept design for a new playground. Our current playground is showing signs of wear and tear, needs to be brought into compliance with the most current licensing and safety requirements and we want to incorporate the latest research regarding children’s outdoor needs.
Landscape architect and Montview parent, Pam Johnston, has volunteered many hours in helping us put our playground concepts on paper. We consulted with our teachers, designers, other preschool directors and the church in identifying our wants and needs for a new playground. We hope (and expect!) to build a new playground during the summer of 2016.
In addition to Pam’s work on the design, we have other Montview parents working with us to help raise funds (Vanessa Pierce, Beth Spohn) and write grants (Jamie Morgan, Erin Phelan) to pay for this project. As always, our parents play a HUGE role in all that we do – thank you! The goal is to raise $227,000 to complete the project. As of October 2015 we have raised $138,000. The total cost is subject to change once we receive the final bid from the landscaping company. If you would like to contribute to the playground you can send us a check or use a credit card via our PayPal account:
Here are our thoughts regarding a new playground:
The overall concept of our playground design is to incorporate nature as a joyful part of children’s daily lives. Great outdoor play spaces provide opportunities for children to make a mess, run, jump, climb, shout, make music and explore the natural world through open-ended play. They support social connections as well as spaces to sit in quiet reflection. Good design provides for safety, accessibility, inclusion and the ease of adult supervision. This initial concept design reflects the collaboration of administrators, teachers, parents, kids and designers. Our goal is to co-create a welcoming space for School, Church and Community!
The Playground Concept Design is displayed in our hallway. If you have feedback or ideas about specific pieces of playground equipment, please pass on your comments to us ASAP before we get to the ordering phase. Let us know what you think!
