If you could design your dream playground, what type of play equipment would you include? Would there be slides, climbing walls and swings? How about monkey bars, sunshades or bridges? If you are involved in purchasing or designing play equipment for your school or organization, you have a say in what gets included in your playground. When making this decision, you might try to think like the kids who will be utilizing the equipment.

What do kids like when it comes to outdoor play? What kind of equipment appeals to them? Think about your own childhood playground experiences. What type of equipment did kids stand in line for, and what was always available because no one was interested? Without a doubt, swings are an incredibly popular piece of playground equipment. Children of all ages love swings. Whether it is a toddler being pushed in a toddler swing, or an 8-year-old pumping his legs as hard as possible to get high in the air, something about swinging in the sun and fresh air appeals to children.

Another popular piece of playground equipment is the slide. Slides provide an incredible opportunity for imaginative play. Whether children are bouncing on a wave slide or covertly descending through a curved tube slide, they can imagine themselves as all kinds of characters in a never-ending stream of stories and plots. Slides are also great for physical development, since they incorporate multiple fine motor skills as children engage in climbing and sliding.

A relatively modern development in play equipment that has taken off in popularity is the play panel. These panels can incorporate letters, numbers and words or life skills like shopping or driving into fun, colorful panels. They often provide a bit of a respite from the all-out active play of slides, swings and climbing walls. Sometimes it is nice for children to be able to take a break to manipulate the objects in a play panel. It allows them to still be on the playground equipment while they take a moment to catch their breath.

When choosing play equipment, you are only limited by your imagination in terms of what you can include. If you can imagine yourself as a child again, you may discover some great clues about what should be included in your playground.

Kidstruction provides clever and stimulating concepts in play equipment, and we would love to help you with your new outdoor play equipment purchase. We will walk you through the entire process, from the selection and design of your equipment to its installation, so that you can sit back and watch your vision come to fruition. Contact Kidstruction at http://www.kidstruction.com/ or call 1.800.245.8449.