The Benefits Of Playground Imagination
When I was a kid going to the playground was the highlight of the day! Outdoor play is truly nourishing for kids, helping them to use both their imagination, motor skills, and get a bit of exercise while their at it! Looking back, one playground that sticks out in mind is the one my church had located on the other side of the parking lot. Every week my daycare would take us on a field trip to the church and give us free reign of the playground equipment. I practically spent my whole 6th summer at this playground, it was awesome, not to mention it was a MEGA playground!
I used to have a system I would go about playing. I would always run to the wooden pirate ship jungle gym first, climbing the rope to the second story to board the ship. There was a metal telescope with which I would pretend I was looking through over the vast sea! After sailing my ship for a while, I would move on to the super slides. These slides were seemingly massive compared to little me. The tops of the slides had a tent like structure to keep you from falling off towards the beginning of the ride. I would get so much of a rush from zipping down those slides, and would do it over and over again.
After the slides, the swing sets came next. It's amazing how much energy you have as a kid. Just like the slides these were definitely taller with longer chains. With that being said, the swings would reach a much higher altitude (at least in my mind). I recall pretending I was in a fighter jet, or a rocket ship flying high above the clouds! Sometimes my friends would swing with me and pretend we were the blue angels. The tall swing sets, and higher altitudes really made my imagination stretch, making this my 3rd adventure that day. At this point my head was totally buzzing with joy. It was such a blast!
I would take a quick break in the underground tunnel which was a concrete cylinder buried in a mountain of soil and grass with a concrete walkway over the top. Since it had this walkway that was paved you could ride your bike over it as well. After that break in the shade I would head off to the tennis court to play tennis, dodge ball, or wall ball. By this time it was mid day and we would take lunch in the shaded Gazebo. After that I would hop onto the see saws next to our lunch area. I do remember having 3 people on one side with only one on the other to see how far we could launch someone into the air. I don't recommend this now that I am an adult and know better but boys will be boys! When I was done with that I would hit the tether ball pole with a friend for a wild game! We were so competitive, and sometimes games would be aggressive.
After a long day of climbing, running, jumping, swinging, sliding, tennis play, tether ball, and see saw, I would finish the day with climbing the huge dinosaur jungle gym. It was molded after a triceratops skeleton! I pretended I discovered them and was an explorer. I loved climbing the huge beast or pretending I was inside its belly. I think that was my favorite since it looked so real! I don't think I will ever forget that playground. The endless hours of fun will forever be etched into my mind.
I used to have a system I would go about playing. I would always run to the wooden pirate ship jungle gym first, climbing the rope to the second story to board the ship. There was a metal telescope with which I would pretend I was looking through over the vast sea! After sailing my ship for a while, I would move on to the super slides. These slides were seemingly massive compared to little me. The tops of the slides had a tent like structure to keep you from falling off towards the beginning of the ride. I would get so much of a rush from zipping down those slides, and would do it over and over again.
After the slides, the swing sets came next. It's amazing how much energy you have as a kid. Just like the slides these were definitely taller with longer chains. With that being said, the swings would reach a much higher altitude (at least in my mind). I recall pretending I was in a fighter jet, or a rocket ship flying high above the clouds! Sometimes my friends would swing with me and pretend we were the blue angels. The tall swing sets, and higher altitudes really made my imagination stretch, making this my 3rd adventure that day. At this point my head was totally buzzing with joy. It was such a blast!
I would take a quick break in the underground tunnel which was a concrete cylinder buried in a mountain of soil and grass with a concrete walkway over the top. Since it had this walkway that was paved you could ride your bike over it as well. After that break in the shade I would head off to the tennis court to play tennis, dodge ball, or wall ball. By this time it was mid day and we would take lunch in the shaded Gazebo. After that I would hop onto the see saws next to our lunch area. I do remember having 3 people on one side with only one on the other to see how far we could launch someone into the air. I don't recommend this now that I am an adult and know better but boys will be boys! When I was done with that I would hit the tether ball pole with a friend for a wild game! We were so competitive, and sometimes games would be aggressive.
After a long day of climbing, running, jumping, swinging, sliding, tennis play, tether ball, and see saw, I would finish the day with climbing the huge dinosaur jungle gym. It was molded after a triceratops skeleton! I pretended I discovered them and was an explorer. I loved climbing the huge beast or pretending I was inside its belly. I think that was my favorite since it looked so real! I don't think I will ever forget that playground. The endless hours of fun will forever be etched into my mind.
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