Taking Play to the Next Level at Tootin’ Hills School

What does it take to turn a raft of rubber ducks into a “Spider Pyramid”? It takes commitment from Simsbury’s Tootin’ Hills Elementary School’s Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) Executive Board, leadership from Principal Maggie Seidel, ingenuity from local company InCord Play, enthusiasm from the staff and students, and community sponsorship. On September 8, 2017, efforts culminated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony unveiling the latest additions to the Tootin’ Hills playground, including the “Spider Pyramid,” a modern structure of steel-reinforced ropes that encourages skills in climbing, balancing, and decision-making, and the “Relaxation Net,” an extra-large, hammock-like structure designed as a place for children to unwind.

For the last three years, Tootin’ Hills has been sponsoring the annual town-wide Simsbury Duck Race. With over 3,500 business and family sponsored rubber ducks racing down the Farmington River, this community event raised enough funds to expand the current play space. Said Seidel, “We needed to diversify the playground and give kids different options for challenging play and an area to relax. This is now a very inclusive playground.”

The 2016-2017 Executive PTO Board, Reema Vyas, Johanna Merriman, Monica Madrid and Karla Church, along with a Playground Committee, researched many different playgrounds across the country and Europe and immersed themselves in the latest approaches to play with books like Angela J. Hanscom’s Barefoot and Balanced. They found key characteristics of progressive playgrounds not only offer socially rewarding experiences, but they also offer intellectual stimulation and nurture confidence. Progressive playgrounds also present opportunities for physical skills mastery and parallel-play options for a range of abilities and agility. Former PTO President Vyas said, “Our vision was to enhance the current play space with progressive equipment that truly addresses the ‘whole child,’ challenging them socially, emotionally, and intellectually.”

The group turned to the locally based Connecticut company InCord Play, which specializes in NetPlay™ Systems designed to create new possibilities in three-dimensional adventure play. The new centerpiece of the Tootin’ Hills playground, the Spider Pyramid, is designed to physically and mentally engage older children looking for a challenge. The Relaxation Net is for kids looking to “take a break and chill.”

The last year’s PTO Executive Board members, along with the current PTO President, joined Seidel for the ribbon-cutting ceremony in front of some very excited third through sixth graders. Merriman, who was responsible for initiating the very first town/school-wide Duck Race Fundraiser in Simsbury and who has served as the Chairperson for the event since, thanked the students for their enthusiastic participation in making the vision of the new playground additions a reality. Said Merriman, "It was the kids’ hard work selling tickets and business ducks for this fundraiser that made the playground upgrade possible. The kids saw the fruits of their labor. They saw that each and every duck they sold mattered and added up to something big and significant."

It has taken much effort from many people, but the result is not simply a fun place for children to play, but a symbol of what can be accomplished when school and community work together for the benefit of kids.