Creative Play on Natural Playgrounds Discussed Oct. 14

Architect Ron King will speak at the next Wednesday’s Wisdom Pot Luck at the Mill Brook Gallery & Sculpture Garden at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2015. The topic is Providing A Space For Creative Play - The Benefit of Natural Playgrounds.

King started the Natural Playgrounds Company 20 years ago. Natural Playgrounds designs and builds playgrounds without equipment so that children can experience creative, discovery-oriented “play” as it should be and often was for their parents and teachers, according to a press release.

The company has designed natural learning and play landscapes in public and private schools, child care centers, public parks, and housing developments all over the country.

Educators whose students are fortunate enough to have Natural Playgrounds report that bullying and cliques disappear, children with ADHD calm down, kids with disabilities finally have access to the outdoors alongside their classmates, and teachers and parents say that play behavior is much more creative and inspired. The children who play in these beautiful landscapes develop an aesthetic sensitivity, and a more resourceful and imaginative approach to day-to-day activities (including schoolwork!) and problem-solving.

Ron’s presentation reviews the play value and safety myths that govern traditional, manufactured playgrounds and illustrates the way natural playgrounds are transforming and beautifying play environments while inspiring children to think differently about their surroundings and their place in the world.

The event is sponsored by the Mill Brook Gallery & Sculpture Garden and the Kimball Jenkins Community Art School.