THINKING OUTSIDE THE (SAND)BOX

Revamped schoolyards focus on the importance of play in sparking creativity

Sand is included in all playgrounds at St. Catherine of Siena in Mississauga. “It is a naturally engaging element for kids,” says Marianne Mazzorato, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic school board’s superintendent of early years. Full-day kindergarten classes are run by one teacher and one early childhood educator, who bring out shovels and buckets for kids to encourage play and creativity. Here, JK student Dio, left, has fun with classmate Thomas.

No concrete jungles here — instead, brightly coloured asphalt or soft turf, big outdoor blackboards, wood animal carvings by a local chainsaw artist, planters for gardening, dramatic play areas or a wooden stage.

The Dufferin-Peel Catholic school board — in part using funding from the provincial government, which most boards used up renovating classrooms for the all-day learning program — wanted to create outdoor learning environments instead of just playgrounds. There, kindergarten kids spend at least two, 40-minute blocks outside each day, even in the winter. So far, the board has renovated 44 of 123 elementary schoolyards, spending $2.2 million.

“The long-term plan was to enhance the kindergarten outdoor areas to be an extension of their learning indoors,” said Marianne Mazzorato, the board’s superintendent of early years. “We want to nurture their ecological identity and appreciation for nature and get them outdoors.”

Star reporter Kristin Rushowy explores the new playgrounds at St. Catherine of Siena in Mississauga, Good Shepherd in Brampton, and St. Andrew in Orangeville.

CHRIS SO/TORONTO STAR

CHRIS SO PHOTOS/TORONTO STAR From left, Francois, Marcus, La Tanya, Marquez and Michaela in the new playground at Good Shepherd School in Brampton. The space features bright colours, soft artificial grass turf, natural wooded structures including an outdoor chalk board. Peel...

Pretend-play toys like a mini-kitchen are set up outside for kids to hone their imaginations and dramatic skills. Good Shepherd also has a two-lane track with shapes at the top, which teachers plan to use for races or to promote shape knowledge (for...

The wooden “wall of holes” initially had teachers scratching their heads, but teacher Amanda Orr says so far they’ve pretended the holes are cameras. She envisions imagining it as a kitchen, hooking pots and pans on the wall, or a mock tool bench —...

The wooden poles are used by kids as hula-hoop catchers at Good Shepherd in Brampton, and at one school to hold up a blanket, creating a tent canopy. Much of the wood used in the playgrounds was donated by the City of Mississauga, taken from the...

The colours used on the ground — blues, oranges, greens, reds — are painted with capital letters, shapes or numbers to promote “incidental” learning. In the winter, custodians have been asked not to clear all the snow so that children can learn about...

Artist Jim Menken — a retired Orangeville teacher — created a unique carving for each play area, which individual schools chose after consulting with kids. The only criteria: it must be an animal native to Ontario — so no dinosaurs or Disney...