Archive for February, 2009
Thursday, February 26th, 2009
Fun and Safe Playground Equipment
Those of us whose elementary school careers came to a close in the late 80s and early 90s remember the old school Playground Equipment that towered at the center of most community parks and grade school recreation yards. We affectionately referred to them as jungle gyms and with good reason: playing on or around these hazardous contraptions was almost as dangerous as venturing out into a jungle or rainforest. Looking back, I wonder whether or not the safety of us children was on anyone’s mind at the time of construction. Sharp edges, splintered wooden framework, rusted metal parts, dangerous loose-hanging ropes, and weathered tire parts that no doubt saw thousands of highway miles before being retired to our jungle gym. These are just a few of the hazards that I saw which no doubt led to much needed upgrades and safety improvements. After a couple major injuries sustained by thrill seeking boys, I can remember the yellow caution tape that surrounded our two and a half story jungle gym until it was torn down later than spring.
Playground Equipment is much safer today, with better building materials and stricter safety regulations that ensure maximum safety, long life and minimum maintenance. All play sets are professionally crafted with galvanized hardware recessed in wood and covered with plastic caps to ensure a sturdy and most importantly safe piece of recreational equipment. Whether the Playground Equipment is going to be used in a park, school, daycare, church or even in your very own back yard, it is important that the highest quality building materials are used and that all safety precautions are taken prior to, during and after installation so that no injuries will occur. Safety is always the number one concern when considering which equipment to buy so make sure all the research is done and all proper considerations are made before any purchases. The pretty colors and exciting activities are not going to do anyone any good if it poses a serious threat to the safety of those who are going to be using it.
Tags: playground equipment
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Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
Many after school facilities are in need of Daycare Supplies
2009 is here and everyone is hoping for, looking for and expecting change. It is a wonderful feeling to have a positive outlook on the future. The sun seems to shine a little bit brighter, the air smells fresh like just after a good heavy rain, and almost everyone you pass on the streets has a smile or gives a nod. The reality of the situation is that nothing is going to get better unless everyone makes an effort. There is only so much one man or woman can do. One wealthy individual can open a school. And it only requires a dedicated few to keep its doors open and its lights on. But in order for that school to educate the masses and make a difference in peoples’ lives, all the students must attend regularly, be prepared with the proper supplies and willingness and have the support of a caring family. What would an after school program be with all the necessary Daycare Supplies? Boring and not very successful. The enrollment fee would be a bargain, but without food, entertainment, supervision, and all the accoutrement you would have nothing but table and chairs.
Even if you do not have children I am sure you can appreciate the need for effective daycare facilities and after school programs. Not only do these places provide a positive alternative to unhealthy, unsupervised boredom-induced shenanigans that most kids are likely to get into between whenever school lets out and the average working parent gets home from work (especially after dealing with Los Angeles traffic). Consider donating money and/or Daycare Supplies to your local daycare center. It could ultimately be cheaper than repairing the damage done to your house caused by the neighbors’ kids who happened to be left under the care of an incompetent teenager. If the daycare had been properly run and adequately funded in the first place, then none of this would have ever happened.
Tags: daycare supplies
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Thursday, February 19th, 2009
Organizing Daycare Supplies can be easy and fun
Clean up, clean up everybody everywhere. A certain furry purple dinosaur coined a catchy clean up mantra that was meant to make cleaning up after oneself a fun thing to do as well as a group activity that all children could complete with the help of their friends. It is no secret that children enjoy making messes much more than they do cleaning them up. Trying to make a game out of it is one way to make organizing Daycare Supplies a relatively painless affair. It is difficult to instill a sense of personal responsibility in young children that can barely tie their own shoelaces much less make them understand a sense of pride that comes from keeping a neat and tidy environment. Sometimes the best one can hope for is a vomit-free and excrement-free playground or classroom.
First things first: it is absolutely necessary to begin the day with a clean and organized room. If all the Daycare Supplies are strewn about from the get go, how can one ever expect the children to know where anything is supposed to be kept? It is a good idea to schedule cleaning time into the daily agenda. If playtime or recess is scheduled from 10:00 to 10:30, then make sure 10:30 to 10:40 is clean up time. Or maybe just blow the whistle a few minutes early so there is plenty of time to return all of the play items to their rightful location. Labeling certain key items with color-coded symbols is another idea to help with organization of Daycare Supplies. The blue toys go in the blue box and red toys go in the red box, etc. Positive reinforcement is one of the oldest and most consistent methods for getting small children to do mundane and unexciting tasks like cleaning up. The first 5 kids to return all their toys and throw away all their trash gets to choose the movie we watch or gets first pick at snack table. Little motivational tools like that will always kick their cleaning motors into high gear.
Tags: daycare supplies
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Tuesday, February 17th, 2009
Cheap Tire Swings – low cost outdoor fun
Those of us who were raised in the city are not necessarily acquainted with the simple pleasures enjoyed by country dwellers whose next door neighbors are down the road, around the bend and beyond the sycamore tree. We may not know what it is like to witness the seasons change and leaves fall, but there is a common experience that unites us all no matter what our land looks like: the need for our dollars to stretch further than they currently do and the ability to find inexpensive ways to entertain ourselves. Even if a household is lucky enough to have some extra income, it is better that money be saved or invested rather than spent frivolously on unnecessary playground equipment. Families that live in rural areas with plenty of land at their disposal have the advantage of being able to use nature as part of their entertainment. I am picturing a backyard that drifts beyond the horizon, a few stray farm animals running about, and a huge oak tree nestled beside a babbling brook. Sure it sounds picturesque and all, straight from ‘Little House on the Prairie’, but as far as entertainment goes it is actually quite practical. All you need is a Cheap Tire Swing and you are ready to go!
It is such a simple concept: tie a rope around an old tire and hang it from the sturdiest branch of the biggest tree around. Mention the words playground equipment or jungle gym and all of the sudden the prices go up exponentially, then comes the delivery fee and the extra charge for assembly. After all that, the kids still must wait a week for the concrete to dry before they can enjoy the any of the equipment. Keep it simple! Year after year, parents spend a small fortune on high tech toys and expensive gifts for their children, when in reality, a simple stick and ball or a Cheap Tire Swing would probably provide just as much if not more enjoyment. Plus it gives them an excuse to get out of the house and play in the sunshine.
Tags: Cheap Tire Swings
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Thursday, February 12th, 2009
Buy Playground Equipment online and save big
Why Buy Playground Equipment from Swingset.com? Because you will get the highest quality equipment available at an unbelievable value! With a little imagination, you can turn an empty lot, a desolate sand box, or a yard full of weeds into a wonderland for children to play, learn and grow. Merry go rounds, swing sets, slides, tire swings you name it and kids love to play on these fun pieces of play equipment and they never get tired of them. In the age of technology and information, so many young people are glued to the television sets and the computer monitors playing video games and subjecting themselves to hours upon hours of mindless entertainment. Each year we hear about the staggering number of obese and out of shape youngsters that do not get enough exercise and eat nothing but junk food. It is time for parents and adults at large to take on a more proactive role in the physical education of today’s youth. And believe it or not, it starts in preschool and even before that, in the sand box.
The best thing you can do to prevent having overweight and socially inept children is to Buy Playground Equipment. Combining fun and excitement with exercise and coordination, children than are exposed to playground equipment at an early age will not be left behind when it comes time to join other children at school and daycare. The playground is a place to learn many of the basic rules of life like caring and sharing and playing by the rules. A see saw teachers teamwork, for example, and so does a swing set (especially when one or more of the kids needs to be pushed). A jungle gym helps to unlock the imagination within all young children as they pretend to be pirates and keep off the sand that they imagine is hot lava. A few metal monkey bars can be transformed into an intergalactic space ship. The benefits and advantages you give your children when you Buy Playground Equipment far exceed the price you pay. Save even more on your kids’ future when you buy online.
Tags: buy playground equipment
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Tuesday, February 10th, 2009
Learning to take turns on the Swing Set- Social Studies in actions
Most of us would have to think long and hard before recalling an academic lesson from elementary school, but I bet memories of the playground are much more vivid and easy and to recall. The color of the swing seats, the metal links that formed the actual swing chain and the hardware that held the whole thing together forms a very clear and distinct mental picture because that’s where the real education was taking place, on the playground. Few of us thrill seekers could resist that rush of the wind against your face as you pump your legs harder in order to reach higher and higher. Our fourth grade classroom was on the west side of the school building, closest to the Swing Sets in terms of distance from the main double doors. When the clock would near 10:15 all the rowdy, obnoxious behavior in our room would cease because none of us kids wanted to be held back for even a second when that recess bell sounded. If everyone behaved then we could race through the doors without delay, quickly claiming the free swings before the other grades even made it to the hallway.
Even with all the excitement of the Swing Sets and thrill of competition for who could soar the highest and who could execute the most daring stunts in mid air, we still managed to keep it orderly. Any fight or heated argument about cutting in line or hogging the best swing for too long would result in a loss of privileges for the remainder of recess or even all of lunch break! More important than times tables, spelling bees or composition, children learn to interact socially during recess and lunch. We learned to get along with one another and make compromises; take turns and share the precious Swing Set equipment. What was the use of practicing that back flip from the high swing if the whole class was banned from the playground? Sure there will always be disagreements and the occasional tussle, but when the adults would come over to see what the problem was, we would always act like nothing was the matter and pretend to be pushing one another on the swing.
Tags: Swing Sets
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Thursday, February 5th, 2009
Tire Swings – innovation and recreation
Probably the most quintessential piece of recreation equipment ever used in this country is the Tire Swing. It symbolizes the simple joys of rural living as well as the industriousness of our great nation. What a great idea it was to fashion such an entertaining contraption with nothing but a long piece of rope and an old used rubber tire! The world could use more of this type of resourceful thinking. Recycling an old tire to be used for purposes of leisure and entertainment is great because not only does it keep the used rubber out of the land fill but it also provides virtually endless entertainment for young children.
When God gives us lemons, make lemonade. It must have been in the spirit of this wise old adage that the first Tire Swing was made. What potential that anonymous inventor must have seen in some worn out, treadles rubber tire. Not only practical but versatile, a tire can be turned into a swing for a single rider or a larger tire can be made to hold two or more, making it an adventure in teamwork and physics. Getting a heavy round rubber swing propelled into action is a much different task than your standard flat chain linked one-seater.
Most of us have special childhood memories that are associated with certain specific playgrounds or jungle gym equipment. I will never forget the Tire Swing at the park down the street from my grandparent’s house. As I recall, it was brand new, shiny black rubber with actual treads and a well known tire company’s name written along the wall. It was held in place by three separate linked chains that all lead to very complex looking swivel device that allowed for back and forth swing action as well as roundabout rotation. My friends and I would make ourselves dizzy for hours on end swinging and twisting and pushing that tire to its limits. We knew were doing a good job when the wooden beam above our heads began to creak and moan under the weight of our little laughing spinning bodies.
Tags: tire swings
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Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009
SwingSet placement and playground safety
Playground safety is an enormous concern among parents, educators, daycare supervisors as well as conscientious children. Scrapes and bruises will happen, that is completely understandable, but major injuries can be easily prevented by following a few basics rules and utilizing one’s common sense. One of the most important things to consider from a safety standpoint is the age appropriateness of the equipment that will be installed at a particular playground. A super tall Swingset and very complex jungle gym is not appropriate for toddlers and younger elementary school children. Also, the arrangement of the chosen equipment is critical. Everything should be spaced so that all the children can be supervised, even with minimal staff present. There should be several vantage points from which all structures are visible and it is helpful to be able to see the larger and potentially more dangerous pieces from any windows facing the playground.
The surface on which the equipment is erected is also crucial when maintaining a safe play area. A Swingset should typically be placed on sand or grass so there is a soft cushion on which to fall. A concrete or gravel surface would worsen injuries and would also cause unnecessary wear on the kids’ joints when they land. Be sure that all play equipment meets current safety standards, all applicable codes and is certified by all necessary associations. Children tend to follow one another around and clear traffic patterns will emerge on the playground. Pay close attention to these lines of traffic as collisions and other safety hazards cab be easily avoided by proper placement of the equipment. If certain structures are too close together or creating a dangerous traffic pattern, simply have one or more items moved. The cost is minimal in comparison to medical bills and potential lawsuits. It does not make sense to put monkey bars in close proximity of a Swingset, for example, to prevent dare devils from trying to fly from one onto the other or a simple fall turning into a compound fracture. Take a few simple precautions and help make sure the playground is safe for everyone to use!
Tags: swingset
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