Grounds For Play - Our Story

Grounds For Play - Our Story

our story of building better play environments

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Grounds for Play designs, manufactures and installs industry-leading educational play environments . Our products provide the finest learning and recreational experiences a child can have.

Timeline.............................................. 2

Mission................................................ 4

Safety First.......................................... 6

Design Process.................................... 9

Types of Play....................................... 11

Satisfying NAEYC Standards............... 22

Meet Our Expert................................ 23

Head Start Support............................ 24

Head Start Body Start........................ 26

Playground Checklist.......................... 28

F pillars of progress

1983 Founded to meet a need in the playground industry for safe, educationally-based play environments. 1989 Designed and installed the first public handicap accessible park in Fort Worth, Texas.

1990 Began working with Bright Horizons child care center.

1996 First major project with the U.S. Army Child Development Centers with 7 sites in Europe.

2008 Began work with Nobel Learning Communities.

2015 Began work with Kiddie Academy.

2012 Began work with Goddard Schools

2014 First full GFP Nature Playgrounds site created and installed at Vogel Alcove Awarded Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC) contract to outfit 13 Navy sites. Relocate headquarters to Carrollton, Georgia from Mansfield, Texas to streamline manufacturing.

Grounds For Play has 15,000+ installations worldwide!

1992 Received the Consumer

Musical instruments were introduced.

Excellence Award from the Society of Plastics Engineers.

1997 Patented aluminum column play system.

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Children have developing minds, growing personalities, and impressionable spirits. That’s why we seek to encourage, inspire and empower children through our play environments. Our mission is to design and build outdoor play environments for children of all ages that are safe and encourage social, emotional, language, cognitive, motor and physical skill development . We trust you’ll enjoy our uniquely designed Grounds For Play play environments just as much as your children. Let’s work together to capture the unique spirit, vision, and character of your project. play environments are our specialty!

very different and proud of it!

Our understanding of child development, play and safety allows children to learn a variety of developmental different skills while on the playground. Our certified Design Consultants create more than just playgrounds. Our educational, safe and unique play environments are created around your objectives while meeting safety standards and regulations. With over 15,000 play environments on our resumé, Grounds For Play has been meeting and exceeding expectations for play environments for more than 30 years.

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an extraordinary RECORD OF SAFETY!

Our extraordinary record of safety has allowed us to become the safest playground manufacturer in the industry. Our commitment to safety is reflected in each phase of our planning process, from the materials we use while manufacturing the playground to the strategic environment design elements like our 6’ obstruction free fall zones. To ensure that we are not only meeting but exceeding the standards of ASTM International and the recommendations of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), all of our plans are reviewed by a Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI). Our unique safety standards and commitment to children help make your play environment the safest it can be!

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at your service! THE DESIGN CONSULTANTS

We are committed to staying with our clients from start to finish, from the first consultation to the ribbon cutting. As experts in child development, playground design and safety, our Design Consultants create play environments that are extensions of your curricula and facilities in a collaborative effort with our clients. Contact us today to find a Design Consultant near you and to schedule a free design consultation . Call us at 1.800.552.PLAY or visit us at groundsforplay.com.

The Design Process Customer Interview We start by asking you critical questions to make your playground successful and meet your vision and mission.

Site Review & Preliminary Planning Keeping in mind your budget, space, users, goals and other factors, we suggest the level of service that’s right for you.

Safety & Developmental Review Our Design Consultants are Certified Playground Safety Inspectors

Final Plan We provide a detailed computer aided design (CAD) drawing that captures your vision for your playground.

Manufacturing Your play equipment is expertly crafted in the USA to standards by our own craftsmen.

Installation The most exciting step is the installation! You will receive a packet of information to help you prepare.

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four important TYPES OF PLAY!

Physical Movement play, primarily found in physical play, helps to strengthen the body and helps in the development of gross motor skills. Physical play allows for many learning opportunities in adaptability, flexibility and resilience.

Music & Artistic

When allowed to create, whether that be a musical piece or an art piece, children can access their playfulness, creativity, and innovative spirits. Music and artistic play also helps to develop a child’s fine motor skills.

Dramatic

Dramatic play allows children to act out everyday scenes allowing them to make sense of their surroundings and watch life stories unfold. Dramatic play also encourages communication, sharing, creativity and emotional development.

Natural & Outdoor Classroom

Research shows children benefit greatly from daily connections with nature. Additionally, natural play gives a child the opportunity to explore and understand nature – from caring for flowers and plants to exploring the ground

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Keep children engaged longer by including physical play parts as part of your structure. Our unique products go above and beyond to engage various targeted muscle groups. Physical Play

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Children of all ages enjoy exploring sounds and music. These products promote listening, language, math, and science skills. Many instruments have roots in other cultures, which can assist in multicultural studies. Musical & Artistic Play

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Dramatic play products provide a sense of the magical world of childhood where children become the players in dramas as bold as life. Dramatic Play

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Nature & Outdoor Classroom

Introduce kids to weather, the solar system, and grid systems with our unique educational products.

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B play environments

Whether you’re looking for musical play, nature-based play, dramatic play or fitness play, we have the playground equipment that’s right your needs. We work with you to create a play environment that combines your vision with practical applications.

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D S F O Satisfies NAEYC Standards With standards of excellence ranging from relationships to teachers, satisfying all National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) accreditation standards may be challenging. However, Grounds For Play can help satisfy criteria in two key areas of excellence – curriculum and physical environment.

R E X William H. Strader, Ed. D

Dr. William H. Strader, Ed.D., Professor of Early Childhood Education, brings over 20 years of expertise to Grounds For Play. As a consultant and a trusted advisor, Dr. Strader works in conjunction with our staff and educates them on the leading methods to bring education and play into the designs of our playgrounds. As an advisor, Dr Strader can provide professional reviews for Grounds for Play designs to meet or exceed age appropriate play environments. His distinguished career began as a Professor of Early Childhood Education at Fitchburg State College. After continuing his education to earn a Masters of Education as well as a Doctorate of Education, he held positions at various colleges and universities with their Departments of Education. He also held adjunctive faculty positions with Brown University, Bay State College at Boston and Fisher College at New Bedford, Brockton and North Attleboro sites. In addition to teaching, Dr. Strader is the Coordinator for the Institute for Early Childhood Leadership & Professional Development at Johnson & Wales University, he developed, designed and implemented the Masters of Education (M.Ed.) in Early Childhood Administration and Leadership. Additional accolades include:

Curriculum The NAEYC curriculum ensures that your organization is implementing a standard that fosters all areas of child development – from cognitive and language development to emotional, physical, and social development. Grounds For Play offers outdoor, education-based equipment that promotes all areas of child development. While Grounds For Play satisfies many of the criteria outlined in each area of child development, we more specifically can help to fulfill NAEYC’s physical development requirements.

• Facilitator for the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC) Student Interest Forum • Advisory Board Member of the Human Development and Early Childhood Education Series for Annual Editions • Member of the Advisory Counsel for Early Childhood Programs of Penn Foster College • Kaplan University’s College of the Arts Advisory Board Member • And the list goes on!

Physical Development While Standard 9 may cover a lot of bases, Grounds For Play is here to help with your age and developmentally appropriate play equipment (9.A.04) and outdoor environmental design needs. The NAEYC physical development standard ensures that your organization is providing a safe and healthy physical environment – from offering a variety of age and developmentally appropriate play equipment to having hand-washing facilities accessible to both staff and children!

With his experience and specific discipline in early childhood education, Dr. Strader’s involvement with Grounds For Play continues to make GFP the leading early childhood play environment expert with over 30 years of successful projects. Our play

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O Head Start Child Development & Early Learning Framework

Essential Areas of Learning & Development

Essential Domains of School Readiness

Grounds For Play supports the mental, social, and emotional development of children by providing age and developmentally appropriate play equipment. Head Start’s ten essential areas of learning and development are reinforced in the outdoor

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play environment by Grounds For Play equipment and products. Learn which Grounds For Play products can help you achieve your goals.

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P P Head Start Body Start’s EFFORT TO INCREASE OUTDOOR PLAY SPACE QUALITY

Head Start Body Start’s Infant and Toddler Outdoor Play Assessment assists Early Head Start programs in assessing the quality of their outdoor play spaces for infants, toddlers, and twos. The eight key categories of outdoor play, as defined by Head Start Body Start, are easily fulfilled through the use of Grounds For Play equipment and products. View the playground design below and consider how a Grounds For Play Design Consultant can help you fulfill the categories and sub-categories of the assessment and increase the quality of your outdoor play space.

• KEY CATEGORIES •

A. Welcoming Environment B. Key Features

C. Intentional Design D. Natural Features E. Movement and Motor Development F. Flexibility and Individualization G. Safety, Maintenance, and Storage H. Reasonable Risk and Challenge

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Playground INSPECTION CHECKLIST

Date Checked

Repair Needed

Date Repaired

Is there an 8” to 10” deep resilient ground cover (sand, wood fiber, turf, or poured rubber) under all play equipment such as swings, slides and climbing equipment? Is the resilient surface compacted or out of place? Do foreign objects or obstructions exist in the fall zones under and around the fixed equipment? Do obstructions interfere with normal play activity? Do climbing areas allow children to fall more than their reaching height when standing erect? Do concrete supports stick above ground? Are they secure? Are there sharp edges, broken parts, pinching actions or loose bolts? Are there openings that could trap a child’s hand? Are there frayed cables, worn ropes, open hooks or chains that could pinch? Are portable toys such as tricycles and wagons in good repair? Are there crush points or shearing actions such as hinges or seesaws and undercarriages of revolving equipment? Are swing seats excessively heavy? Do they have protruding parts such as animal noses or legs? Is the fence at least 4’ high and in good repair? Can gates be secured? Are there electrical hazards on the playground such as accessible air conditioners, switch boxes, or power lines? Are collections of contaminated water on the playground? Are there protrusions that can catch clothing?

Are toxic materials on the playground?

Do grass, trees, and shrubs need care?

Do children wear inappropriate clothing such as capes on climbing equipment and moving equipment? Does the adult-to-child supervision ratio equal ratios required for indoor activity?

Checklist developed by Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning.

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1050 Columbia Drive Carrollton, GA 30117

866.813.9551

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