Schools and Children benefit from good Playground Markings

Posted by Daniel Mattock on July 24th, 2017

We all want our children to benefit from the best education available, and there is a great choice of schools to help our kids towards fulfilling their dreams. But kids also need to relax and play. That is why most schools make sure they provide a playground for them to break away from class room activities. Good school playgrounds have markings that allow kids to partake of various activities.

Although these playground activities are often aimed at the kids’ relaxation, it must be noted that kids also learn while they’re playing; that is why the good schools make sure their playgrounds are designed in such a way that kids benefit from educational processes while they’re playing.

There are various categories that are considered when the school playground markings are planned and implemented. It also depends on the kind of school that needs these. Are these markings for pre-school children, are they for children attending primary schools or for those of secondary school going age?

The school and parents are often the ones who make the decision as to what facilities should be available on the playground.

There are so many possibilities to choose from, depending on the nature of the school and space available. It also depends how much a school wants to spend in order to maximise the use of school playground apparatus and features that will benefit the children in terms of relaxation – and with regard to educational processes.

School playground markings are available in many categories, one of which, for example, is sports orientated. These markings are done for a variety of activities such as fitness exercises, or fitness trails that allow the kids to run, jump and follow one another.

These activities teach them important aspects such as balance and strength, which may further help them to gain confidence in themselves and their environment. Depending on the level of sophistication and age group, these fitness trails may be designed for small children – or for bigger age groups.

Other markings may concentrate on ball sports which will need markings for those, for instance the marking of netball courts, cricket pitches – and rugby fields. Hockey comes to mind too as do athletics tracks for those schools whose children participate in these sports – and have the financial resources and space for these.

Another category of school playground markings may include those that target the little ones’ ability to play and learn while they’re exposed to traditional games such as hopscotch. Many schools make sure they offer the kids games that are played while they are taught various numeracy and literacy skills. Therefore they ensure the correct markings are in place for these games to be played with kids who are taught these skills when they play the traditional snakes and ladders and other similar games, for example.

Further fun markings are aimed at teaching little ones skills such as throwing objects at targets, markings for jumping activities such as long or sideways jumping exercises. The markings are done in different distances and colours.

School playground markingsare very often available in materials such as thermoplastic which is durable and reduces the risk of injury to small children. These markings are also available in different – mostly bright – colours which are good for the development of young children. As they play, they learn to differentiate between colours, numbers, letters and their peers. More markings will teach them traffic rules and behaviour; others will teach them how to find their way out of a maze, for instance.

It is important to know that schools should try and introduce facilities that are curriculum based so that they maximise the educational benefits these markings provide

There are companies who specialise in designing and providing these school playground markings. Very often they contact schools to offer their services –alternatively schools can get in touch with other schools in their area or consult websites where these firms advertise their products and services.