CHILDREN'S PLAYGROUNDS IN PARKS AND FORESTS 



681 



■■JUST A I'LACE GOD MADE FOR L^ l.\ WllHU TO I'l.AV 

 A happy crowd thoroughly enjoying a picnic under the trees in the Pike National Forest 



in Colorado. 



tain iiarks, amid the most beautiful 

 natural settings imaginable. These 

 are fitted with swings, teeter boards, 

 merry-go-rounds, and turning bars ; 

 the same equipment that is placed 

 upon city playgrounds. A child, un- 

 less he be exceptional, may go to such 

 grounds and wear himself out at play, 

 time after time, without receiving the 

 least impression of the beautiful natural 

 surroundings. 



Can we not hit upon a plan of 

 Iniilding up such playgrounds so that 

 they will create a realization of out- 

 door life and the surroundings in the 

 minds of children? Suppose in place 

 of the swings, teeter-boards, etc., a 

 miniature camp was constructed ; a 

 two-room log house with fire-place, 

 'urniture and an enclosure where the 

 ihildren could play at camping. To 

 \ary this, some playgrounds should 

 be furnished with shelter cabins and a 

 fire-place out in front, which would 

 give a different phase of camp life. 

 Playing housekeeping and giving par- 

 ties is a child's favorite amusement. Why not make use 

 of this to create a taste for outdoor life? Trees, shrubs 



their "Ijack to Nature" instincts. Is it not possible for 



us. however, to reach the hordes of younger children 



thrnugh these means, so they may learn the lessons and plants in the immediate vicinity of these camps 



of naUire? Children receive' vivid impressions from should be marked with signs so the children might learn 



the' ages of eight to fourteen. Why not, 



then, attempt to reach these younger 



children? 



There is a present day tende -cy 

 to develop and maintain camp grounds 

 along through highways ; to develop 

 mountain foothill and waterside jiarks 

 near cities. Throughout the West 

 are many municiiial parks and camp 

 grounds where hundreds of people of 

 all ages are given an outing each 

 year. At none of these areas is there 

 any form of development for the 

 Durpose of educating small children. 

 Older children receive impressions from 

 those things that influence adults, but 

 the bulk of small children receive their 

 keenest conceptions through play. Les- 

 sons that come in play are strongest and 

 most lasting to a child. 



Here is a big field for developing 

 children's playgrounds in the open 

 where they may teach the lessons 

 which create a taste for nature. There 

 is a tendency to make the playgrounds 

 in the country very similar to those 

 found on the school grounds or corner 

 lots of a city. For examole, the City 

 of Denver has constructed a number 

 of i)Iaygrouiids throughout her moun- 



UOV SCOUTS l.\ CAJir I.\ TllK I'lKK .\.\ 1 1 1 Ja.U, r.jKi-..-. 



A cheerful crowd, out for a good time. This camp indicates one of the many recreational uses 



to which the National Forests are put. 



