Step onto Boyd-Buchanan School’s playground, and just beyond the students playing four-square you’ll spot something unusual: a hut covered in grass. Look past that and you’ll see a shallow, bridge-covered stream, complete with a canoe.
The unusual playground equipment has not always been there, it’s part of the school’s newest concept: a literature-based playscape, inspired by beloved elementary school classics such as “Clifford the Big Red Dog,” “Little House on the Prairie,” “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and “Hatchet.”
“We still have much of the traditional elements of a playground, but we really wanted to design something that could be an outdoor classroom,” Principal Gail Maddux said.
From a small rock and cave climbing creation made expressly for elementary age-students and younger, to the shallow, man-made stream and canoe, each of these experiences is an important facet to create a sensory experience for children in the playscape, she said. Funding for the $90,000 investment was raised through the elementary school’s parent council last year.
Students can play archaeologists in a fossil dig area or experiment with natural sounds from different wooden and metal objects. Climbing Buccaneer Butte is a botanical experience. The hill offers hidden gems like a giant tortoise statue and is covered with trees from around the world.
“We wanted a place to help our children feel like they were on top of the world, and it has become one of the children’s favorite places,” said Maddux, adding that she personally tends to many of the plants – including banana trees, which are growing well – along with several other staff members.
Aspiring artists who would rather draw than run can do so in the Eric Carle themed studio area, named for the author of “The Hungry Caterpillar.” The space offers students both the opportunity to create and display their masterpieces. Those who live to perform can do so on the Laura Ingalls Wilder themed front porch stage. And, science and math lovers can go into survivor mode like 13-year-old Brian in “Hatchet” under the giant, grass-covered hutch, which contains a magnifying glass and other items to help the incurably curious.
“We just want a lot of options for children’s play,” Maddux reiterated. “The other day I passed the hut and saw children who had found a bee and were looking at it under the magnifying glass. It’s about creating learning opportunities that are fun and that are also playtime.”
To find out more about Boyd-Buchanan, visit bbschool.org.