Children’s
Spaces
By Rebecca Calbert, AIA, LEED AP, NCARB
I have something to confess: My first church memories were not of bible stories, or of
the nice minister who would bend down to shake my hand after services. My earliest
childhood memory of church was playing the game, Red Rover.
Do you remember it? Red rover, red rover, send
Rebecca right over? It was in Jacksonville, Fla., in
the springtime, and I couldn’t have been more
than 4 or 5. I was a shy child — the youngest of
five — and I barely spoke to people, period.
As was the usual routine, just before the
minister was about to begin his sermon, he
invited the children in the congregation to have
children’s services separately so as to not get
bored and fidgety during the sermon. Usually,
I stayed behind with the adults. I would quietly
sit by my mother and make designs in the soft
suede of her purse.
But on this day — the day I remember most
— I went with the other children. I can’t really
say what it was that made me go that day. Maybe
it was the promise of playing outside, or maybe
it was the warm smile of another child getting
up to go with the Youth Leaders. I remember
there was a lesson first, followed by a snack of
orange slices. Decades have blurred my memory
about what the bible lesson was that morning,
but I can tell you what I really learned that day.
I learned the joy of acceptance by strangers,
friendship by children, and the gentle inclusion
into a community that I have always held dear
to my heart.
I fell in love with my church community
that morning. There, under the moss-covered
oak trees playing Red Rover, I felt a sense of
belonging that has never left me.
churchexecutive.com
A change of scenery will do everyone good
Classroom activities, such as crafts, music
and coloring that relate to each week’s church
lesson is an easy way to emphasize and repeat
the information. But if you want to raise the
bar on your youth ministries lesson planning
and inclusion, take the kids outside. A quiet
group of children who don’t see each other
on a regular basis might not be very open and
interactive with each other. Going outside
and having games to play can help make
visiting children feel at ease and can bring
shy kids out of their shells. Playing outside
is a great social equalizer that encourages
interaction of all types.
A generation ago, warm weather meant
children playing outdoors for long periods
of time. They built forts, climbed trees, and
jumped off rocks. Today, children’s fading
engagement in outdoor play is largely
influenced by parental and society safety
concerns. To alleviate these concerns, create
a safe outdoor play space that parents feel
comfortable with. Include the following safety
measures to keep your outdoor play space safe
and sound.
• S eparate each major age group —
toddlers, preschool, school-aged. This
will keep the younger children safe from
having older children accidentally run
into and trip over them.
• I nclude tall fencing (preferably 6-feet
tall) that would be difficult to climb.
Having a taller fence will prevent the ability
for an adult to reach over and lift a child out
of the playground. Having a fence that is
difficult to climb will prevent children from
both climbing out and falling off the fence.
• Safety fall zones under play equipment
are areas that extend 6 feet away from
the play equipment. These fall zones
should have 2-inch-thick impact padding,
6-inches-thick of rubber mulch, or 9-inches-
thick of sand, pea gravel and wood mulch.
• A rrange the playground equipment
so that all areas of the playground are
easily visible for parents, teachers and
staff to supervise. If you wrap a playground
around the corner of your building, separate
the two sides so that children cannot run
around the corner out of eye sight from
supervising adults.
• L eave an open area for organized games.
Having open running space for games within
the same fenced area protects children and
offers the freedom to organize small and large
group games and contests.
• K eep a hose and hose bib nearby. A
hose is handy for both rinsing off kids hands
and rinsing off sidewalks and playground
equipment as needed.
Rebecca Calbert, AIA, LEED AP, NCARB is the
Owner and Principal Architect at Calbert Design
Group, LLC in Kennesaw, Ga. With 30 years of
professional experience, Calbert has worked with
various award-winning architectural firms in the Metro
Atlanta area.
Your playground’s spring
maintenance checklist
• Vandalism
• Loose bolts
• Loose anchoring
• Insect damage
• Rusted metals
• Rotting wood
• Cracks in plastic
• Broken glass & trash
• Wood splitting & splinters
• Washed-away fall surfacing
• Loose, damaged or missing parts
• Sharp corners, points or edges
• Peeling, cracking or chipping paint.
• Areas of entrapment
(>3-1/2 inches but <9 inches diameter)
C H I L D R E N ’ S S P A C E S • CHURCH EXECUTIVE
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