Welcome to my blog about natural playspaces. I am a natural playspace designer in Sydney, NSW, with a focus on preschools, child care centres and schools.I have a background in early childhood education initially as a teacher then as a director. I have worked in an assortment of centres, both private and commercial, community and religious based, some funded wholly by Local and State government bodies. I have also worked in varying capacities in Local, State and Federal government Childcare organisations.
When I was a director/teacher I was always baffled with adult perceptions of what constitutes an outdoor environment for children. This led me to study further and gain my landscape design and horticulture qualifications with an idea to change the world by adding natural playspaces to one centre at a time.
I believe that children in early childhood centres (some attending for up to 10 hours a day) deserve a natural, inspiring and aesthetic environment outdoors. I really dislike the word playground when used in relation to outdoor areas in child care centres and preschools - playgrounds have always seemed to me to be those "one-hit" weekend or after school experiences, where play is often in short bursts and then it's time to go home. In a child care centre, play is the basis for all learning and it is in these environments that I think the word playspace encompasses what the outdoor environment really is.
In this blog I hope to pass on ideas and share my experiences in working with varying children's services to create natural playspaces and also to provide a forum about natural playspaces, promoting information exchange about how important they are!
Brisbane, center, centre, child care, childcare, climate change, creek bed, design, designer, early childhood, edible, EYLF, garden, labyrinth, landscapes, Melbourne, natural, Naturalistic, New South Wales, outdoor, Perth, play, playscape, playspace, preschool, Queensland, sandpit, Sydney, Tess Michaels, Tessa Rose, Tessarose, Victoria, Western, Australia, workshops, www.tessaroselandscapes.com.au, yard,
Brisbane, center, centre, child care, childcare, climate change, creek bed, design, designer, early childhood, edible, EYLF, garden, labyrinth, landscapes, Melbourne, natural, Naturalistic, New South Wales, outdoor, Perth, play, playscape, playspace, preschool, Queensland, sandpit, Sydney, Tess Michaels, Tessa Rose, Tessarose, Victoria, Western, Australia, workshops, www.tessaroselandscapes.com.au, yard,
2 comments:
Tessa,
Thanks for creating this rich resource. I am part of a school group tasked with coordinating natural play spaces using local fallen trees and rocks etc. We have been asked to build a river of rocks. Our area is the after school care service and I laughed when I read your comment about the new play equipment. One of our directors has witnessed many broken arms on the brand new 'fancy' hard play spaces. I look forward to creating an amazing play space for our younger children and natural elements for everyone to explore and experience. We now know how we can plant and involve the children through the programming of the centre.
Jemima
Thanks for all the information on this blog. I stumbled across it when looking for ideas for creating an inspiring backyard for my two daughters (3 & 6 yo). Although there is no little irony in the amount of time I've spent in front of the screen trying to education myself about ways in which I can make our backyard (currently a flat, barren wasteland) more enticing.
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