The Daily Record/Sunday News – York, PA
August 2008
McKinley Elementary students will start the year with a new playground.
Red, yellow, blue and orange shapes, letters, and numbers were part of a playground painting project which will greet students at McKinley Elementary when they return to school this week.
With paint, a plan and some creativity, York City School District teachers spent their last day of summer creating a playground for the children with paint and stencils.
“The kids really didn’t have much to do at recess,” said Eric Schlosser, a school counselor who organized the venture.
About a dozen staff members and a handful of neighborhood kids helped paint about 30 colorful games on the ground Friday.
But the playground painting isn’t just about fun.
The games — which include new twists on classics such as hopscotch — are a new way to incorporate learning into the 10-minute play
Teachers will incorporate the games into lesson plans so everyone will know the rules.
Many of the games include skills such as language arts and math.
For instance, the letters painted around the parameter of the playground can be used for active spelling lessons.
“They will be learning, and they won’t even be aware of it,” said Karen Denlinger, a second-grade teacher who has worked at the school for 36 years.
Besides teaching motor and academic skills, the games will be taught in a way that will emphasize conflict resolution.
Students who get into disputes during games will be taught to solve them, a valuable social skill.
“Like I tell my kids, the more you argue the less time you have to play,” Schlosser said.
The kids will be given a clear step-by-step plan to work through schoolyard problems.
Here’s an example of how that could work: First, students with a problem can use a game like rock, paper, scissors to reach a solution.
If that doesn’t work, they can go to a designated student mediator. And if all else fails, they can ask a teacher for assistance.
But there’s hope the new options for recess play will help cut back these issues.
“We’ve been dreaming about this,” John Brenneman, a third-grade teacher, said.
Play Nice
McKinley Elementary designed its new playground with a layout from Peaceful Playgrounds.
Key principles of the program include teaching students to solve conflicts and reducing disputes without arguments.
By Nicole Dobo
York Daily Record/Sunday News
