How One Child Care Centre Transformed Their Playground Experience
At St. John’s Christian Nursery School in Waterloo, the educators have embraced a new approach to outdoor play—one that moves beyond simply recreating the indoor classroom outside. Through collaboration, thoughtful changes, and a shift in mindset, they’ve created an outdoor space that fosters movement, communication, and imaginative play in ways they hadn’t envisioned before.
A New Vision for Outdoor Communication
One of the most impactful changes at St. John’s has been the introduction of large outdoor communication boards featuring visual aids. These visuals, inspired by those commonly used in classrooms, provide children with a consistent way to express their needs and engage with their environment. Educators had always carried visuals with them, but the team saw the value in making these tools more permanently accessible in the outdoor space.
What started as laminated paper signs quickly evolved into durable, weather-resistant boards similar to real estate signs—large, clear, and easy to reference. With input from the educators on the most frequently used visuals, the team had boards custom-made and installed in each playground. The response was overwhelmingly positive.
Children naturally gravitated toward the visuals, using them to communicate their needs, identify objects, and even interact with each other. Parents took notice, with one family even requesting a similar board for their home after seeing how much their child engaged with it.
The Importance of Collaboration
For a shift like this to be successful, everyone—educators, families, and community partners—needed to be on board. The nursery school worked closely with the Special Needs Resourcing Collaborative (SNRC) to ensure that the communication boards met the needs of all children, including those with different communication styles. The SNRC provided support in selecting the right visuals and ensuring their accessibility, reinforcing the importance of inclusivity in play.
Educators also played a key role in making this shift successful. Because they all carried the same set of visuals, children could approach any staff member and receive consistent communication support. This consistency built confidence and encouraged more independent expression.
Rethinking Outdoor Play
Alongside their efforts to enhance communication outdoors, St. John’s underwent a radical transformation in the way they approached outdoor play. Previously, the playground mirrored an indoor classroom—filled with ride-on toys, puzzles, and structured activities. But after a workshop with Bienenstock, an organization specializing in early childhood outdoor play, the educators reconsidered their approach.
They learned that an outdoor classroom should focus on big body movement, sensory exploration, and inquiry-based learning. To put this into action, the team at St. John’s worked with Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds to remove most of the traditional play equipment from the playground, replacing it with loose parts—planks, crates, tubes, and slacklines. They encouraged educators to observe how children naturally interacted with these open-ended materials.
The results were remarkable. Instead of simply using pre-set toys, children began moving materials, collaborating to build structures, and engaging in risk-taking activities like balancing and climbing. Their play became more cooperative, and they were using their bodies in new, dynamic ways. Parents, caring adults, and educators alike noticed the shift in engagement.
Making Play More Accessible and Affordable
One of the key takeaways from this transformation was that creating an enriching outdoor play space doesn’t have to be expensive. Many of the materials—wooden planks, milk crates, and slacklines—were low-cost or free. St. John’s even reached out to companies like Canadian Tire, Home Depot, and Princess Auto, securing donations to support their initiative.
Families also got involved by donating materials, such as real Christmas trees after the holiday season. These trees became part of the play space, providing natural building materials and inspiring new types of imaginative play.
The Role of Risky Play
For some adults, the idea of risky play—climbing on planks, using loose-part swings, and hammering nails into pumpkins—can seem concerning. However, St. John’s educators were intentional about balancing risk with supervision. They ensured that all activities were safe risks, allowing children to test their limits while remaining under careful observation.
A key part of this approach was allowing children to assess their own capabilities. If a child couldn’t climb onto a plank independently, educators wouldn’t lift them up—they would let them decide when they were ready. This helped to foster independence and self-awareness, giving children confidence in their own abilities.
A Model for Others
St. John’s Christian Nursery School is eager to share what they’ve learned with other child care centres. They recognize that shifting perspectives on outdoor play isn’t always easy, but their experience proves that trying something new can lead to incredible outcomes.
Their journey highlights how simple, affordable changes, supported by collaboration and a willingness to rethink traditional approaches, can create richer, more meaningful play experiences for children. Through the support of the SNRC, Bienenstock, and their own community, they’ve built an outdoor play space that truly reflects children’s needs—and they’re excited to inspire others to do the same.
We would like to express our gratitude to the team at St. John’s Nursery School for sharing so much information about their shift in play so that it could be shared with our community.
