According to the recent “Recess Planning In Schools: A Guide to Putting Strategies into Practice” published in January of 2017 by the CDC and Shape America, Fit & Fun Playscapes is listed as a resource for Strategy Category 3: Creating an Environment Supportive of Physical Activity During Recess. Fit & Fun Playscapes staffs professional designers that have created over 50 recess game stencil designs and 10 stencil packages, resulting in the largest selection of recess stencil games nationwide. Fit & Fun Playscapes designers have more recently been assisting customers with planning, by preparing free sketch plans showing an image of the school play area and transposing images of the stencil onto the play area. This free service has helped customers with visualizing, pitching and organizing their vision for the play area. Now, Fit & Fun Playscapes can include principals of a zoned playground/ recess area into their designs.
When planning a playground/ recess area, Fit & Fun Playscapes takes into consideration the three (3) physical activity zones as noted in Strategy 12 (Sports Areas, Fitness and Skills Areas and Relaxation Areas) when laying out our stencil games. Zoning a recess area involves dividing the space into separate areas or “zones” with specific activities associated with the space. According to a recent study by the University of Missouri, “In the Zone: An Investigation into Physical Activity during Recess on Traditional Versus Zoned Playgrounds”, researchers found that zoning a playground with specific games improve a child’s chance of engagement and increased physical activity by 10%.
Co-author, Jill Barnas reports “By reworking traditional recess games to be more vigorous, children are able to increase their physical activity in a really easy way, improving their health and doing better in school”.
Fit & Fun Playscapes recognizes the importance of social and wellness aids and graphics as well, and likes to design these features into a playground/ recess design. Zoning recess spaces as well as other planning considerations including points of access, buffer areas between games, etc. all factor into a well organized playground/ recess environment.