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Little Owl Learning Centre's natural playground (Courtesy: Bob Schneider)
NATURAL PLAYGROUND

Local preschool unveiling natural playground to the public

Aug 16, 2019 | 8:25 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — The first ‘natural’ playground in Medicine Hat is being unveiled to the public this Saturday.

The Little Owl Learning Centre has completed the outdoor space, which they’ve been piecing together since the fall.

Children up to six years old can enjoy the park now, which features a mud kitchen, building zone and the centrepiece, a tire mountain.

Construction zone at the natural playground (Courtesy: Bob Schneider)

Every item is meant to be interactive, and foster the children’s creativity.

“A lot of the things you’ll find out here are open ended loose parts play so it’s always open to the children’s creative expression,” says Justine Mann, owner of Little Owl Learning Centre. “So when they come onto the playground each day it’s a new play experience for them because all of the things are open to their imagination.”

Mann says the outdoor classroom is built on the same set of components as their indoor classrooms.

“Our philosophy behind our program here at Little Owl is about community and it’s about teaching the children about the world around them,” says Mann. “So we have five core components in all of our classrooms which includes a construction/engineering zone, an open art atelier, a cozy quiet corner where we can collect ourselves and gather as a group, and then we have sensory components in every classroom.”

After months of collecting donations from the community, the interactive outdoor play space is completed, so the centre is hosting an open a ‘get outside and play’ event.

”We had a lot of community involvement in the making of this playground so many community donations from local businesses which was amazing and the kids have so benefited from it,” says Mann.

The space will be entirely opened to the public, allowing others to be reach by the interactive approach.

The event runs from 10 to 12 on August 17. Visit their page for more information.