The Sara Jackman Playground is the new outdoor play area at the University of Toronto’s Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study (JICS) Lab School. What was formerly a flat, compact patch of asphalt is now a hub of varied, multi-level play spaces. To a remarkable extent, this new, much greener playground puts key principles of the school’s pedagogy into practice. JICS prioritizes outdoor play that allows each child to build a relationship with nature; open-ended creative play that involves constructing or pretending; and what is often called ‘risky’ play: freedom to get wet, to get muddy, to test one’s physical prowess, within reasonable limits. A new ramp not only improves accessibility but also introduces child-size nooks along its outer edge and invites kids to climb through its splayed pickets. Play zones range from a “secret sensory garden” filled with plants of contrasting colours, textures and fragrances to a bright orange, boomerang-shaped climbing structure. Other destinations include a sand-and-water-play zone, a figure-8 tricycle track, a wood mound that becomes a winter sliding slope and an all-weather story-time area with a leaf-shaped canopy. Even a colourfully shingled shed for storing play equipment doubles as climbable play space.
