Gross Motor Skills, FCCERS, Safety Regs and Inclement Weather

[Cat Herder]

My DCK's NEED to be able to climb, tunnel and explore.

They just do.

Up until recently I used a couple (age appropriate) Little Tykes/Step Two climbers/slides/playhouses with foam mats under them in the playroom to offer both an indoor AND outdoor playground. With NO injuries.

Safety regs say no more. 3-10 inches of fresh, non-compacted mulch is required depending on highest point.

FCCERS and I want them to have access to climbing/tunneling/hiding equipment.

I tried play tents, they crush them on top of one another inadvertently causing soft tissue injuries.

I tried tunnels, the metal rods tore through missing an eye by millimeters.

I tried a jumping mattress. They group to the center, trip each other and shove. Accident waiting to happen.

I tried a low balance beam. They move it all over the room, trip over it and it creates a fire hazard. :confused:

What else is there under 2 feet high that will allow them to exert energy, play freely, spread out a bit and require no boo-boo reports?

My age group for this area is 2-3 years. (littles have their own area)

My parents will not tolerate injuries.

[Heidi]

My DCK's NEED to be able to climb, tunnel and explore.

They just do.

Up until recently I used a couple (age appropriate) Little Tykes/Step Two climbers/slides/playhouses with foam mats under them in the playroom to offer both an indoor AND outdoor playground. With NO injuries.

Safety regs say no more. 3-10 inches of fresh, non-compacted mulch is required depending on highest point.

FCCERS and I want them to have access to climbing/tunneling/hiding equipment.

I tried play tents, they crush them on top of one another inadvertently causing soft tissue injuries.



Argggh! Stupid FCCERS...what do they know, anyway? For Gosh sake, I don't have 3-10 inches of mulch around my bed, but any two year old can get on that!

I tried tunnels, the metal rods tore through missing an eye by millimeters.

I tried a jumping mattress. They group to the center, trip each other and shove. Accident waiting to happen.

I tried a low balance beam. They move it all over the room, trip over it and it creates a fire hazard. :confused:

What else is there under 2 feet high that will allow them to exert energy, play freely, spread out a bit and require no boo-boo reports?

My age group for this area is 2-3 years. (littles have their own area)

My parents will not tolerate injuries.

Argggh! Stupid FCCERS...what do they know, anyway? For Gosh sake, I don't have 3-10 inches of mulch around my bed, but any two year old can get on that!

[daycare]

i know exactly what you mean.. I threw away all of my crawl tunnles and cubes. All of the wires were poking through.

then my balance beem got used in other ways and they never used it for what it was for, so I had to put it away.

So now when we go to the park, we walk along the 4 inch curb playing follow the leader.

We also go on the 2.5 ft wall with our arms out and I stand right beside them.

We do go on the big kid slide and i stand at the top of the platform to make sure no one falls off....

how are kids supposed to learn all of these necessary skills if they cant even have thier feet leave the floor??

[Crystal]

Go to a store that sells appliances and ask for the appliance boxes. Tape them up with duct tape and they are very sturdy, and can be stood on. Tape some up with the ends turned in and taped down and they can be used as tunnels. They can also be used as space for drawing and painting. Lots of fun stuff can be done with appliance boxes.

Best of all, they are free AND recyclable!

You could use the padded floor mats, covered in nice fluffy rug for a "fall zone"

[daycare]

Go to a store that sells appliances and ask for the appliance boxes. Tape them up with duct tape and they are very sturdy, and can be stood on. Tape some up with the ends turned in and taped down and they can be used as tunnels. They can also be used as space for drawing and painting. Lots of fun stuff can be done with appliance boxes.

Best of all, they are free AND recyclable!

You could use the padded floor mats, covered in nice fluffy rug for a "fall zone"

omg we jsut had to throw away the best box of all times... it was from our washer and dryer. the guys that delivered it were nice enough to remove the staples from it and we had the best time with both of them. I cant even tell you how much stuff we made with them. We have had them since February.....

[DaycareMama]

I recently pulled out my climber (just for a change) and added a ball pit. The kids LOVED it! Shoes off, they could jump, swim, cover themselves, float you name it they did it! I used a large outdoor sand box/pool but you can build something to suit using maybe pool noodles?? If you stack them just right you can zip tie them together forming a safe child friendly containment area. Or maybe a padded, carpeted box? I don't know :: I can see it im my head but hard to explain.

The pit held 600 balls (walmart 100 for $10.00) filled generously for more fun! My kids are 1-2 yr olds (7 of them). Biggest rule outside of saftey was no throwing the balls. You throw them you don't get to play in the pit for that day

[Meyou]

I have a kid's trampoline that I use in the winter on exercise mats. You need to be close by but my crew LOVE it and are so tired by a jumping session that they're out of breath and pink cheeked.

It looks like this but slightly larger. ETA: now that I have a second look at the pic I posted the one I have is considerably more durable and sturdy. I didn't want anyone to think I was letting them jump on the deathtrap that one looks like. Mine has no springs showing like that and no gaps between the frame and jumping area.

http://www.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?DeptID=77798&CatID=77798&Grptyp=PRD&ItemId=16e7312&sisearchengine=182&siproduct=Nextag&cm_mmc=ShoppingFeed-_-NexTag-_-Toys%20&%20Games-_-Square%20Trampoline%20With%20Handle%20by%20JCPenney&srccode=cii_9324560&cpncode=26-50728981-2

My best friend's mom had a daycare and preschool our whole lives and she got the trampoline with some other equipment as part of an indoor gross motor skill initiative a few years ago. Each qualifying daycare was granted $6000 to buy indoor equipment.

I keep it in the closet and take it out sporatically much more in the winter.

[Cat Herder]

I love the ideas....but I can't have a trampoline (specifically listed) and all surfaces must be non-porous or washable. I have immuno-surpressed/compromised kids, often.

See how hard this is....:confused:

I do have a ball pit and pull that out from time to time. They don't really play in it. All they want to do is dump it or throw them at each other.

Most often I use the balls as color sorting, fine motor and counting resources, now.

I think I am going to check out some PVC tubing options from the hardware store (my favorite store )... :confused:

Anyone know how well they work or any risks I should know about first?

[Blackcat31]

I wonder if you could find one of those dome climbers.

The smallest one I have seen is 3.5 feet in the center, (which if I remember correctly is 1.5 feet too much for what your requirements are.) but could perhaps buy the connectors and make your own or you could contact the maker and have them make one specifically for you. (???)

It appears to be a smaller company that one guy started and sells on E-bay etc.

I don't know, I am just throwing things out there... :confused:

http://www.domeclimber.com/

[Cat Herder]

I wonder if you could find one of those dome climbers.

The smallest one I have seen is 3.5 feet in the center, (which if I remember correctly is 1.5 feet too much for what your requirements are.) but could perhaps buy the connectors and make your own or you could contact the maker and have them make one specifically for you. (???)

It appears to be a smaller company that one guy started and sells on E-bay etc.

I don't know, I am just throwing things out there... :confused:

http://www.domeclimber.com/

I love it!!!!!!

$129 is within my budget exactly!!!! $15 shipping is amazing.

I will call this morning and ask if I can make this work.

Wow....perfect!!!!!!!!! Thank you!!!