Many communities across the country are using mobile recreation facilities to improve school and community programs

Includes 11 sub-articles dealing with innovative recreational programs in Alaska, Michigan, Tennessee, Illinois, and California. Activities and facilities described include bus rides, artificial ice skating and skiing, rooftop playgrounds, wood structures, dam sites, and enclosed buildings. (NQ)

The research focuses on the inappropriate, largely aggressive, behaviors of 344 K-2 children assigned to a playground prior to the beginning of the school day. It was found that games, rope jumping, and foot racing, along with an infrequently used time-out procedure, significantly reduced the frequency of inappropriate incidents. (Author)

Students in a community design class worked with fifth- and sixth-grade students in planning and constructing models for a local elementary school playground. (MLF)

Children's specialized speech codes and nonverbal behaviors are examined in the context of playground games. (JD)

Describes the schoolyard habitat movement and why young children need experiences in natural environments. Focuses on reasons for the loss of children's natural habitat and former habitats. Explores bio-psychological, environmental, and developmental reasons for restoring natural habitats to children. Outlines the efforts of the school habitat…

Describes an "eco-count" project that led to the creation of a community map and educational game being painted on an elementary school playground. The multidisciplinary project involved students, teachers, parents, and other community members and the resulting map includes sections related to the local "green environment", "built environment",…

An Elmira, New York, elementary school resolves its playground disputes by allowing students to settle most of their own disagreements with the help of upperelementary students trained as conflict managers. Adult supervisors stop fights and give disputants a choice: discuss the problem with the principal or the conflict managers. Kids invariably…

Three types of playground equipment account for 87 percent of all injuries: swing-sets, climbing apparatus, and slides. Fully 75% of playground injuries occur when children fall from equipment. Improving ground surfaces, installing guard rails, and limiting maximum equipment height are essential. Sidebars provide safety rules and a playground…

More than 170,000 children are injured yearly on U.S. playgrounds. Every school should establish a long-range plan to bring its playground into compliance with Consumer Product Safety Commission guidelines and establish good programs for children and playground supervisors. Safety rules and proper management and supervision can reduce injuries.…