After two decades of inspiring play, the 4PreK and kindergarten playground is getting a makeover. And there’s no way Head of Beginning School Emma Wellman was going to tackle the project without student input.

“We really care about feedback from the kids,” she said.

Listen to this story | Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

A new playground has been on the division’s to-do list in recent years, as the current equipment, original to the McCarthey Campus, nears the end of its lifespan.

“It’s brought joy and challenge to hundreds of children—and it’s given its all,” said Emma. She credits the equipment’s impressive longevity to the school’s dedication to its upkeep, as well as the forward-thinking of her predecessor, Carol Blackwell, who was instrumental in designing the Beginning School’s high-quality child-centered spaces, inside and out. Since her first visit to the school, Emma has been impressed by Rowland Hall’s commitment to outdoor learning, which greatly benefits children. Her approach to the playground update has aimed to further this important part of the student experience, starting with thinking about play. 

We wanted the playground to be designed to capitalize on what children do developmentally when they play outside.—Emma Wellman, head of Beginning School

Knowing an update was on the horizon, Emma began collaborating with her team over the last few years, seeking out Beginning School teachers’ feedback on a play space that’s best for kids and that allows for manageable supervision. After receiving approval for the rebuild during 2024–2025, Emma invited three teachers, one from each Beginning School level, to form a committee tasked with thinking holistically about the types of play they want to prioritize in the space. Considering what’s best for children’s development and the division’s overall goals, they decided they want the space to act as a blank canvas that encourages open-ended play that’s child-led, imaginative, collaborative, and emergent (that is, without a clear objective or outcome). 

“We wanted the playground to be designed to capitalize on what children do developmentally when they play outside,” said Emma.

Goal in mind, Emma began considering equipment manufacturers that could create this experience. She chose to partner with Utah company Big T Recreation, which installs custom wood playgrounds by award-winning manufacturer Earthscape. Once an initial design was completed in fall 2025, Emma was ready for input—from her teaching team and, importantly, students.

The timing was ideal, occurring at the same time as the kindergarten’s community unit, which includes learning to use maps to organize information about places, including geographical characteristics and human features. Students had studied campus maps, created bird’s-eye view classroom maps, and used blueprints for a group building project, so the opportunity to examine the design draft perfectly connected their in-class learning to a real-world project.

“We explained to the students that we wanted children's feedback on the playground plans because, as the people who play on playgrounds most, they are our community's playground experts,” said lead kindergarten teacher Bethany Stephensen. “Their input could help our school make choices that would work well for kids.”

As they showed the plans to their class, Bethany and her teaching partner, Mimi Andrews, directly recorded their feedback for Emma. It was plentiful.

“I really think the rock climbing wall is a good idea,” shared one student. Others commented, “I like that little house,” and, “I like that the swings are staying.” In addition to identifying what they liked about the plans, students offered a variety of suggestions. Some, like a mini Ferris wheel, were a bit out of reach, while others, such as a request for both high and low monkey bars, were important to explore.

The kindergartners’ feedback also included thoughtful reflections that showed how seriously they were taking the assignment. These included comments on student well-being (“I think there should be a little corner where if we want to take a little break we can go in there”), health (“Could there be like an outdoor water fountain in case the kids get thirsty?”), and safety (“I'm not sure we should have the house because what if the teachers can't see inside it?”).

This process signaled that [students’] experiences matter and are meaningful to us, and that their ideas are important and valued by their school community.—Bethany Stephensen, lead kindergarten teacher

Bethany said the exercise was valuable not only because it helped solidify learning the children were engaged in, but also because of the message it conveyed. “This process signaled that their experiences matter and are meaningful to us,” she said, “and that their ideas are important and valued by their school community.”

Their ideas also made a difference. 

“Much of the feedback was affirming, flagging items the committee had identified as important for kids and calling attention to items that still needed to be attended to,” said Emma, who deeply believes it’s good for grown-ups to listen to and consider children’s ideas. “They knew their feedback would be responded to and that I would care about it.”

And while the children knew not every suggestion could be incorporated, they soon learned their feedback indeed helped shape the final playground design. Thanks to their suggestions, the school chose items like an inclined monkey bar unit, as well as a covered, playhouse-like structure that allows for quality supervision while also providing a child-sized retreat.

That’s just the start of the intentionally selected pieces for the new playground, which will also include:

• A climbing wall and double slide as part of the house-like tower
• A log tangle-style structure with a second double slide and variety of climbing materials, including a rope bridge and sling, offering students opportunities to practice balance and work upper and lower body coordination as they choose their challenges
• A stepper cluster for climbing and developing gross motor skills
• Bog stilts that invite children to maneuver between pieces of equipment without touching the ground, creating a play circuit and encouraging challenge and imaginative play (this is an excellent complement to the loose parts play already happening)
• A shade shell—crucial for sun protection at the beginning and end of year

“We’re adding a lot more places for children to be and play,” said Emma. “We’re installing so many new pieces all at once, adding so much choice.”

We can’t wait to play.

---

Keep an eye out for the new playground! Installation is scheduled for April and will wrap before the end of the school year, allowing the kindergartners who submitted feedback to enjoy the equipment they were instrumental in choosing.