Kindergartners Get New Play Space

The kindergarten pupils at South Carthay’s Community School used to play on a small, drab patch of asphalt behind their classroom bungalows. During recess, they sat on the small benches in the yard or swung a rope from the gate to amuse themselves.

But on Tuesday, the 5- and 6-year-olds rushed out of their classrooms with shrieks of delight to test out a spruced-up playhouse, put on puppet shows at a new theater and toss balls through the mouths of wooden jungle animals.

Parents, teachers and administrators at Community School transformed the kindergarten play yard into a bright interactive space of murals and mobile games by nudging a few corporate donors and putting in a lot of weekends working on the project during the last three months.

“Our school is a wonderful school . . . but we always felt our plant was not the best,” Principal Pam Morton said. “It was pretty dingy where the kindergartners played. This really means our school can be proud of an exciting play space, and that’s an integral part of the learning process.”

Through fund-raising and donations from local businesses, Community School raised about $5,000 for the play yard.

On Tuesday, the students had their first chance to test the new playground after the school gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“I like it because it’s fun,” said 5-year-old Abby Kritzberg, gesturing to the frantic pace of playing. “I was bored before, but now there’s a puppet and a kitchen in the house and lots of stuff.”