Encouraging activity and exercise outdoors is important to healthy development of children. Explore our guide for the top 7 outdoor gym ideas for any school playground.
1. Develop Gross Motor Skills through Free Play.
As children play and run around on active play and outdoor gym equipment they develop both emotional and physical independence. Creating a space for free play with varied and fun equipment helps kids develop balance, coordination, and other gross motor skills.
This is important for young children, especially those entering school who experienced limited opportunities for this sort of exercise during COVID-19 lockdowns. Early Years Primary School PE Lessons should focus on developing these key skills through gentle movements and self-directed outdoor play.
2. Active Play Education in Science Lessons.
The School Playground Company’s active outdoor gym sets come with a wide range of fitness equipment modules. This multi-gym design focuses on all different areas of the body for a holistic exercise challenge.
Students can learn muscle groups and biology through playground activities with inventive and innovative sports equipment. Children can use equipment to identify which muscles are engaged in each fitness module. The arm and pedal bike or waist twister are self-explanatory, but analysing the rower or tai chi discs can be an interesting challenge. This brings a greater awareness of children to their bodies and helps them understand why fitness, exercise, and sports are so important.
3. MUGA Pitch Games Tournament
Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) with non-slip surfaces give students a range of sports options in a safe and fun environment. MUGA designs include targets, game markings, kids’ goal posts, and adjustable basketball posts or netball hoops to accommodate all ages.
With larger MUGA pitches, multiple games can be played at once during one PE lesson. A tournament or competition between classes can raise the spirit of collaboration through competition in your school. We recommend healthy competition to encourage social interaction, and ensure all students get involved! You can even get kids excited for the 2024 Olympics by playing less common sports like handball, softball, or badminton.
4. Skiing on the Playground
Embrace the winter feeling, make sure your students are wrapped up warm, and get them moving with a playground skier gym machine. Engaging the core with a twisting action, the slalom skiers are unique outdoor gym ideas for kids to experience cardiovascular exercise while having fun and imagining themselves skiing down mountains!
The double slalom ski simulator also provides amazing social fitness opportunities. The equipment is structured with the two slalom skiers facing one another to encourage fun competition and interaction.
5. Challenges with Balance Equipment
EYFS play equipment that focuses on the development of balance is essential. Schools should not underestimate these basic holistic skills on the playground. This is because they provide the basis for every other area of movement, coordination, and activity.
Trim trail equipment is fun to use while also engaging in varied parts of fitness without having to think about exercise! Encourage fitness outside of PE lessons with Active Play equipment with a range of balancing and jumping puzzles for students to work their way through. Outdoor balance beams have anti-slip surfaces to keep kids safe while providing a wide range of challenges from slanted and sloped beams, rolling and swinging logs and rope balance walks.
6. Daily Mile Tracks
Raise the challenge each day of January as a new year’s resolution, set a challenge for kids to get out and active on the Daily Mile Track at break time to exercise a little each day.
No matter the weather, exercise is still important. Encourage fun and engagement with fitness with vibrant, colourful playground markings. Instructional markings for skipping, hopping, and jumping, diversifying the activities for holistic fitness.
7. Stretching for Warm Ups and Cool Downs
Very few manufacturers of equipment for kids’ multi-gyms take into account the need to warm up and cool down on either side of a period of exercise. Stressing the importance of this stage of workouts with a specialized stretching station as part of the school gym equipment package is important to promote the best practices for children partaking in exercise.
The leg stretch fitness module is suitable for up to 3 students to use at once, encouraging social interaction and conversation while reducing risks of injury by getting the muscles ready for physical exercise.
Embrace Fitness on Your School Playground Today with Outdoor Gym Ideas
Check out our gym equipment brochure to discover even more ways to engage your students in PE lessons and during break time with an amazing range of fitness stations.
Get in touch with our team by booking an appointment or getting a quick quote from our contact page.
