Materials

Primary Pathway Materials

Materials, Pathways
Two children play chase on a tinted concrete primary pathway.
A curvy concrete pathway at Montessori Children's School, Jacksonville, NC.
This pathway is curvy, looped and made of fine crushed stone. (Edible Schoolyard, Greensboro Children's Museum, Greensboro, NC)
A fine crushed stone pathway meets a concrete pathway.

Primary pathways can be constructed of concrete, fine crushed stone or mulch. Each option has its benefits.

Infant and Toddler Pathway Materials

Materials, Pathways
Infant space with arbor swing, stepping stone pathway, and poured-in-place surface at Bright Horizons Family Solutions CDC.
A toddler pushes a wheeled toy on a poured-in-place pathway at Bright Horizons Family Solutions CDC.
A poured-in-place pathway loops around a small multipurpose lawn at Bright Horizons Family Solutions CDC.

Infants and toddlers have different needs and abilities and there are various pathway options based on those needs and abilities.

Natural Materials for Play and Learning

Affordable settings and elements, Materials, Outdoor play
This pile of natural loose parts is evidence of exploratory play throughout the outdoor learning environment.
A boy pushes a truck full of collected pinecones along the looped path at Kiddie Kollege ELC, Statesville, NC.
A girl collects dried seed heads from marigolds at Munchkin Academy, Buxton, NC.
The results: A pile of thoroughly-explored marigold seed heads are evidence of play and learning.
Children stir a pot of mud soup, which includes grass, leaves, mulch, water, and, of course, mud at Precious Memories Preschool.

Natural materials afford an array of open-ended play opportunities. Some playscapes are rich with natural materials, while others may need to have natural materials to be gathered and brought in.

Tree Cookies for Play and Learning

Affordable settings and elements, Installation, Materials, Outdoor play
A set of tree cookies, without children in the outdoor learning environment at Intermountain Children's Place, Spruce Pine, NC.
Tree cookies afford picking up and rearranging for this little girl - gross motor and cognitive development.
Now the tree cookies are affording stepping and balancing for her.
A set of small tree cookies, without children in the OLE at Irene Wortham Community Child Care Center, Asheville, NC.
These small tree cookies become pretend food and plates once the children arrive.
Logs and tree cookies in a natural building and digging setting without children at Kids R Us, Liberty, NC.
Evidence of the versatility of tree cookies: cargo to carry and pull around the pathway loops.
Once the children arrive, the tree cookies become plates and surfaces for sorting
They become raw material for building castles - gross motor, imaginative play, social play, and creativity.
A set of small moveable logs and tree cookies inside a log circle, without children in the OLE at Shepherd's Way, Asheville, NC.
The children arrive, building the loose parts into a "campfire", telling stories, adding materials, working together.
A tree cookies and loose parts storage area, before the children arrive in the OLE at YWCA Child Care Center, Asheville, NC.
These large tree cookies are perfect stepping stones to jump between.
With children, this tree cookie becomes a work surface for spontaneous observation and learning about a worm.

Tree cookies are simple, affordable, and effective solutions for defining paths and providing versatile play props in a naturalized outdoor learning environment.

Installing Stepping Stones

Installation, Materials, Pathways, Stones and boulders
Stepping stone sensory garden in an infant/toddler outdoor learning environment at Bright Horizons Family Solutions CDC.
Katherine Gill checks to make sure the sand is level before placing the stepping stone at the NC Botanical Garden.
A newly installed stepping stone pathway at First Baptist Child Development Center, Asheville, NC.
A stepping stone pathway in an infant outdoor learning environment at Bright Horizons Family Solutions CDC.

 

Stepping stones are an effective and durable material used for creating pathways. They can be installed linearly to create secondary pathways or used enmasss to create patios or sensory gardens.

Pathway Installation: Alternatives to concrete

Installation, Materials, Pathways
A skid-steer loader was used to excavate soil and install pathway material at Kids R Us, Liberty, NC.
A vibrating plate compactor was used to compact existing soil before path installation at Heron Pond Montessori, Kitty Hawk, NC.

Pathways can be installed either on top of the existing ground surface or by excavating below the ground surface and installing the pathway material in the resulting broad, shallow trench. Two of the most common pathway materials (apart from concrete) are fine crushed stone and mulch. Installation is described below.

Pressure Treated Wood

Design guidance, Latest, Materials
Pressure-treated wood is useful in many applications in children's outdoor learning environments.
Pressure-treated wood is useful in many applications in children's outdoor learning environments.
A small deck made from pressure treated wood.
Benches and a trellis made from pressure treated wood.
A stage with lattice backing made from pressure treated wood.

Is pressure treated wood acceptable for use in an outdoor learning environment? The NLI is often asked this question, and this post refers to official guidelines from the North Carolina Division of Child Development and Early Education and the US Environmental Protection Agency.