Hills

a sloping lawn with rocks and stepsHills provide infants and toddlers with many learning opportunities. They can practice balance, go up and down, and experience different heights and vantage points from which to look at the world. Some programs already have hills as part of the outdoor play space. Programs that do not can build small ones using topsoil and seed them with grass. The size and shape of hills will depend on who will use them and the amount of space available. Slides can be built into the sides of hills, and steps can be made from timber or tires.1

1Keeler, Natural Playscapes, 68–69; Lally et al., Guide to Setting Up Environments, 58.