About Mary Robertson

Mary Robertson is a blog writer for The Adventurous Child Inc, a company that designs and sells outdoor playground equipment for children ages 6 months to 6 years. She has a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education and Elementary Education from Western Michigan University and is certified to teach children in preschool, elementary school, and middle school. Most recently, Mary taught in the preschool classroom with children ages 3-5 years old. Before that, Mary was a substitute teacher in several elementary classrooms. She is an advocate of playing outdoors, learning through nature, providing hands on experiences, and encouraging wonder, inquiry, and discovery. Our focus is to provide outdoor playground equipment that meets each state’s Early Learning Standards and provides children with fun environments. Our passion is to help create outdoor classrooms that are learning places, just like the indoors—full of fun, play, and the ability to meet the state’s current Early Learning Standards.

Playground Climbers

Back to our spotlight series on different types of playground equipment.  Today I’d like to take some time to talk about climbers.  We offer several different types of climbers including toddler climbers, preschool climbers, and hill slide climbers. Climbers are … READ MORE

Playground Safety – Distance between Equipment

When conducting a safety inspection for your playground, make sure to leave proper distance between equipment. For climbing structures more than 30 inches high, recommended spacing is at least 9 feet apart. If two climbing structures are less than 30 … READ MORE

Music on the Preschool Playground

Back to our spotlight series on different types of playground equipment.  This week I’d like to discuss music on the preschool playground.  Musical instruments are an exciting addition for any preschool playground.  On the practical side of things, adding musical … READ MORE

Playground Inspections

It is important to perform regular high frequency inspections on your playground. A high frequency inspection is an examination of the playground, specifically looking for changes over a short period of time.  Some things to look for while doing inspections … READ MORE

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!  A fun Thanksgiving activity to do with your preschoolers this week is to make a centerpiece or wreath.  Take the children outside to gather natural items such as colorful fall leaves, acorns, twigs, pine cones, etc.  If you’d … READ MORE

Playground Safety

Safety is important both inside preschools and outside.  On the preschool playground, one safety issue to keep in mind is entanglement.  There are several things you can do to avoid entanglement.  First, check what the children are wearing on the … READ MORE

Welcome to our Blog!

Welcome to The Adventurous Child blog where we post ideas for outdoor play activities, the latest information and research about the benefits of outdoor play, and updates about our company and preschool playground products.  It is our hope that you … READ MORE

Playground Safety – Fall Zone

The fall zone on your playground refers to how far surfacing materials extend in all directions beyond the play equipment.  For most static equipment, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends that the fall zone be at least 6 feet … READ MORE

Outdoor Easter Activities for Preschoolers

Get the children hopping with these outdoor Easter activities: 1.  Color Easter Eggs – Take this messy activity outdoors where egg dye spills are no big deal. 2.  Egg Relay Race – Use your colorful Easter eggs for a relay … READ MORE

Happy First Day of Spring!

Tomorrow is the first day of spring! Here at The Adventurous Child we are very excited to welcome in the warm weather.  One of our favorite things to do in the spring is to plant a garden.  Gardening is one … READ MORE