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L.A. Steelcraft Products Inc

L.A. Steelcraft was a small manufacturer of swingsets and slides when Stanley A. Germain came out of early retirement to purchase the company in 1948. Stanley had been a Ford mechanic in the 1920s before farming and succeeding in the liquid fertilizer business. For the next 25 years he expanded his new business to manufacturing products for schools, industry, parks, and playgrounds.1

With the adoption of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) safety standards and the ASTM International (ASTM) F1487-93 standards in the 1990s, L.A. Steelcraft modified all their products to be in compliance.

1. Email message to Playground Professionals. 15 June 2011.

Lady Allen of Hurtwood

Lady Allen of Hurtwood (1897-1976) was an avid advocate for children’s rights and welfare throughout her lifetime and was principally responsible for introducing the concept of adventure playgrounds and planning for children’s play from their point of view. Her numerous books and pamphlets influenced public thought and brought about much change for children’s welfare in the United Kingdom and throughout the world.1

1. “Lady Allen of Hurtwood Archive.” Children’s Play Information Service. < http://www.ncb.org.uk/cpis/play_archives/lady_allen_of_hurtwood_archive.aspx > 22 April 2011.

Landscape Structures

When Steve King took an aptitude test as a college freshman, he discovered that he had an interest in the natural environment and art. A suggested career path for these interests was landscape architecture, and after further investigation Steve changed his major from wildlife management to landscape architecture.1

1. King, Steve. “Concept of Continuous Play.” Landscape Structures. < http://www.playlsi.com/Learn-About-Us/News/Media-Room/Pages/ContiniousPlayConcept.aspx > 28 March 2011.

Lead Hazards

Lead has been identified as a potential health hazard found in both children’s playgrounds and in artificial turf. The effects of lead ingestion or inhaling are cumulative.1 Ingestion occurs when children touch the objects containing lead, such as deteriorated lead-based playground paint or inhale lead dust released from turf fibers.

Lead poisoning affects the body in the following ways:

1. “CPSC Staff Recommendations for Identifying and Controlling Lead Paint on Public Playground Equipment.” National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), Certification Course for Playground Safety Inspectors Manual, p. IV-24.

Learning Structures

Learning Structures began in 1971 when a young architect named Christopher “Kit” Clews was smitten by a young schoolteacher. The teacher asked Kit if he could design a playground for $100. Using friends, family, and parents of the children who attended the school, Kit designed and constructed a playground and came in under budget! Word spread among the teaching community in New Hampshire, and soon Kit began taking requests for custom-designed adventure playscapes all across New England. The schoolteacher became Mrs. Noele Clews.

Leathers and Associates

Bob Leathers originally started his business as an architectural company specializing in residential construction and design. However, in 1971, Bob was asked if he would organize a group of people to help build a playground at his children’s elementary school. Bob talked to the students at the school to get their thoughts about what the playground should look like. He based his design for the playground on the ideas from those children. After helping with this playground and seeing the need for community built playgrounds, Bob founded Leathers and Associates in 1971 in Ithaca, New York.

Joseph Lee - Father of the Playground Movement

Lee, Joseph

Joseph Lee began life in 1862 as the son of a wealthy Boston family, and through a lifetime of leadership, research, writings, and philanthropy, he became known as the “Father of the Playground Movement.” Concerning a child's need for play he believed: “There must be creation, song, wonder, inquiry, and adventure. If these are slighted we shall have committed once again the ancient crime against childhood, of which practically all education has been guilty – the crime of not letting the child live as well as learn.”1

1. Butler, George D. Pioneers In Public Recreation. Minneapolis, MN: Burgess Publishing Company, 1965. pp. 1-16. (p. 10)

LEGO Group

Ole Kirk Kristiansen, a carpenter in Billund, Denmark, expanded his business in 1932 by making and selling wooden toys. He named his toy business “Lego” from the Danish words “leg godt,” which means “play well.”1 Selling his toys door to door, Ole augmented this toy line with household items, such as ladders and milking stools. After World War II and a fire which destroyed his factory, Ole restructured his family toy business and built a new factory. By 1947 the LEGO Billund Toy Factory, Ltd. manufactured nearly 150 kinds of carved wooden toys.2

1. “Lego A/S.” Funding Universe. < http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Lego-AS-Company-History.html > 29 June 2011. p. 2.
2. Ibid.

Let Kids Play!

Mara Kaplan founded Let Kids Play!, an inclusive play design consulting firm, in 2007. Let Kids Play! works with playground manufacturers, park districts, parents, communities, and nonprofit organizations to design play spaces for all children regardless of age or ability.1

1. “Founder, Inclusive Play Advocate Mara Kaplan to Contribute to Product Research and Development.” Product Design & Development. < http://pddnet.com/news-ap-founder-inclusive-play-advocate-mara-kaplan-to-co-091610/ > 7 July 2011.

Let's Play

Let's Play, a community partnership program created by Dr. Pepper Snapple Group (DPS), has the goal of getting kids and families active outside and to “provide the tools, places and inspiration to help communities increase physical activity.”1 As part of DPS's corporate philanthropic program, ACTION Nation, Let's Play supports Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative, believing that obesity can be solved when everyone cooperates and takes responsibility for getting kids active outside.

1. “About Let's Play.” Let's Play. < http://www.letsplay.com/page/q-and-a.html > 30 Sep. 2011.

Let’s Move

Let’s Move! is a campaign by First Lady Michelle Obama dedicated to solving the problem of childhood obesity within a generation. Mrs. Obama began a national discussion about the health and nutrition of America’s children when she broke ground on the White House Kitchen Garden with local elementary school students. Further conversations on the subject grew into the Let’s Move! initiative that was launched February 9, 2010, at the White House.1

1. “America’s Move to Raise A Healthier Generation of Kids.” Let’s Move! < http://www.letsmove.gov/about.php > 10 Feb. 2011.

Let’s Move in School

Let’s Move in School is a national initiative to increase physical activity before, during, and after school organized by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD). This group is composed of five national associations, six district associations, and a research consortium. It provides its members with the resources, support, and programs to improve their skill in furthering the health and well-being of the American public. The largest of the five national associations is the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE). They are a nonprofit professional membership association that sets the standards for practice in physical education and sport.1

1. “Let’s Move in School Press Release.” Let’s Move in School.

Let’s Move Outside

On June 1, 2010, First Lady Michelle Obama launched the Let's Move Outside! initiative, a new component of her Let’s Move! campaign. Designed to support President Obama's America's Great Outdoors initiative that had been announced two months previously, Let's Move Outside! promotes outdoor physical activity for families and children.1 This new emphasis on outdoor activities came after research linked children's overall health with their time in nature.2

1. “News Release: Let's Move Outside!” Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior. < http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Lets-Move-Outside.cfm# > 22 June 2011.
2. Lipman, Suz. “First Lady Says Let's Move...Outside!” Field Notes from the Future. 28 May 2010.

Lincoln Logs

The popularity of children’s construction toys grew from simple wooden blocks to the development of Lincoln Logs in the early 1900s. Lincoln Logs are considered a classic American toy and were honored by being inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 1999 for their enduring popularity.1 They are still produced today using the original design of small, interlocking notched wooden logs made of varying lengths that allow children to build structures with doors, windows, and roofs.2

1. “Lincoln Logs.” National Toy Hall of Fame. < http://www.toyhalloffame.org/toys/lincoln-logs > 27 Oct. 2011.
2. Leman, Christie. “About Lincoln Logs.” eHow.com. < http://www.ehow.com/about_4675109_lincoln-logs.html > 27 Oct. 2011.

Little League

Little League Baseball, Inc. is a nonprofit youth sports program created to assist youth in developing discipline, teamwork, courage, loyalty, good character, and strong physical health. Little League was “designed to develop superior citizens rather than superior athletes.”1

1. “The Mission of Little League.” Little League Online. < http://www.littleleague.org/learn/about/historyandmission/mission.htm > 12 Oct. 2011.

Loose Parts

Loose parts are objects and materials that children can move, manipulate, control, and change within their play. With endless possibilities of play, they provide a high level of creativity and choice and develop children’s imagination. Children often prefer playing with boxes, sticks, rocks, water, sand, and ropes that can be manipulated in whatever way they choose over traditional toys that have limited flexibility and play value. It has often been observed that children presented with a gift will play longer with the box than with the toy that was in it.1

1. “Using Loose Parts for Play.” Oxfordshire Play Association. < http://www.oxonplay.org.uk/ > 6 July 2011.

Louv, Richard

Richard Louv (1949) is an American journalist and author of eight books about the connections between family, nature, and community. Coining the term Nature-Deficit Disorder, his highly-acclaimed book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, was first published in 2005 and has since been translated into ten languages and published in fifteen countries. The book sparked an international dialogue about the declining relationship between children and nature.1

1. “About Richard Louv.” Richard Louv. < http://richardlouv.com/about/ > 28 July 2011.

Lower Body Strength

Lower body strength is the ability of the body to exert a maximum force against an object external to the body in one maximum effort of the lower body muscles.1 The muscles that make up the lower body are the large, strong muscles that allow us to get around. The main muscles found below the waist are:

1. Gallahue, David L. and Frances Cleland Donnelly. Developmental Physical Education for All Children. 4th ed. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. 2003. p. 84.

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