Pathways

Primary Pathway Width

Design guidance, Pathways
Two children on tricycles play follow-the-leader.
Autumn leaves add a splash of color to the primary pathway and connect the children and teachers to the world beyond.
Two tricycles sitting side by side demonstrate the need for 5' wide primary pathways in preschool outdoor learning environments.
A shaded primary pathway affords a game of chase.

Primary pathways should be wide enough to accommodate intense pedestrian and wheeled-toy traffic, helping children stay on the pathway and pass each other without conflict.

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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.

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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.

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Primary Pathways

Design guidance, Pathways
A looped and curvy primary pathway at Munchkin Academy, Buxton, NC connects the building to important settings across the site.
Two tricycles side by side illustrate the importance of primary pathway width.

Primary pathways are a functional necessity in childcare outdoor learning environments (OLEs) and promote physical activity by facilitating walking, running, chase games, and wheeled toy use (riding, pushing, pulling). They are designed to provide easy, attractive circulation throughout the outdoor learning environment and connect classrooms to the primary settings of infant, toddler, and preschool areas. 

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Primary Pathway Layout

Pathways
Establishing the baseline on paper before beginning work in real dimensions on the ground. (Note the engineer's scale.)

Laying out a pathway can seem complicated and overwhelming. Following the provided steps should simplify the process and produce a more successful result.

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Installing Stepping Stones

Materials, Pathways
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.

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Sensory Gardens

Design guidance, Pathways, Plantings
Wide, sensory pathway of flat, smooth stones, with hardy, fragrant, "step-able," in-between plants.
Sensory pathway lined with a variety of sensory plantings and elements.
Keyhole garden constructed of concrete stepping stones at YWCA of Asheville Child Care Center.
Keyhole garden surfaced with fine crushed stone and edged with smooth stones at the NC Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, NC.

Sensory gardens provide intimate spaces where young children can be immersed in the scents, textures and colors of plants and related elements.

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