Providing time for children to play on playgrounds is a crucial part of the education process. Playground time offers several educational opportunities such as physical education, fine and gross motor skills development, and time for children to develop their interpersonal skills with their peers. However, playground time can also be the source of severe injuries for children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 45% of playground injuries are severe fractures, internal injuries, dislocations, and amputations - and most of these non-fatal playground injuries occur at schools and daycare centers. The CDC also reports that children between the ages of five and nine have higher rates of emergency department visits for playground injuries than any other age group (Playground injuries: Fact sheet). This is why educators, especially early childhood and elementary educators, must take their role as supervisors seriously and learn how to be effective, active playground supervisors. As a future Kindergarten teacher, there are several things I will do to ensure that my students are safe while on the playground. These include scanning the playground area before allowing the children to play, teaching children how to use the playground equipment properly, and circulating throughout the entire playground area to supervise my student’s playtime effectively. I believe educators need to treat being a playground supervisor with the same importance as teaching their students. Educators are expected to attend continuing education events to help ensure that what they are teaching is accurate. I believe that educators should be equally expected to take playground supervision training. To keep my students safe on the playground, I will pursue a Certified Playground Supervisor Certification with the National Program for Playground Safety. This certification teaches playground supervisors the ABCs of Supervision - anticipation, behavior, and consideration - to ensure children’s safety while on the playground. Another key component of playground safety is ensuring that playground equipment is up-to-date and properly maintained, but many teachers feel they do not have the means to do this. As a teacher, I intended to ask my school administration how we can ensure the school’s playground equipment is up-to-date and properly maintained. In my previous career as a children and youth ministry program director, my responsibilities included ensuring the playground equipment was safe to use. Because of my previous work, I am aware of a few things schools can do, such as requesting an audit from their insurance company and having an annual playground inspection done by qualified playground inspectors. I will also check the playground equipment myself before allowing my students to play. If I see broken equipment, I will devise an alternative, safe playtime activity and notify the school administration of what I observed in a timely fashion. Communicating and working with school administration will help ensure the safety of my students and the entire student body. References Playground injuries: Fact sheet. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/playground-injuries/playgroundinjuries-factsheet.htm