Over the course of two months, Shannon DePatto and her husband refurbished a 12 foot bench into two beautiful red benches for the playground at Leib Elementary School. The benches were placed in two different areas of the playground to provide more seating for children at recess. It also provides them a place to talk to their friends if they don’t feel like playing. 

DePatto stated, “The students seem to really love having the ability to sit and chat with their friends. A student mentioned that she was so happy to have these benches because she can finally read her book during recess!” 

Second grade teacher Amy Crouse says that, “The students have loved having a new place to sit and take a break during recess! Providing a cooler place in the shade of the playground tree and the playground “umbrella” is a great benefit for the children to have at Leib Elementary School.”

On the morning the benches were placed in the playground Crouse’s students rushed down the hall and into the classroom excitedly talking and hurrying over to the windows to take notice of the new, bright red addition on the playground! Crouse said students have said, “If  you get tired, you can sit down to rest” and “If kids are tired and they don’t want to run around anymore, they can sit on the benches.” 

Teachers also like the benches because it provides them an additional outside teaching space for them to take their classes outside to teach mini-lessons or for them to read books when the weather is nice. Crouse said, “The benches provide a place to see and join our children, sitting and talking together with their friends, which makes all of the teachers and staff at Leib especially happy at recess time.” 

The benches are also used by older students to gather around and just talk to each other whether it’s during lunch or afternoon school hours. Leib’s playground is also centrally located to many families in Leib and is often used after school hours and used on the weekends by the community.

Many children often go to Leibs playgrounds or basketball courts after school hours so it was a good idea for the benches to be placed back into the playground. Crouse said, “Adding the benches provides a place for parents or grandparents to sit and watch their children play.”