Welcome to our July newsletter.

Leadership can be learnt.. and it can be learnt in the playground. Read our story below to hear how.

We highlight one of our recent  'custom' designed jungle gyms which was built to incorporate existing structures in an East London garden. We love a challenge - test our creativity and you won't be disappointed

Happy reading!

Leadership in the Playground

They say that leaders are born, not made. But leadership is a skill that can be learned, and these lessons can be learned as early as childhood.

Unstructured play, where children aren't being directed or told how to play, allows children to learn how to lead. They become leaders of their groups and direct their own play.

You'll see it anytime there is a group of kids together gathered around a jungle gym in the playground. One of them will step up to be the leader and come up with the game, but they'll listen to input from others in their group, and if someone else comes up with a better idea, they'll openly and honestly discuss it, quickly resolve any issues and move back to playing. Even if this results in a change of leader. Children do this instinctively. Giving everyone a chance to develop their leadership skills.

Playing in this unstructured way teaches children to be compassionate and to listen to the will of the masses, to develop a vision of what they want to achieve, to make decisions quickly, to organise, to communicate, to plan, problem solve and resolve conflict to reach that vision. Good leaders are the ones that can hold on to those skills that they learned on the playground.

Custom designs can incorporate

existing elements in your environment

"I recently had the pleasure of working with Toni Hayward of Rustics Jungle Gyms.

After calling more than one local supplier of jungle gyms, Toni was the only person to make the meeting. I found Toni to be very professional in her approach to our needs. We didn't want a standard installation as our daughter is older than the usual jungle gym user. We wanted a course that would suit my very active child and challenge her mentally and physically as well as look good in our property. She gave great advice and was flexible in her suggestions.

Toni was happy to do site visits and her service was quick. I had been toying with this idea for over a year and Rustics made it all come to life in under two weeks from making the decision!

The workmanship is top-class and the installation was neat, tidy and fuss-free. Toni did an inspection on completion and we are extremely happy with the end result.

I would have no hesitation at all in recommending Rustics Jungle Gyms - East London's best kept secret for active children!"

Lyndré  Marais-Meyer

We wanted a course that would suit my very active child and challenge her mentally and physically as well as look good in our property. Toni gave great advice and was flexible in her suggestions.