Students at St. Viator School, 4140 W. Addison St., have some new options when it comes to recess.

The school bought and parents painted a “Peaceful Playground,” using templates to paint a variety of shapes and games on about half the parking lot. The templates — along with guidance on games to play and how to use the various areas — come from Peaceful Playgrounds, a Missouri-based company that works to provide recess activities that encourage inclusion and creative play.

As a bonus, all of the areas have social-distancing markings built in.

Principal Lisa Rieger said she started looking into playground options last summer, when the school was making its plans to reopen for the fall.

“One of the main things that we started to recognize was that that being in a mask for seven hours a day without a break wasn’t the healthiest thing,” Rieger said. “We wanted to make sure the kids could get outside for a planned recess period, a planned gym period, or even a literature or science class.”

Rieger had been thinking for a few years about revamping or replacing the existing playground equipment, but things like climbing structures and slides can’t be used this year, and that kind of equipment runs into the tens of thousands of dollars.

She first saw a Peaceful Playground at St. Cletus in LaGrange, and decided to check out the website.

“They had this socially distanced COVID-19 recess package, with games that didn’t require equipment that the kids would share,” she said. “The stencils and the program are set up so that students are distanced 6 feet apart. It’s still inclusive and anti-bullying.”

When she asked the school’s parent association for the money to buy it and help installing it, they were on board.

“Parents felt strongly about doing everything we can to make the school experience great for the kids, even though they knew it was going to be different,” said Sara Yoest, who has three children attending St. Viator. “When Mrs. Rieger approached parents about this idea, it seemed like a no-brainer.”

The money, just under $4,000, was available in the parents club account.

Yoest worked with a group of parents to measure the available space and plan where everything would go: hopscotch, painted ladders, an area called “the riverbank,” a big square that, once it becomes possible, can be used for softball or kickball.

Then they came out on a sunny, warm fall weekend to make it a reality. The painting event also turned into a way for parents to socialize outdoors, while they all stayed socially distant as well.

Yoest said the students seem to enjoy it.

“This seems really calming,” she said. “The kids think it is very neat. It gives them new things to do at recess and at gym. Different activity zones have prescribed activities, but it’s amazing the things the kids come up with on their own. It’s colorful. It just looks fun.”

Rieger said the playground is used for recess and gym, as well as for other classes. It also has become popular with neighborhood families. The gym teacher uses the ladders for footwork and conditioning drills or students can stay distanced and stretch on the large squares. They have even stood in the squares for rock-paper-scissors tournaments, or played games like Simon says.

“We’re in the middle of Old Irving Park, and we’re surrounded by homes,” Rieger said. “Every single day, rain or shine, we have kids on our playground, riding their bikes or skateboards, or playing on the new areas.”