That's because a new California law came into effect in January that requires all public playgrounds to be wheelchair-accessible. The law also regulates everything from a playground's surfacing to the space between swings. Schools and child care centers that fail to meet the standards prescribed by the new code and the Americans with Disabilities Act risk losing their license.

More than 100 child care centers in Santa Clara, San Mateo, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties are able to fulfill their requirements under the law before July because of the Child Care Playground Safety Initiative, a $5 million program funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

In some cases the old playgrounds will be finding new homes as well. One is headed for Mexico.

Most of these new playgrounds are actually going up in one day.

Triumphant Learning Center in Sunnyvale is one of the schools replacing its playground equipment. With financial aid from the Packard Foundation, volunteers at the school will build a new playground featuring a spiral slide, a tic-tac-toe panel, a double slide and safety surfacing, all on June 7.

Thanks also to the Packard Foundation, Bethel Lutheran School in Cupertino was able to refurbish its playgrounds and give an old one away.

The Lutheran school had two playgrounds. The old play structure in the elementary school was about 25 years old and had nothing more than a slide, monkey bars and a swing. Its sand surfacing offered no cushion. The child care center's play structure looked rather new but didn't meet the new guidelines.

With two foundation grants totaling $70,000 and donations from the parents, the school upgraded the elementary school's playground in March and will replace the child care center's playground in May.

While the new playground brings joy to the children, the old elementary structure will not rust in a dumpsite. The Stockton Rotary will fix and paint the equipment and transport it to Mexacali, Mexico.

"The equipment is in good shape and we are excited that we can work with the Rotary Club to recycle this equipment for some very poor Mexican children," says Alice Isaacson, whose son Matthew is a fourth-grader.

Meanwhile the Lutheran school's 220 students love their new playground, which features a cliff climber, a chimney climber, a fireman pole, a spiral slide, a swoosh slide and monkey bars. The surfacing is made of recycled shred tires, which makes the ground flexible and soft.

"The twirling bar is one of my favorites," says fourth-grader Sharon Thomas. "I like swinging myself round and round until I get dizzy."

Sixth-grader Raymond McGee likes the spiral slide most.

"I wish we had had the new playground a year ago," he says.