The Head Start Body Start National Center for Physical Development and Outdoor Play (HSBS) is offering $5,000 playspace grants to Head Start and Early Head Start programs. These grants are specifically for outdoors playspaces.
Start applying! Applications due by April 30th!
Note: This is running on the Kaboom.org blog, too -- but I think it would be great to get some conversation going around the spruce up topic.
Many communities are lucky enough to have basic playgrounds in place, but they often lack elements that attract older children or other members of the community. Often, you will see tot lots or play structures designed with only the youngest kids in mind, or lack of communal areas that would foster communication and social engagement – both vital to making any area a true community.
At its best, a playspace should be a gathering place for the entire community and offer areas and activities that are engaging for multiple generations and areas of interest. A true community playspace should entice folks to stop by throughout the day and evening (prior to closing time), and be a space where people spend extended periods of time engaged in play and social interaction - not simply a quick stop to get the kids out of the house for a few minutes.
Do you have such a playground in your area – one that could use a little polishing to make it attractive to the entire community? If so, consider tacking a playground “spruce-up” project – layering in some additional activities and areas that will make your playspace a place of pride and the spot to gather for the entire community!
Another benefit to working on a project for multiple generations and multiple uses is that it is attractive to a variety of funders. By broadening your project scope, you can also broaden your fundraising net to include foundations and groups interested in areas like public health, environmental stewardship, senior citizens, public safety and neighborhood revitalization, and cultural outreach, in addition to traditional children and youth development interest areas.
Take a look at an exiting playspace in your area. Why not add…
* An asphalt game area for Hopscotch, Four Square, and more
* A community or children’s garden
* Benches and conversation pits for parents/grandparents, book clubs, senior citizens social groups, and gardening clubs to meet
* Tables with checker & chessboard tops
* A bulletin board for people to announce upcoming special events, clean-up days, etc.
* A basketball court (can be used for other old-school playground games, too!)
* A shade structure to give folks a place to cool off
Note: We've got step-by-step directions for these projects and more!
There are hundreds of ideas you could add to your neighborhood playspace to get the whole community outside and playing! KaBOOM! can help with our Playspace Planner. We have ideas, tip sheets, and tons of resources to walk you through the “spruce-up” process step-by-step. When you start a project, you will create a free website to help you, your friends and neighbors keep your project on track and moving toward a creating a space that will meet the needs of your entire community.
So, start dreaming and get planning - there is FUN to be had! Start your “spruce-up” project today!
Bethe Almeras writes The Grass Stain Guru, a blog about restoring childhood, and saving ourselves in the process.
Close your eyes. Now, picture a room full of wide-eyed 4 and 5 year old boys -- with CRAYONS -- talking about what they want on their very own playground. Got it? Now, multiply whatever joy and fun you are imagining by at least 3 times, and you'll have a pretty good idea of what my afternoon was like yesterday, and of how fun Design Day can really be.
For those of you just starting your projects. Design Day is a chance to really get your team jazzed about the process and inspired to keep going. Hearing the kids talk about their ideas and getting to see their imaginations bloom on paper is such a great boost -- you can't help but get swept up in their enthusiasm. Meeting the parents, community members, and others ready to pitch-in... Talking about your own play memories and pouring over the colorful and fanciful pieces of play equipment that will make-up your future playspace. Design Day is a time not only to really get the ball rolling and chart your course, but to find the inspiration and sense of community you will need to keep the fun at the heart of your project. Get more tips for a successful Design Day here.
Yesterday, when I left my first Design Day, I couldn't help but be excited for the kids and adults alike. I know in a few short months, their neighborhood landscape is going to change for the better, and young and old will meet daily in a new playspace and garden to share laughter and a sense of community that is just waiting to bloom.
Looking for something fun to do with the family this weekend? Why not head to your nearest National Park for a day of hiking, wildlife watching and a picnic?! This weekend (July 18 & 19), the National Park Service is offering fee free park days -- a savings of up to $25. Click here to find a park near you.
Not sure what wildlife lives near you? Check out the free online field guides from the great folks at eNature. Just plug in your zip code and you are ready for a wild adventure!
Play and nature -- they just go together!
What cannot be achieved in one lifetime will happen when one lifetime is joined to another.
– Harold Kushner
So starts a blog post I wrote for today's Grass Stain Guru, called The Gift of a Sense of Community. As I spent time in my inner-city neighborhood this weekend -- one where people walk everywhere and kids play everywhere and use their outside voices -- I couldn't help but think of my years in quiet suburbia, where a sense of community was much harder to find.
I love that here at KaBOOM! people across the country and even across the globe are coming together to not only build playspaces, but to build that sense of community that so many of us are missing. In today's fast-paced world, it is easy to live our lives in a bit of a vacuum, but it is so much less like living, and so much more like merely going through the paces.
Kudos to you all, makers of play and builders of community. Giving kids and our selves a sense of place and a belonging is a true gift.
Play advocate Mike Lanza has recently joined the KaBOOM! community and we are thrilled to have him. I recently wrote about Playborhood and how we can all join the rally to show support for play in our neighborhoods.
Check out the post, Sign O' the Times at the Grass Stain Guru and learn more about Playborhood.
Today I thought we would take a brief trip to my bookshelf and I could recommend a few titles that are more than worth your time. If you are interested in play and child development, these are great titles to add to your reading list. I am a lover of books, so this is by no means an exhaustive list; just a few titles for your consideration.
4 Picks…
play by Dr. Stuart Brown: Through the study of the effects of play in both animals and children, Brown explores its impact on brain and social development, creativity, emotional well-being and more. For those looking for an excuse to feel less guilty about taking time out for play — you will find it here.
A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink: The call for creativity and right-brained thinking is heralded in this fascinating book by Pink, as he examines the shift in the model for success in the future workforce and society. Play is one of the six skills he recommends for developing and cultivating as one of the keys to success.
The Blessing of a Skinned Knee by Dr. Wendy Mogul: Regardless of your spiritual background or belief system, this book offers great advice for parents and is a fascinating glimpse of cultural teachings. A former psychologist, Dr. Mogul writes with a caring and observant nature and a real warmth.
I Love Dirt! by Jennifer Ward: Offers fun activity ideas for helping get your kids off the sofa and out into nature. The title says it all! (Um, we all know that I think dirt rules!)
I wish you all happy reading! Find a hammock or a comfy lounge chair in a shady spot and enjoy yourselves.
This post originally appeared on The Grass Stain Guru.
©photo credit: Zanastardust
By now, you have no-doubt heard about the fantastic Play Day campaign here at KaBOOM! Our own MJ Kurs-Lasky is taking the message to a new audience with his great post Go(ne) Play(ing), at The Grass Stain Guru. Please leave comments and send the post out through your networks. The more folks we get excited about play, the closer we get to restoring play to communities everywhere -- for kids and adults alike!
My friend Carol Torgan has launched her blog and it’s a fresh and fantastic resource in the blogosphere. Kinetics: From lab bench to park bench, explores our bodies in motion and at play. She also has a great post on the 100+ Top Play Resources and I am just tickled pink that Kaboom! and The Grass Stain Guru made the list. Carol is a scientist and play advocate and adds a much needed voice to the play movement. Welcome to the sandbox, Carol -- we're so glad you joined us!
While I'm new to Kaboom!, I have been a play advocate for 20 years. I have a blog, The Grass Stain Guru, dedicated to restoring childhood and saving ourselves in the process. PLAY is a huge piece of that. Here are some of my beliefs on restoring childhood taken from the blog.
1. You only get one childhood. It should be marked by as much awe and wonder as possible, and spent in supportive communities with plenty of time spent outdoors playing -- just being a kid.
2. Play is at its best when it is child-directed and unplugged. We adults tend to muddle it up with too much structure, too many rules, and prescriptive outcomes. Electronic play takes much of the creativity out of the equation, as well as limiting the all important aspect of social interaction.
3. Givem’ a break! Kids need time to unwind, to play and run, and to decompress. I support recess in schools and a reduced homework load. Not only will it benefit kids’ physical and emotional health, but it will benefit them in terms of learning readiness.
4. You cannot bubble-wrap childhood. Kids fall down, knees get scraped, and sometimes worse. But kids also get back up again. They learn about consequences and to assess risk. They learn about how to interact with the world and learn their place in it, but only when they are allowed to experience it.
5. Screen time should be limited. TV, internet, video games, etc. You might be surprised at how much time you and your family actually spend in front of an electronic screen. It’s simply not just the quality of what kids are watching or playing, educational or otherwise, but the quantity.
6. It’s OK for kids to be “bored.” We seem to have gotten to a place where we think we have to entertain or have a schedule of activities for every minute. It’s important for children to learn to entertain themselves—to create games, to read, to draw, or to just daydream. Getting comfortable with the concept of silence or a bit of down time is an important lesson to learn.
7. Organized sports are great, but they do not count as play time or outdoor time. I know, some will take issue with this, and that’s OK. But truth is, sports are adult-directed, goal-oriented, and task-specific. While kids are getting fresh air and exercise, they are not getting the benefit of exploring their surroundings, choice. free play, or connecting with the natural world.
8. Every child benefits from planting something and watching it grow. Whether it is helping tend the family garden, pots in a windowsill, a container garden, or a plot in a community or school garden. Dirt = good.
9. Adulthood comes all too soon. Don’t rush childhood. If your child’s schedule looks too hectic, rest assured it is. If you spend more time interacting with them in the car as you shuttle from activity to activity than in your backyard or favorite park, then it’s time to take a step back. Simplify, for both your sakes.
10. What children want more than anything is our time. It is more precious than any video game system, MP3 player, or expensive toy. Whether you are a parent, grandparent, mentor, aunt, or neighbor—making the time to interact with kids is priceless. Connect. Play. LIVE.
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