Awesome video from Norfolk playground build posted on YouTube

Dothan community comes together build playground

Coolidge named 'Playful City'

Play's the thing (Henderson)

Nampa hosts ‘Play Day,’ plans activities

Learn more about Playful City USA!

by Amanda M. Straub
Nation’s Cities Weekly

In preparation for the playground build, which will take place on Friday, November, 15 during NLC’s Congress of Cities in Orlando, Fla., KaBOOM! and the City of Orlando held a design day at the Dr. James R. Smith Neighborhood Center in Orlando on September 17.

KaBOOM! is a national nonprofit dedicated to bringing play back into children’s lives. NLC and KaBOOM! are partnering on a series of playground builds, including one in New Orleans at last year’s Congress of Cities where nearly 400 conference delegates helped build a new play facility at Joe Brown Park. [More]

Learn how to hold a Design Day.

New Lenox stays playful

St. Petersburg named 'One of the Best Communities for Young People'

St. Pete Receives Playground Grant, Youth Accolades

Want to see the whole list of 2008 Playful City USA communities? You can find it here - along with links to e-cards where you can post your congratulations! The e-cards for Brentwood, Calif.; Creedmoor, N.C.; Grand Prairie, Texas; Ankeny, Iowa and Findlay, Ohio currently have the most comments.

Saturday, Sept. 27 is the Worldwide Day of Play. If you live in one of the following cities, you've got a Play Day to attend on Saturday!

Albany, N.Y.
Atlanta, Ga.
Encinitas, Calif.
Lamoni, Iowa
Murray, Ky.
Nampa, Idaho
New Lenox, Ill.
Phoenix, Ariz.
San Jose, Calif.
Shirley, Mass.
Wapello, Iowa
White, Ga.
Bloomington, Ind. (Sept. 28)

(See other upcoming Play Days and register your community's Play Day here.)

If your community isn't hosting a Play Day, that doesn't mean you can't celebrate! We've got a great list of outdoor games and ideas for nature play. The important thing is to just get outside and have fun!

And while you're out playing this weekend, why not snap a few photos of your local playspaces to add to the new KaBOOM! Playspace Finder? Don't forget, every entry you add before 11:59 p.m. EST Monday enters you to win a Kodak EasyShare camera!

City celebrates designation as 'Playful City U.S.A.' on Saturday (Nampa)

Skaters flipping about new park (Palm Bay)

The City of Atlanta Wins its Second Playful City USA Award

City shows its 'Playful' side (Grand Prairie)

Palm Bay named Playful City

Want to play? Come to Irvine

Fine time for playtime in Greenbelt

Want to see the whole list of 2008 Playful City USA communities? You can find it here - along with links to e-cards where you can post your congratulations! The e-cards for Brentwood, Calif.; Creedmoor, N.C.; Grand Prairie, Texas; Ankeny, Iowa and Findlay, Ohio currently have the most comments.

KaBOOM! and America’s Promise Alliance Award New Playground to St. Petersburg
Announcement made at National Forum on Youth in Washington, DC

WASHINGTON, DC—KaBOOM!, a national non-profit dedicated to bringing play back into the lives of children and America’s Promise Alliance today announced that the city of St. Petersburg, FL has been selected to receive a brand new community-built playground. This project is made possible by KOOL-AID as part of its partnership with KaBOOM! to build playgrounds across the country. The formal announcement of the city’s selection will take place this evening at the 100 Best Communities for Young People celebration in Washington, DC. The award will be accepted by Mayor Rick Baker.

St. Petersburg was selected as the winning community for its outstanding work to ensure that all children and youth in its community have a safe place to play. The city’s innovative “Play 'N' Close to Home” program utilizes public-private partnerships to build public playgrounds within a safe walking distance (1/2 mile) of every child in the city. Since 2004, the program has increased the total access to playspaces by 20 percent in residential areas across the city, in partnership with schools and houses of worship.

3 Virginia cities cited for encouraging play

Canton recognized for parks services

Gilbert earns 'Playful' praise

DeRidder named 'Playful City USA'

Is your city playful?

Springdale is among playful cities

City recognized for play initiatives (Riverside)

Thumbs Up and Down (Neenah)

Landfall / This tiny town knows how to play

Guaranteed fun: Hernando values playtime, has the award to prove it

Play pays for Green River

Our city likes to play (Huntsville)

Murray named one of 67 ‘Playful Cities' in US

Arlington and Grand Prairie receive Playful City USA Awards

AT PLAY: Group names York 'playful'

Neenah earns Playful City award

Getting "Playful" in Palm Beach County

Yuma earns 'Playful City' honor for second time

New Lenox named one of country's most playful areas

Murray hopes that praise turns into park funding

Six Arizona cities cited for good parks, playgrounds

Group honors city for its playfulness (Atlanta)

Play pays off for Green River

City honored by Playful City USA (Portsmouth)

Chandler Named "2008 Playful City USA"

Grand Prairie named a "Playful City USA" community

Brentwood Named 'Playful City'

Brentwood named 'Playful City'

Cities named as recreational leaders (Grand Prairie and Arlington)

KaBOOM! names Playful City USA communities

Where There’s a Will, There’s a Play:
KaBOOM! and qubo Announce List of 67 “Playful City USA” Communities
 - Communities Across the Country Recognize the Importance of Play -

WASHINGTON, D.C. – To ensure that their children are active and healthy, 67 communities across the country have taken innovative approaches to make play a priority.  Despite mounting budget issues, communities large and small, urban and rural, in the red and in the black, have created initiatives to increase both the quantity and quality of play and playgrounds, as well as increasing access to existing opportunities to play. 

To honor these cities and towns that have made this commitment to play, KaBOOM!, a national non-profit dedicated to bringing play back into children’s lives, named them Playful City USA communities.  Playful City USA is a national recognition program that honors cities and towns across the nation who put their children’s well-being first by recognizing and harnessing the power of play.  KaBOOM! and qubo, the television and online service for children, announced the list of 2008 Playful City USA communities and will support the initiative with an extensive marketing campaign.

Joe Olenick
Lockport Union-Sun & Journal, N.Y.
Aug. 4, 2008

QUESTION: What happened to the playground?

ANSWER: Well the problem was it's 18 years old, and weather has taken its toll. The safety report said the decks, the horizontal surfaces, basically, had to be replaced. The slides needed to be replaced, and there was some rust that needed to be fixed. Basically, age issues.

Q: How did this group come together? It seemed to come about pretty quickly.

A: Yeah it did. It's a small community, and pretty much everybody that does stuff knows each other. The school board received a safety report from the BOCES (Board of Cooperative Educational Services) wanted it closed until it was fixed. I happened to be at that meeting, and they asked me if the PTA had any input. It basically grew out of there. We put out a call for anyone interested. At the first meeting, we had a good group, a lot of parents. We also had the original chairman of the committee that built it in the first place. She had her original binder with copies of every fundraiser. It had a layout of the gym and who was at each station. [More]

Learn how to form a play committee.

The human brain is wired with an inborn teacher. Soon after children learn to walk, the developing brain urges toddlers and preschoolers to climb. Climbing develops the brain in a variety of ways. When children climb, both sides of their brain work together to tell the right hand and the left foot to move together and the left hand and the right foot to move together. Climbing builds pathways in the brain that teach the muscles and brain to work together and especially how to use both sides of the body at the same time. When children climb, their eyes and brain work together to learn where to grab and hold, where to place knees and feet, important skills for developing spatial awareness skills (Readdick & Park, 1998).

Playgrounds are among the most important environments for children outside the home that allows children the opportunities to experience climbing. Play environments provide valuable opportunities for experiencing the joy of movement and developing fitness and motor skills (Gabbard, 2008).

Loss of recess in schools hurts children’s growth, ability to learn
Buffalo News
June 4, 2008

If there were a way to scientifically measure which child had the most fun on the playground, then recess would be a federal mandate. But because the need for elementary-age students to get out of the building and blow off some youthful steam is better known to common sense than to scientific inquiry, the old-fashioned practice has sadly fallen out of favor in far too many American schools.

The national Parent Teacher Association has noticed, with appropriate alarm, that a nefarious combination of factors has knocked recess out of as many as 40 percent of elementary schools nationwide. Those factors include budget cuts, worries about injuries or bullying on the playground and the growing emphasis on core academic subjects and frequent high-stress tests. [More]

Learn how to write an op/ed!

Throw a party

The best way to convince people of the importance of play is to get them in on the act. Have a play day for everybody – kids, parents, and other members of the community!

It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. You don’t even have to invite the whole town. Just find a day to celebrate play, pick some games and activities, see if you can get some donated snacks, and be sure to tell everyone who comes about why play matters.

Learn how.

See more actions.

Get recognized!
If you took action, tell us about it so we can recognize you as the star you are!
Post in the Forums or email KaBOOM! to let us know about the great stuff you're doing.

Shreveport native is one of NBA's most giving
By Jason Pugh
Shreveport Times 
July 23, 2008

Ditto for his community service resume, something that will grow with respect to Shreveport in the next month.

Jamison, a Shreveport native and two-time NBA All-Star, was in Bossier City on Tuesday to announce the building of a KaBOOM playground on St. Charles Street in the Barksdale Annex neighborhood.

"I was in the All-Star Game this past year and we did a lot for the community of New Orleans," Jamison said. "The most important thing for me is giving back to kids. KaBOOM does a lot for the community and kids. I recall as a kid, just having the opportunity to have that one place where I could go and be a kid — just enjoy myself and play. I still have those memories. There's a lot of kids in dire need of that opportunity." [More]

Learn more about Antawn Jamison, All-Star Playmaker.

We've got WE Play! Yes we do!
We've got WE Play! How 'bout you?

KaBOOM! is holding four - count 'em - FOUR playground training events in August all around the country.

Denver, Colo. - Aug. 6
Cleveland, Ohio - Aug. 7*
New York City, N.Y. - Aug. 13
Atlanta, Ga. - Aug. 21*

They're free to attend, thanks to the generous support of KOOL-AID and The Home Depot. But you need to register in advance. [Learn more and register]

* At each of the Cleveland, and Atlanta WE Play! trainings, five attendees will receive $7,500 grants (sponsored by KOOL-AID) toward building a playground in their community!

KTBS
July 22, 2008

A professional athlete from Shreveport is giving back to his hometown.

Antawn Jamison is teaming up with Community Renewal International, Bellaire Baptist Church and Kaboom, to design a dream playground for children.

"For me, it's about giving back, putting smiles on kid's faces.  Let them know that I'm from the same situation you're from and that if you continue to work hard and dream, anything is possible," said Jamison. [More]

Learn more about Antawn Jamison, All-Star Playmaker!

Rockwell Group Takes It To The Playground
by Dave Pinter
July 21, 2008

Excerpt:

The play parts have already been field tested earlier this year at the East Village Community School. Rockwell is beginning to work with playground producer Kaboom on a portable version. He is intending to locate a portable version within each of the five boroughs. Kaboom is looking to expand the concept on a national scale. Those who have seen it including Cynthia J. Gentry, chairwoman of the Atlanta Taskforce on Play are already impressed. [More]

Learn more about Imagination Playground.

By Kyle Jones
Cherokee Tribune Staff Writer
July 20, 2008

Watch Canton's video

The temperature is on the rise. Baseball games monopolize the TV channels. Outside, the air is warm and humid while burgers and hot dogs roast on the hot grill by the pool.

Everywhere in Cherokee County, summer is in full bloom. But for a Canton neighborhood, one of the season's most joyful trademarks has been incomplete for several years.

"In the summertime, kids love playing outside," said Sharon Jones, who lives near the city's Burge Park on Burge Street. "But around here, they have no place outside where they can play. That's why I think redoing the park is a smart thing to do." [More]

Learn more about Playful City USA.

ANKENY, Iowa (July 9, 2008) — Nearly 600 residents of all ages ventured out to Hawkeye and Wagner Parks on Tuesday night for Ankeny’s first annual All-City Play Day, an event designed to encourage free and unstructured play.

“This is a great way to showcase our parks and to encourage healthy lifestyles through active play,” said Ankeny Mayor Steve Van Oort.

Twenty activity stations were set up throughout the city’s two most prominent community parks and included a wide range of sports, arts and fun. Each of the activity stations were staffed by volunteers, including the mayor and city council, park board members and city staff. Many of the stations were “mini” with small versions of practice play in kicking a soccer or football, throwing basketballs or hitting tennis balls over the net. The Iowa National Guard brought a portable climbing wall and Polk County Conservation provided canoes that were sailed in Hawkeye Pond. The Lakeside Center hosted a “Salty & Sweat” event for older residents that included indoor games like Dominos and UNO. Canine Craze, a local dog training organization, showcased the skills of several local dogs. Artists young and old could chalk the sidewalk. One of the evening’s hot spots featured a Home Depot Workshop where amateur craftsmen could try their hand at assembling small wood projects. Participants were rewarded with prizes including bright red Frisbees, Playful City USA kazoos and plenty of refreshments.

East Cleveland, Ohio - a 2007 Playful City USA community - was featured in a multi-page article in Cities and Villages, the journal of the Ohio Municipal League.

Download the article here (reprinted with permission)

By Babs Johnson
Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
June 20, 2008

FEMA's slow response to the restoration of New Orleans' public ball fields and playgrounds shows a sweeping disregard for those who have been affected most: our children. My jaw dropped reading a recent statement from FEMA that the expense of sod vs. seed "required review from high authority," an astounding comment after the recent revelation that $85 million in supplies for Katrina victims languished unknown and unused for two years.

Many of the trailers that housed displaced people on city playgrounds have been vacant for six months; some for eight. Why couldn't FEMA and the city reach agreements on how to restore the play areas before the trailers were removed, since both agencies were aware that would happen months prior to the actual removal dates?

Many children in these neighborhoods relied on these ball fields and playgrounds. They were the only places providing them safe, wholesome places to play -- that is, to do the important work of childhood. Without those, many are finding the street corners and all the ills that lifestyle holds. [More]

Learn how KaBOOM! is bringing play back to the Gulf Coast through Operation Playground.

BY DEBORAH MEDENBACH
Middletown (N.Y.) Times Herald-Record
June 18, 2008

NEW PALTZ — A "candy mint" crab apple tree was planted Tuesday morning near the new Lenape Elementary School playground. The tree honors a group of 23 students who complained two years ago that there wasn't enough play equipment or shade on the playground.

"It was a pea-gravel lot with two slides, some basketball hoops, benches and cracked macadam. The kids would just run in the field and come back during recess. There was no shade," third-grade teacher Jim Longbotham recalled.

Rather than dismissing the students' complaints, teachers encouraged them to take action and write letters about what they needed.

"There was $16,000 left over from building Duzine Elementary School's playground (also in the New Paltz School District) and we thought we could buy a little equipment with that, but then we started looking at the bigger picture," Longbotham said. The teachers held an assembly and showed the students potential playground equipment. [More]

Learn how to take action for play by becoming a Playmaker!

Toddlers and nannies rely on Grant Park playground doomed by museum
BY MARK J. KONKOL
Chicago Sun-Times
June 13, 2008

Before naptime Thursday morning, a bunch of New Eastside nannies lugged local rugrats to the Grant Park playground that Mayor Daley bullied the City Council into letting his wealthy friends replace with their pet project -- the relocated Chicago Children's Museum.

Nanny Emily pushed little Keira on the swings. Nanny Marta fed raspberries to a boy who likes to be called "Super Spy Man." And Nanny Ashley watched tiny Ines ride the horsey.

This is where New Eastside nannies let the little ones run around like maniacs until they're too exhausted to holler anymore.

There are swings and slides and monkey bars on a bouncy rubber mat ringed by shade trees.

"We come here every day, sometimes twice a day -- before and after naps," Nanny Ashley says. "It's perfect. Ines gets to interact with other kids. She's an only child. We know all the other kids. They come every day, too. It's like a big playgroup over here. Lots of nannies."

In September, New Eastside moms were miffed at Daley for accusing their high-rise neighborhood of protesting the kids' museum in Grant Park because they're elitist bigots who hate kids. [More]

Help save play in your community by becoming a Playmaker!

By Joe Byrnes
Ocala (Fla.) Star-Banner
June 11, 2008

Ocala's decision to raze All Children's Playground came as a shock to me because I was used to seeing it during walks at Tuscawilla Park.

Often I'd see kids climbing in its towers and walks, always, it seemed, under the watchful eye of an adult.

I don't doubt the demolition was necessary. Ocala Public Works Director John Zobler said that - after 18 years - the elaborate wooden playground had become unsafe. The supports had rotted and, sooner or later, a child was going to fall or get hurt by a collapsing piece of the structure.

It disappeared quickly and with little advance notice, almost as if the community could care less. [More]

Does your neighborhood need a new playground? Check out our Roadmap to guide you through the process!

Make your playspace dreams come true with the help of our webinars! From ideas for promoting play in your community to fundraising to working with the media, we've got you covered.

We've just announced some great new (free!) webinars. All you need is a phone and an Internet connection to participate!

Webinar topics for this summer include:

• Revitalizing Playspaces, Becoming Part of the Urban Parks Movement
• FUNdraising 101
• Becoming a KaBOOM! Community Partner
• Making the Ask: Getting Business Sponsorships
• EXTRA! EXTRA! Read All About It! Working with the Media during Your Playground Project
• Grant Writing 101

Register today!

York's ready to play to get city grant funds
Being a 'Playful City' could lead to grant money for playgrounds.
By ANGIE MASON
York (Pa.) Daily Record/Sunday News
May 29, 2008

York could receive grant money by showing the city is serious about playtime.

A new task force is aimed at making York a "Playful City," a designation that could lead to grant funding for playground improvements.

The recognition is offered through the nonprofit KaBOOM!, a group aimed at making sure every child has a playground within walking distance.

York Mayor John Brenner learned about the organization when he helped the group build a playground in New Orleans last year.

His wife, Adrienne, is leading York's effort.

She remembered watching with their son, Sam, 4, as workers removed the seesaw from Lincoln Park a few years ago.

"It was so sad," she said. [More]

Learn more about Playful City USA