Well there’s only two weeks left before my first playground build in Bossier City on September 4th. I just realized that the first game of the NFL season will be that night (the Washington Redskins travel to New York to face the defending Super Bowl Champion Giants)! Watching the game that night will be a nice way to unwind after building all day in that Louisiana heat! Football is my second favorite sport besides basketball and I’m excited that the season is about to start.

It will be time for my season to start soon as well. I can’t believe how fast the summer has gone by - I think building playgrounds makes it go by even faster! We will begin training camp on September 25th. Since I’m doing my second playground build in Washington DC on the 20th, I’ll only have a few days to relax before camp starts, but it’s definitely worth it. This year, we’re traveling to Richmond, Va. for camp again, but will head to Europe on October 10th to play a few preseason games there and won’t return until the 17th. While I’m over there, I might even get a chance to see what European playgrounds look like! After that, it will be time for the grind of the regular season to start!

-Antawn

Learn more about Antawn Jamison, All-Star Playmaker!

If you know someone with a knack for growing a mustache, you may just have the makings for a playground fundraiser!

You start this fundraiser by making everyone shave (if necessary) and then bringing them in once a week to measure their mustache length. Set up a website with photos for people to comment and make donations under individual participants. When all is said and done, host an event where awards are given for the longest mustache, celebrity lookalike mustaches, and pair that with a silent auction or other fundraiser. Learn more.

Add your ideas to the wiki!

To help empower the communities we serve, KaBOOM! is partnering with ServiceNation, a one-year campaign by national service organizations, citizens and leaders from every sector of American life to convince the next President and Congress to expand dramatically citizen service opportunities and the role of voluntary national service in our democracy. The goal of ServiceNation is to create a system of voluntary national service that provides opportunities for every American to give back in a meaningful way.

To help kick off this campaign, ServiceNation is encouraging everyone to participate in a Day Of Action on September 27.

KaBOOM! knows how much communities and individuals benefit from taking action for a cause. So in addition to building playgrounds, KaBOOM! empowers folks to support the cause of play in hundreds of different ways. [More]

Zen meditation activities have become very popular, especially with seniors. Bring a Zen Master in to teach relaxation techniques to planning team members. Once the playground is built, transform your playspace into an inter-generational community space by asking a local Zen Master to hold free T'ai Chi or meditation classes at the site. [Learn more]

Add your own ideas to the wiki!

Barter for bucks! This fundraiser works to provide folks with services they need in order to give children the playspace they need. Community members inform you of a service that can provide or need. Donors buy a service they need which is provided by a volunteer. Payment for the service is made to your playspace fund. For example, a community member donates their time to babysit on a Friday night. Another community member who needs a babysitter signs up for the service and pays for it by making a donation to the playspace. The amount of the donation depends on the service. [Learn more]

Add your own fundraising ideas to the wiki.

Every week between Aug. 19 and Dec. 29, we're offering great prizes for people who enter playspaces in the KaBOOM! Playspace Finder!

Every time you enter a playspace in the KaBOOM! Playspace Finder that includes a photo, you’ll be entered to win in that week's sweepstakes!

The first prize in the sweepstakes is a Canon PowerShot A590IS 8MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (translation: a nice digital camera!).

Learn more about the sweepstakes.

Read the official rules.

Share a video

KaBOOM! has lots of cool videos that you can share with your friends to tell them about play. They’re conveniently hosted on YouTube so you can easily embed them in your blog or forward their links to friends. Check out our YouTube channel to see some fun videos on play. We highly recommend these: our newest public service announcements.

You are Here: The KaBOOM! Playspace Finder
Collaboration. Curiosity. Confidence. Victory.
Active Kids are Healthy Kids

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.

Well, I’m back from Brazil and trying to get back in the swing of things. It was my first time visiting there and it was incredible! The culture and overall way of life there is so different than here in the U.S. I had a great time, but am glad to be home. There’s no place like home!

Other than working out and getting into game shape, I’m focusing on my two upcoming playground builds. My Shreveport build is approaching rather quickly and I’m working to finalize which family members I’m recruiting to help out! I just found out that the Washington Wizards are sending some people from their community relations department to volunteer and help build! I really appreciate their support, as well as the NBA’s.

The Wizards are working on sending out volunteers to help with the KOOL-AID build in Washington D.C. on Sept. 20. I know that they’re trying to get some of the dance team members to show up too and I’m working on recruiting some of my teammates to come out and get dirty as well.

Talk to you soon!

Antawn

Learn more about Antawn Jamison, All-Star Playmaker!

"Justine and I had a wonderful time visiting Cleveland and building a magnificent playground in Old Cedar Estates in Cleveland, Ohio," he says. "We were overjoyed by the way we were greeted by the community."

Read the whole blog entry.

By Mark C. White

Can the KaBOOM! community-build model be used around the globe to bring play opportunities to all children? A small group of Playmakers and I put the theory to the test in Poland.

Through the gracious generosity of KOMPAN, BigToys and extensive fundraising, we were able to not only complete one playground project, but two: one at a rural Polish orphanage (Dom Dziecka) and another at an elementary school in the city of Poznan. Dr. Melinda Bossenmeyer of Peaceful Playgrounds donated a complete set of recess hard surface play area stencils and a paint-striping machine, and I bought all the tools to bring with us with a $500 Home Depot gift card awarded to me last fall by KaBOOM!.

Cathie Schanz, programs and organizational development manager for the City of Tampa Parks and Recreation, is the big winner in the KOOL-AID and KaBOOM! Playspace Finder Sweepstakes!

Cathie has been a Playmaker for over a year and co-chaired a playground build in Tampa. She learned about the contest on the KaBOOM! website while looking up information for an upcoming Play Day she was planning and took up the contest challenge by entering a whopping 72 playspaces with photos!

As the lucky winner, she gets to attend a playground ribbon-cutting with Reverend Run in Atlanta, thanks to KOOL-AID and KaBOOM!.

"I will be bringing my family and maybe a lucky co-worker!" Cathie said. "I am so excited. Atlanta is a great city to visit and I am looking forward to participating in another KaBOOM build!"

Bounce a ball

When was the last time you played a game of catch, H-O-R-S-E, or four square? Grab a ball and head outside with your kids or your friends to play!

Simply enjoying time outdoors with your kids or your friends can improve your health and happiness, and remind you why play is important…and worth the time investment!

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.

A recent KaBOOM! build at the Marsha Barbour Community Center in Pass Christian, Miss. featured a unique side project - a brightly-colored, kid-sized maze!

The kids and adults came up with the idea during their Design Day, and Justin Fitzgerald, KaBOOM! Project Manager, took on the task of creating the plans and figuring out the logistics to create it.

The maze, which measures 25 feet by 30 feet, was made of 4x4 pieces of lumber and 4-foot tall sheets of plywood. On the outside of the maze, kids painted beach-themed murals, and on the inside of the maze, they painted bright, solid colors.

On Prep Day, volunteers dug holes for the 4x4 posts, primed the plywood sheets and sketched the kid-designed murals onto them. On Build Day, they assembled the maze and as soon as each plywood sheet was attached, the kids began to paint it.

"People loved it," said Justin. "It turned out well."

Check out more photos of the maze, and other side project ideas - we hope to post the maze plans soon!

A high school or university coach can encourage team members to volunteer on Build Day as part of a team-building or publicity events. A coach also has access to a number of things that might come in handy on Build Day: whistles, first-aid kit, orange cones, megaphones, etc. [Learn more]

Add your own ideas to the wiki!

By Rachel Warner Blosser

Our best fundraiser to date has been a murder mystery dinner called “Montana Marie Gets Gunned Down at 3!”

Many participants wore their best western apparel for the event. The performers greeted the guests in character at the “chili bar.” Following their western buffet dinner of pulled pork, barbecue ribs and chicken, the show began. With props, sound effects and tremendous ad-libbing, the performers presented the show while interacting with the dinner guests. The guests kept track of various clues throughout the show, and prior to intermission, the audience was given the opportunity to question the cast and determine the murderer and motive. After intermission, the murderer was revealed, and prizes were given to the super sleuth who figured out “whodunit” as well as the best-dressed cowboy and cowgirl.

It has truly been a summer to remember!  I've vacationed in France with family, re-signed with the Washington Wizards, held my 3rd annual basketball camp in Charlotte, N.C., and just traveled back to Bossier City, La., to go through the design process for a playground I'm building there with KaBOOM!. I grew up in Shreveport (right next to Bossier City) and it will always have a special place in my heart, but I must warn anyone going there for a visit to be ready for some extreme summer heat! I'd almost forgotten how hot it was there until I stepped off the plane! I just hope we're blessed with some (relatively) cool weather on Build Day!

This was my first Design Day experience and it was so exciting to spend time with the kids who'll actually be using the playground. Those kids really had some great personalities! After seeing their playground drawings, I'm convinced that some of them could be future artists if they wanted to - very impressive! I'm participating in another playground build in Washington with KaBOOM! and KOOL-AID and was looking forward to seeing what kind of drawings the kids from that community could create but was unable to make the trip due to a prior engagement. I had to travel to Brazil (which is where I am right now) to do a project with adidas, who has also worked with KaBOOM! and NBA Cares to build a playground in New Orleans! In fact, it was on this project that I first met our new friends at KaBOOM!. I can't wait to get back for both of my playground builds in September!

-Antawn

Learn more about Antawn Jamison, All-Star Playmaker!

With Scrabulous currently disabled on Facebook, people are looking for ways to show off their vocabularies and word-game skills...and this fundraising event will let them do just that! 

Register individuals and assign them to a team, or register whole teams of four, six or eight. Seated at different tables (each with a Scrabble board and all the letters available), each team starts with the same opening word, and has 20 minutes to fill the board with high-scoring words. [Learn more]

Add your own fundraising ideas to the wiki!

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).

Stand up

Head over to a city council meeting the next time they offer an open forum for people to ask questions or make comments, then stand up to talk about why play is important, and how the state of play in your community could be improved.

Be sure to do a little research first. Check out a few studies and learn about why play is a necessary part of kids' development.

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.

San Francisco, CA - McKinley Elementary (WaMu), 7/19/08

Pass Christian, MS - Marsha Barbour Community Center (Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Fund and Fannie Mae), 7/19/08

Plantation, FL - Fig Tree Park (Chrysler), 6/19/08

Sterling Heights, MI - Delia Park (Chrysler), 7/19/08

Los Angeles, CA - Salesian Boys and Girls Club Design Day (KOOL-AID), 7/24/08

View all photo galleries.

Help us find every playspace in America, good and bad... and win a trip to a playground ribbon-cutting with Reverend Run!

KaBOOM! and KOOL-AID are teaming up to make great play possible through the KOOL-AID and KaBOOM! Playspace Finder Sweepstakes!

Every new playground (with an uploaded picture) you add to the KaBOOM! Playspace Finder between Aug. 4 and Aug. 9 will enter you to win a trip for four to a playground ribbon-cutting with Reverend Run in Atlanta!

Learn about the sweepstakes!

This hilarious, interactive game can result in huge donations for your playspace project. Community members such as students, parents, etc., pay to have a big pink flamingo in their neighbor’s or schoolmate’s front yard. In order to have the flamingo removed, the person that received the flamingo has to pay $5 to have it removed and placed in another yard. You’ll need more than one flamingo to start this game, or you can use your school’s mascot or anything else that has meaning to your community. Folks will love going out in the morning to see who got “flamingoed” the night before. [Learn more]

Add your own fundraising ideas to the wiki

This just in...the New York WE Play! feature an exciting roundtable discussion on “The State of Play in New York City” featuring:

• Margery Franklin (Former Director, Child Development Institute, Professor Emerita, Sarah Lawrence College)
• Ed Miller (Founding Partner, Director, U.S. Alliance for Childhood, NYC Play Coalition)
• Nancy Barthold (Assistant Commissioner, NYC Parks & Recreation)
• Karen Lee (Deputy Director, Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, NYC Health Department)
• Mary Alice Lee (Director, NYC Playground Program, Trust for Public Land)

The session will include brief presentations by each panel member, followed by an audience-driven question and answer session.

Get started on the path toward building a great playground today! Learn more and register here.

A Play Day is one day when the community gets together to celebrate and recognize the importance of play — unstructured, self-motivated play — for kids of all ages. Organizing a Play Day is a good way to draw attention to the importance of play in the lives of all children in your community as well as create momentum for long-term commitments to building and caring for playspaces. A Play Day can be a simple (and, of course, fun) affair that lasts a few hours, or it can be a full day of activities, games, prizes, free play, and community building! A Play Day can be big or small, including a neighborhood or a whole city. It’s time to celebrate and have fun. And, don’t forget, this is your opportunity to network!

Get lots of resources and tips on our new Play Day planning resources page!

Real estate agents are connected to LOTS of people. Get them involved in volunteer recruitment: maybe they can distribute information and sign volunteers up at their next open house. [Learn more]

Add your own ideas to the wiki!

Get local celebrities to dance for your playground! One playground committee had a disco theme and paired their event with a silent auction, raising $15,000! Encourage collaborative dances from various city officials. Choreography isn’t necessary – a lot of people know (but may not admit they know) how to do the Electric Slide, the Hustle, and the Macarena! [Learn more]

Add your own fundraising ideas to the wiki!

By Karin E. Swenson

The role of playgrounds in my son Phillip’s life cannot be overstated. Phillip has autism. Autism is a spectrum disorder that affects children by impairing their ability to communicate and their ability to interact socially. To date there is no known cause of autism (although many debate this fact) and no known cure. However, intervening as early as possible in the child’s life with appropriate therapies can help.

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.

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!

Children LOVE trucks—their flashing lights, big wheels, loud noises! Bring the excitement of real trucks to children in your community. Families will appreciate the opportunity to let kids see and touch for themselves! [Learn more]

Add your own fundraising ideas to the wiki.

An artist can supervise/design artistic play environment projects, like murals and mosaics, or help design publicity materials. Artists might have studio space available that can be used for meetings and creative fundraisers. [Learn more]

Add your own ideas to the wiki!

Write a letter

Are your kids restless because recess time keeps getting shorter and shorter, or because your school board doesn’t budget for playground repairs? Say something!

Write a letter to the editor. Explain why play is important to kids’ social, cognitive, and physical development. For some kids, recess is the only time they get to engage in unstructured play each day. Demand the return of recess and great places for your kids to play at school!

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.