We were proud to offer the Nebraska Recreation & Parks Association (NeRPA) a Speaker Scholarship for the 2017 State Conference to support its members’ professional development. Today, we’re happy to have Amanda English, recreation supervisor for City of Omaha Parks & Recreation, as our guest blogger sharing how she’s #shapedbyplay.
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Is your head in the clouds when it comes to unique design?
Perfect. We can help you shape sky-high visions into just-right solutions.
From playful post toppers to concrete-sculpted climbers and colorful palettes to DigiFuse® panels, we can help you turn sky-high ideas into amazing realities. Let’s collaborate.
Request your copy of the 2018 PLAY Book, or browse the virtual PLAY Book. And to see these amazing playground designs in action, watch our video below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XlEBFdMA-c]
We were proud to offer the New Hampshire Recreation & Park Association (NHRPA) a Speaker Scholarship for the 2017 State Conference to support its members’ professional development. Today, we’re happy to have Greg Bisson, assistant director for Exeter Parks and Recreation, as our guest blogger discussing how NHRPA and its members are enhancing children’s lives through play.
New Hampshire Recreation and Park Association is made up of municipal park and recreation professionals whose purpose is to promote and advocate the development and administration of recreation and park services through educational sessions, meetings, seminars, and conferences to improve recreation and park activities and facilities in New Hampshire. These support and training opportunities help members develop the skills necessary to enhance children’s lives through play.
Our members continued pursuit of improving the quality of life for children is a staple of our organization. Three pillars—programs, facilities and community—help shape the lives of children. Without programs and facilities, the children in New Hampshire would be hard-pressed to find a safe environment in which to participate. The rural landscape with a few urban centers makes our state difficult to navigate children’s recreation. However, our determined professionals find ways to connect children and families and create community. Our members practice what they preach; they work hard and play harder, and enjoy all of what New Hampshire has to offer. While our state is unique geographically—the ocean, mountains and large cities are just a short drive away—our members continue to find new ways to enjoy our region and promote all it has to offer.
During our state conference, Keynote Speaker Steve Maguire brought his passion for recreation, especially summer camps. After a long summer, our members needed someone to recharge their batteries. And Steve did exactly that! His passion along with his expertise gave members the lift they needed. He challenged us to be better at our jobs, and encouraged us to strive to be memorable. This is what all parks and recreation professionals need to do. Help children and families create memories.
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: We are all shaped by play. We feel so strongly about this message that we took it on the road to the 2017 NRPA Annual Conference in New Orleans and ASLA Annual Meeting in Los Angeles.
Our booth spaces at both shows perfectly illustrated how we are all shaped by play. From showcasing those three words front and center to the photos of kids on our playground equipment, shade structures and aqua play products, the tree featuring artwork from local school kids and fun swag, we encouraged all visitors to consider how they were shaped by play.
Continue to share how you’re shaped by play and how you’re helping to build the leaders of tomorrow through play using #shapedbyplay. For a little inspiration, check out our video below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3878sEXPuVE]
On our many trips to the playground, we observed kids shouting “Higher! Higher!” And well, we’ve delivered.
Kids can now climb up, up, up our five new modern and curvy climbers to reach the top of the playstructure. More than delivering thrilling challenge to 5- to 12-year-olds, the 8-foot climbers encourage kids to invent new ways to go across, through, under and over.
Even better, we have an equally thrilling way for kids to get back down to the ground! Three elevated slides continue the breathtaking excitement.
See all of the new climbers and slides here, and get started on a playground design that encourages kids to reach new heights.
We were proud to offer the North Dakota Recreation & Park Association (NDRPA) a Speaker Scholarship for the 2017 State Conference to support its members’ professional development. Today, we’re happy to have Kelly Churchill, marketing specialist at the Mandan Park District, as our guest blogger discussing how NDRPA and it’s members are helping build the leaders of tomorrow.
NDRPA members are shaping the lives of kids through play by providing recreational opportunities for all ages and abilities to promote a healthy lifestyle. Park districts across the state offer something for everyone in the community whether it is youth or adult programs, parks and shelters, facilities, aquatics or events! We continue to shape lives by improving the quality of life for all citizens of North Dakota.
Mandan’s Universal Playground is a destination place for its community members as well as those in surrounding communities. The inclusive playground, which was designed considering physical, sensory, social, communication and cognitive abilities, fosters the community and welcomes both children and their families for play. Landscape Structures helps provide these inclusive opportunities throughout the state of North Dakota, and we are pleased to collaborate with them to shape the lives of North Dakota residents through play.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3878sEXPuVE]
Play shapes us. It helps build leaders, encourage collaboration, teach persistence, develop problem-solving skills and much more. That’s why we launched the Shaped by Play Scholarship in June. Our goal was to fund activities that help build the leaders of tomorrow.
We accepted nominations for the scholarship throughout the summer, and are excited to announce the winners! We were able to award 16 individuals a scholarship to participate in activities ranging from figure skating lessons to invention camp.
See the list of scholarship recipients below, and see how they’re planning to use the funds:
Stay tuned throughout the next year, as we check in with our Shaped by Play Scholarship recipients to learn about their experiences.
October is Sensory Awareness Month, and we’re already focusing on next month because we want to help spread global awareness about this disorder.
On Oct. 6-7, our partners at the STAR Institute for Sensory Processing Disorder will host their 20th Annual International 3S Symposium in Denver, Colo. The Symposium will highlight 20 years of research accomplishments with though-provoking research and strategy presentations by clinical experts.
The Symposium is great for any individuals–occupational or physical therapists, special education teachers, early intervention specialists, parents and more–seeking a better understanding of Sensory Processing Disorder. And in addition to the two-day Symposium, the STAR Institute is hosting a pre-symposium workshop for parents focused on relationships and SPD across the lifespan.
Learn more and register for the 3S Symposium and pre-symposium workshop here. And watch our short video below to learn more about the history of the STAR Institute.
Do you think your kids get enough opportunity for play?
According to our recent poll, more than half of parents think that children today have fewer opportunities for play than children 20 years ago. And while nearly two-thirds of parents think the ideal amount of daily play time is between one and two hours, they reported that their children get one hour or less of unstructured play time each day.
Our survey, which took place in June 2017 and was conducted by ORC International, polled parents of children 12 years and under to understand their attitudes on the value of unstructured play. Topics ranged from important life skills gained on the playground to opportunities for free play.
We recently commissioned a meta study in partnership with the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Child Development, which confirmed our culture’s growing infringement on children’s play opportunities. According to the study, a long list of daily distractions competes for children’s free time: hectic family lifestyles, organized activities, T.V. and electronic devices, and academically packed school schedules.
Learn more about our research and request a download of the full whitepaper at shapedbyplay.com.
There is a general notion that there is a gap between the number of words that lower-income children hear compared with their higher income peers, and that this gap leads to a gap in early vocabulary and kindergarten readiness. But even more importantly, research shows us that the more parents meaningfully engage with their young children, the more their child’s brain will grow and develop. And that is an amazing opportunity.
That’s where Too Small to Fail, a joint initiative of the Clinton Foundation and The Opportunity Institute, comes in. Their goal is to make early brain and language development a part of communities. And to do this, they’ve created the “Talking is Teaching: Talk, Read, Sing” campaign, which brings visually engaging and colorful signs to supermarkets, laundromats, bus stops and playgrounds to encourage talking, reading and singing between parents and young children. The signage is intended to provide families with reminders about the importance of engaging with their young children, as well as provide specific ideas for things to talk about.
We’re proud to partner with Too Small to Fail on the “Talking is Teaching” campaign. By incorporating these interactive play panels, we’re meeting parents where they already are with their children and helping them boost their children’s early brain and language development through play. The panels are strategically positioned throughout the playground design so that children and their caregivers can sit near each other, and use the language prompts to interact with each other. Even better, there is a seamless theme of play and education in these language-rich playground designs, so parents and caregivers are helping their children get ready for kindergarten and set them up for success in school.
To date, Too Small to Fail has partnered with Landscape Structures to open 20 “Talking is Teaching: Talk, Read, Sing” themed playgrounds across the country. Learn more about our partnership with Too Small to Fail by contacting your local playground consultant.