Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative January Newsletter
Well hello, 2019!
With 2018 now behind us, we're excited to see how playful we can be in 2019! But first, let's see how we played in 2018:
We hosted a successful 6th annual Ultimate Play Day at August Wilson Park as part of Remake Learning Days!
We were a part of (or hosted) over 40 play pop-ups in 16 communities!
We worked with a team of PLAYers to reach the final stages of transformation of the Elizabeth St. Parklet and KaBOOM! playground in Hazelwood (stay tuned for a celebration in early summer!)
We received funding for our project, The Neighborhood Play Stop Project in Hazelwood from the Play Everywhere Challenge. This project will be ongoing throughout 2019!
We hosted a successful UnConference: Play for Change! We released a grant opportunity for attendees and will be announcing recipients in a few weeks!
We released a play pop-up micro grant for PA and WV. The grant application closes January 15th, so be sure to check it out if you want to host a pop-up!
As co-lead on the Recess Advocacy Team, we surveyed over 800 Allegheny County teachers, parents and administrators to inform how we will progress as a team!
*WHEW* What a year! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see what exciting opportunities/projects/play we'll unveil this year!
Looking forward to playing more this year!
Monthly Blog
This article is part of our Member Blog Series, which showcases Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative Members' efforts and commitment to ensure that play is a critical element in the lives of people of all ages. Each month, a different member organization will share their take on how play is a part of the work they do.
January 1, 2019
Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative Member Blog
Trying Together
Advocating for Recess
In the summer of 2017 Trying Together wrote the post Right to Recess to highlight the cognitive, social, emotional, and physical benefits of recess and to provide researched best practices and advocacy tips. Just a few months later, beginning in October 2017, a team of 15 organizations interested in advocating for recess and play began meeting on a monthly basis. The recess advocacy team is a group of organizations dedicated to health and wellness, education, and play with a focus on recess practices and policies in pre-k through 6th grade in Allegheny County. A survey served as the first step in an effort to gather information on school recess practices. The survey was distributed in both English and Spanish and gave us insight into practices, perceptions, and policies on recess throughout the county.
Check out some photos of our play pop-ups below:
““Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.”
— Fred Rogers”
