We’re now up to 19 Boards!
Not long ago I got a blog notice from Let the Children Play listing their twelve favorite Pinterest boards. I’ve copied that here, taken out the bad links and added suggestions that commentators have made. In one sense this is mainly a convenience for me so I can have all these as reference on my blog. But it is also a wake up call for anyone who thinks that we have to surrender to mass media to engage our kids. Spending a few minutes with these sites will reinvigorate the most jaded of we play professionals.
- Outdoor Spaces @ Mia Cavalca
- Outdoors @ Francine Cory
- Mud Kitchens and Water Walls @ Francine Cory
- Outdoor Play Link Up Ideas
- Natural School Yards @ Brenda Hillenius
- Outdoor Play Environments @ April White
- Backyard Nature Play Spaces @ Debi Huang
- Outdoor Classroom Ideas @ Play Based Classroom
- Learning Spaces @ Kierna Corr
- Backyard Play Spaces
- Let’s Play Outside
- Kid’s Garden Ideas
- Outdoor Learning Spaces
- Outdoors – Hillary White
- Playgrounds and Outdoor Spaces
- Barefoot Play
- Playgrounds I want to play in
- PlayScapes Blog
- Cardboards
While looking at these sites I got to thinking about the Certified Wildlife Habitat campaign run by the National Wildlife Federation. Now this may seem crazy but what if some families combined that idea with Mike Lanza’s concept of Playborhood? Instead of just inviting in birds and butterflies, the yards of these families also welcome in neighborhood kids.
This idea has lots of thorny issues to work though. Families will worry about liability, security, privacy and misuse. On the other hand when the vacant and unused land disappears or becomes inaccessible, as is the case in my neighborhood, we are left with no resources for the kind of play so eloquently displayed in the boards above. The Federation website provides copious support for those who want to nurture wildlife. Can’t the same be do for play?