All Blog Posts Tagged 'play' (100)

Remember?

This is a wonderful video shot in a New York CIty playground by a five-year-old in the act of playing. Apparently Mom strapped an iPod Touch to her and let her go. It's wonderful, in spite of the little bump in the road along the way. Enjoy!

(Thanks to Tim Gill for finding…

I'll have to dig and find out who built this. Beautiful, isn't it? How fun to snuggle up in front of the window with  a battery operated heater of some kind nearby (is there such a thing that wouldn't spark flames?), popcorn, thermal underwear, those sub-zero sleeping bags, hot chocolate.... I bet the view is…

This is one of the best videos I've seen that clearly shows the importance of natural play at schools. Take a look. It is from my friends at School Grounds UK. Maybe we can get something going in Atlanta to improve our playgrounds AND increase the amount of time students get to go outside and play during the day. I don't know what it is going to take to convince…

I'll be heading over to Clemson University again this year for the annual Conference on the Value of Play put on by the US Play Coalition, of which ATOP is a proud member. I am particularly excited about the focus on playwork this year. There aren't many playworkers in the US and I hope with a little awareness and education that will…

So many people ask me what makes a good playground. Here are 10 points, each worthy of it's own post (or book chapter). My favorite, of course, is number 6. Oh, when you have number 6 you've really got something!

A wonderful playground is……..

1. Designed to enhance its setting
2. Located in the best possible place
3. Close to nature
4. Designed so that children can play in different ways
5. Geared towards encouraging disabled and able-bodied children…

There is an article in today's New York Times called "Now We Are 6: Middle Childhood in Focus."  The article focuses on the extraordinary…

At the end of Playable10 International Design Competition we had a winning design, a playable "ATL" by Canadian talent Jeff Santos,  and a beautiful site at Woodruff Park in downtown Atlanta thanks to a partnership with Central Atlanta Progress. Bank of America donated the $25,000 budgeted for the build. We were ready.

There was still one little…

Bernard Spiegal of PLAYLINK on Glamis Adventure Playground from Little Creatures Films on Vimeo.

It's Thanksgiving morning and I'm a little under the weather, so I'm curled up in bed feeling somewhat wistful and…

The red, dancing ATLs hint at the big design about to be revealed

At long last, the winning design in the Playable10 International Design Competition has been built and was unveiled on November 1, 2011 at…

Tuesday, November 1, 2011 is a huge day for the Atlanta Taskforce on Play (ATOP). There's a big surprise being unveiled at the National Recreation and Parks Assn. conference, and it's something we've been working on for years. Here's how it all started:

In 2003, I built my first…

If you are going to be at NRPA, come learn from the master, Robin Moore! Monday October 31st. I can't…

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed has announced “The City of Atlanta is extremely proud to be named ‘Playful City USA’ for the fifth consecutive year. Atlanta will continue to lead the way in offering physical alternatives and recreational…

Check out this great event from our friends at the National Wildlife Federation. It's called Hike & Seek and it's happening at Piedmont Park on October 15, 2011 at 9:00 am.

We would like…

Some children like to run and jump, some children like to dig and build, and some children like to sit in a quiet spot and tell stories, or draw, or just talk. This little quiet corner of the Tule Elk Park School in San Francisco is the perfect spot for quiet moments. …

The perfect place for digging at Tule Elk Park Early Education School

I just got back from an amazing conference called Engaging Our Grounds: 2011 International Green…

 (Google office in Zurich - designed by the playful and brilliant architects at CamenzindEvolution)

I remember going to buy shoes in Baltimore at age 3. I entered the store via a SLIDE!!

I remember…

So you're out and about and the kids want to play, but you don't know what playgrounds are nearby. What do you do? Well, of course, you guessed it....there's an app for that.

For years our friends at KaBOOM! have been compiling information (including maps, ratings, pictures, reviews, amenities, etc.) on playgrounds in Atlanta and all around the country and have…

The news broke recently just before dinnertime. Steve Jobs was resigning as CEO of Apple. Graphic artists, photographers, writers, artists, Mac-junkies, “computer nerds”, and lovers of beauty everywhere bowed their heads and sighed.  The great Master of Design (form AND function) was stepping…

There is an article in this month's Garden Design Magazine about an ancient "Chapel Oak" in the tiny French farming village of Allouville-Bellfosse in Upper Normany. The tree holds two tiny…

While visiting our neighbors the Thorntons the other day, Chris showed me this wonderful photograph of his daughter Melissa, now a teenager. I asked him to share how this event came to be:

Melissa ........



Being new to the stay at home dad situation I was always trying to…