Los Angeles, Oct 20, 2010 –Peaceful Playgrounds was proud to be a sponsor and participate in the makeover of Lanier Elementary for the filming of School Pride for NBC.

"School Pride" is a proactive, alternative series that tells the stories of communities coming together to renovate their aging and broken public schools. While transforming the school, the community also restores its sense of value and school pride. Episode 2 "Follo…

FROM:
Miami County Republic Newspaper
Beaver Dam, Wisc.

Written by Brian McCauley
Friday, 15 October 2010 08:00

Two of the biggest issues facing youths these days are childhood obesity and bullying, and Cottonwood Elementary School in Paola is about to institute a program that could help tackle both problems.

Thanks to an impressive stretch of state teacher of the year finalists, Cottonwood Elementary had enough funds to pay for a new program, and …

Applications Open for General Mills Foundation 2011 Champions for Healthy Kids Grant Program.

Grants of $10,000 will be awarded to community-based groups working to develop creative ways to help youth adopt a balanced diet and physically active lifestyle.

Deadline: December 15, 2010

Download Grant Application

Grant Writing Tips

Join us on October 26, 2010 at 2:00 PM EDT, 1:00 PM CDT, 12:00 PM MDT, 11:00 AM PDT for a KABOOM sponsored webinar titled “Recess: It's Child's Play”. Peaceful Playgrounds a longtime advocate for all children’s Right to Recess will present on the topic of the value of recess. Peaceful Playground creator and founder Melinda Bossenmeyer says, “Recess matters!” It provides opportunities for cultural exchange, solitary play, reduction of anx…

Cellular phones, global internet access, satellite television, and online gaming systems have transformed our everyday world into Marshal McLuhan’s electronic global village. Technology has now entered all areas of children’s lives: home, school, and toys. A new film by a Norwegian-born film maker Tonje Hessen Schei entitled “Play Again” takes an in-depth look at the virtual world vs. natural world and its effect on children’s outdoor free-play.…

Contributed by JC Boushh This week I have been focusing on old-fashion play and the consequences we face when we do not allow children every opportunity to play. I reside in Southern California, which in my opinion has some of the nicest weather in the country year round, but to astonishment I have visited numerous child care centers were at the slightest sign of overcast skies or rain showers the kids are corralled inside to ride out the storm.…

Contributed by JC BoushhA new research report issued by the Health and Safety Executive and Play England indicates that it is perfectly normal for children to get slight injuries while playing on playgrounds. The report states that part of play is grazed and skinned knees. We want playgrounds to be safe, but there has to be an element of risk and challenge associated with it otherwise the playground is boring and uncreative. Many parents today a…

The LiveRider iPhone app and bike kit is meant to be the equivalent of the dashboard of your car, but on your bike.

The app lets you keep track of how far you have gone, how fast you are currently going and even lets you keep Google Maps handy in case you get lost. You might be able to do some of these features with just using Google Maps GPS, but you couldn't track your ride to the extent that LiveRider could. You can even put it in ghost mo…

Contributed by JC Boushh An article by Gordon Clark in THE PROVINCE titled “We modern parents are safety freaks” had me reminiscing about my childhood in the 1970’s. At that time my parents, specifically my mother because my father was at work, allowed me to play outside in the rear yard where we had two large acacia trees growing and I was allowed to wander around the neighborhood without to many restrictions. Looking back at the amount of free…

Employer-sponsored exercise is a big part of the U.S. National Physical Activity Plan, a cooperative effort by a number of health and fitness organizations to promote physical activity in public settings such as businesses, schools and churches, according to HealthDay reporter Dennis Thompson on September 28, 2010.

Adult recess would involve a 10-minute break in the workday, when employees would be led through a series of fun routines involving …

Parenting the home of Parenting and Baby Talk Magazines included an article entitled, "Why Kids Really Need Recess".

It is a nice article filled with stories of parents who advocated to bring back recess in their school. At the end of the article is a list of resources and suggestions on how to get back recess.

What you need to know to fight for your child's right to play midday.

1. Get informed. Arm yourself with plenty of resear…

Target has announced 1 billion dollars in support of reading and education by the year 2015. This support will target reading by helping start reading pledges, the purchase of books, and community reading centers across the nation. Statistic have shown that only 3 out of 4 children graduate from high school, and those graduation rates in African-American and Hispanic communities are even lower. Target hopes to change these statistics by helping …

Sun Media Times article Sept. 30, 2010

Elm School in Burr Ridge is using the Peaceful Playground program, purchased with the help of a grant from the District 181 Foundation.

Peaceful Playgrounds complements the work the staff already had been doing on helping children solve conflicts, specifically during recess.

The program kit includes directions and stencils to draw the markings for a wide variety of games, such as hopscotch, ball hopscotch, fou…

Contributed by JC Boushh The decline in physical activity and a sedentary lifestyle has led to a rise in childhood obesity. Free-play and recess it turns out may play a critical role in reversing the obesity trend in children. Researchers from Children's Hospital Boston and the University of Massachusetts have been studying and monitoring the physical activity levels of children during recess and discovered that different recess games produc…

What a fun playground these school and community members painted!

Peaceful Playgrounds components explained here.

October 23rd is Make A Difference Day.

A great organization to connect to Hands On Network connects volunteers with programs across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino.

This is a great list of 33 ways people can support/contribute to your school:
1. Assist a classroom (support a teacher)
2. Coach a sports team
3. Tutor
4. Mentor a student
5. Teach job and/ or professional skills
6. Start a School Club: Books; Music; Drama; Art; Writing; Ho…