While in P.E. earlier this week, the class created a new venue using the Imagination Playground. When I arrived to pick them up, I was ushered into our new, fancy shoe store. There were displays of “shoes” and a register area to check out your purchases. Workers would measure your feet and choose a shoe to fit your needs. Some of the shoes were fancy and some were for hiking. Now, I just need to get some tape, paper, and pens over there so they can make price tags and labels!
The Imagination Playground arrived on Tuesday morning and we finally got to take it out and play with it this morning! WE LOVE IT! It was such a lovely day, we took it out onto one of our patios. At least 4 grades played with it today. I was amazed that the children made such complicated structures the first time they had their hands on the blocks. However, the second time we went out, the buildings were more sparse. It seems as though their initial visit was a willy-nilly building frenzy, while their second visit entailed much more contemplation and experimentation. This slower pace made it look as though less was being done, but actually more thought was being put into block placement.
Here are some of the things I observed today:
I am so very excited to share the news! The Imagination Playground (IP) is coming during the month of April to visit WTN. The Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children (PAEYC) recently purchased this playground through a grant funded by the Grable Foundation and is allowing the members of the Play Academy of Pittsburgh to borrow the set for their school sites. Miss Herald, from the WTN Kindergarten, and I have been working with the Academy twice a month since it’s inception and are thrilled that it is finally our turn to share the Imagination Playground. It has already visited Fox Chapel Area School District, The CMU Children’s School, and the Fox Chapel Area School District Family Literacy Center.
Our initial plans are for it to be available for use in the P.E. room. We are working Ms. Brand on incorporating the IP into both P.E. classes for all of the grades and for use during open multi-purpose room times. The equipment may also be used outside, but we’ll have to wait and see what the weather does before we commit to taking it out into “the wild”. Also, keep your eyes open for clean, “found” objects that the children could use to fuel their creativity.
I’ll be sure to post pictures of our PK kids using this new resource here!
If you are interested in seeing the Imagination Playground in action, you might want to check out “Build-it-yourself playground helps kids imagine” at CNN or “Building a Better Playground” from TIME. If you’d rather just get it from the source, here is the video posted by KaBOOM!
Playful Directions 