The Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative Encourages You to #PlayWithYourFood!

Hello!

When I think about #PlayWithYourFood, I am reminded of how as a child, my brother and I were excessively messy eaters. In fact, when we would go to our grandparents’ house for Sunday dinner, my Grandpap insisted on laying a tarp down under our highchairs so the floor could avoid the inevitable assault of our descending food crumbs, bits, and medium-sized morsels. The tarp was playful– it had a cartoon baby all over it contorting its face into various, wacky expressions. There’s an abundance of lost photographs of my brother’s grinning face plastered with pasta and sauce or cake and icing after chowing down, using his fingers as fleshy utensils.

Playful Spotlight

West Liberty University's Center for Arts and Education has continued to show how play is an integral part of the work they do. For Global School Play Day, we played with students from Bethlehem Elementary and West Liberty Elementary on the Topper Play Trail as part of their Play for Change grant!

Happy December!
 

As 2019 winds to a close, we hope you've continued to find time to play, made time for joy and had your curiosity piqued. 

Our KaBOOM! Play Everywhere Challenge team is continuing work on the Hazelwood Play Trail and everything will be unveiled in January! In the meantime, check out some pictures of the planning and implementation at Dylamato's Market and the YGarden on our website here:   https://www.playfulpittsburgh.org/neighborhood-play-stops-project

What is play?
 We asked people in our region "What is play?" and here's what they said! This video was created in partnership with our Play for Change grantees. 

We hope you'll find time to play today and every day!
 
-The Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative

Will you join us this Thursday?
 Join the Recess Advocacy Team this Thursday, November 7th from 6-7:30 pm for Recess: A Community Conversation (The Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative and Trying Together are the lead organizations for the Recess Advocacy Team).

Through playful activities and conversation, we'd like to learn more about your school recess experiences.

Have you played today?
 

With warmer weather on it's way out and the leaves changing, it's the perfect time of year to play outside! Join the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative at these upcoming events:

• Kickoff events for the Neighborhood Play Stop Project (3 total)

• Kids Day at Schenley Plaza

• Lawrenceville Farmers Market

Follow our events calendar to learn more.

Whatever way you choose to play, make sure you do it everyday!

What an exciting and play-filled summer we had here at the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative! We're thrilled that the mural, Time Travelers, by Sandy Kessler-Kaminski and Edith Abeyta (and many community volunteers as well) is complete at the Elizabeth Street Park. This project has been ongoing for many years. Next time you're in Hazelwood, be sure to stop by the newly completed park (complete with a matching path linking the two crosswalks, thanks to Dan from DOMI).

Stay tuned to our website to learn more about the work of the Play Collaborative as we move into the fall and winter.

We're incredibly excited to announce the completion of a mural on the Elizabeth Street Bridge in Hazelwood! Two Hazelwood artists, along with many Hazelwood residents and youth, completed the mural as part of the ongoing work on the Hazelwood Play Trail. The mural (partially seen above), depicts historic places and moments in Hazelwood along with two residents.

We hope you're surviving the heat and finding ways to play! Read on to learn about opportunities to play with the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative, a new blog post and more!

To help us remember to play every day, and to spread our message of the importance of play, the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative created this Play Poster, a free resource that is available in digital and print formats. Unveiled at Ultimate Play Day on May 19th, the poster is available to download. Read more about the poster and download it here. Thank you to Medina Jackson, MSW, from the P.R.I.D.E. Program for the inspiring quote!

We Need More Words for Play!

Exciting news!:

• Check out the new article that members of the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative wrote for Planetizen, the independent resource for people passionate about planning and related fields. We Need More Words For Play.

We had a busy winter and are gearing up for an exciting spring. Click the images below to learn more about our winter play pop-ups, the Elizabeth Street Park and the Hazelwood Play Trail.

The time for play is now!
 

Want to host a play pop-up but could use some guidance? Need to know more about recess and how you can help your children and your schools? Check out our newly updated website for info on play boxes and recess resources.

Read on below for upcoming play pop-ups, news from the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative and more!

Looking for the next Big Playful Idea?

Our Unconference: Play for Change attendees are! The Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative is excited to announce eight Play for Change Big Idea grant recipients! Thanks to The Grable Foundation and The Benedum Foundation for their support of this effort. 

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:

Did you know research points to a direct correlation between play and stress reduction? We want to play and reduce stress with you this winter! We're looking to partner with YOU to do a play pop-up! Check out the play pop-up micro grant opportunity here, thanks to support from the Remake Learning Network's Great Remake! Anyone can apply, so don't miss out on this play pop-up opportunity!

The Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative is a recipient of the Let's Play Everywhere Challenge!

Created by KaBOOM!, the national non-profit dedicated to giving all kids the childhood they deserve through play, and Let's Play , from Keurig Dr Pepper, the Let's Play Everywhere Challenge is about creating opportunities for free, unstructured, unplanned play. It is about ensuring all kids, no matter where they come from or where they live, get the active play they need to thrive.