We’re working hard to shift the conversation regarding child safety to include risk as a conduit for learning, rather than a situation that must be avoided. When adults who design childhood play spaces have the ability to assess risk and see risk as a benefit, children become competent risk takers and better understand through experience how to keep themselves safe. For more discussion on the topic of risk assessment see…
All Alone!
Playing alone doesn’t have to be lonely. How to protect and nurture your child’s alone time.
Time alone provides young children a chance to become lost in imagination, delve into an intrinsic interest, or simply to observe others…
Guerilla Swinging
Public art projects that celebrate the joy of swings.
Just Add Water!
Looking for a new way to play? Take whatever it is your child is doing and just add water…
Experiencing Risk
Why it’s okay–even beneficial–to let our kids experience risk and the possibility of physical danger (with our presence and support, of course).
To seven-year-old Jonathan it was the edge of the world.
To everyone else at the Coral Springs Aquatic Complex it was just the tall diving platform…
Improvisation
When you’re not quite sure what to do… (the) play’s the thing!
How taking risks on stage can help children gain confidence and find their voice.
Standing on the stage I felt this incredible sense of confidence, of power, of yes! I can do this! I will never forget that feeling–of just playing, of being exactly right-there in the moment, thinking on my feet, freeing my imagination, risk-taking…
Scary as it sounds, as parents we want our kids to be risk takers…
Curiosity is not enough for me. There are thousands and maybe millions of things to be curious about. What really gets me going is when I wonder…
At the end of the day, all children deserve the basics of childhood…
Bring that beat back to me again….
Classic story: girl takes a trip and finds herself. Through play…
I think everybody needs this kind of reconnection to self every once in awhile. There are lots of ways to get there, but the way I do it–the way I get back to my essence and remember who I am, really–is through play…
Playful morning
How Sunflower Creative Arts Artistic Director, Susan Caruso, remembers play…
I reach in my pocket and feel something crunchy. I’m surprised by a handful of leaves, once beautiful examples to look up in my tree guide, now a crumble of crunch. I have to smile. My 4-year-old self leads the way on walks these days!…
Playing with Trees
Sunflower Creative Arts Artistic Director, Susan Caruso, is more than a little infatuated with trees. What’s YOUR passion!?
Remember playing with an idea, a game, or a topic with this kind of passion? Remember when you were a kid and got totally “into” so many things when you had the time? How many of those things are still a part of your life? How many of those things are your life?
Get Outside!
Let’s play outside! Award-winning blogger (and Sunflower Creative Arts PR and Development Director) Victoria Green shares her family’s favorite natural areas.
What if all of us adults actually remembered what if feels like to play?
