April 25, 2012

Why I Play Everyday and Want Everyone to Play Too ›

As a child, I played on a soccer team called the Lady Tigers. Our jerseys were red and white, and I loved mine so much I wore it all the time. We played in a little field across from the local high school, and on my sixth birthday, I scored my very first soccer goal.…

April 23, 2012

Why Ultimate Frisbee is the Next Big Youth Sport ›

Zara Cadoux worked as a Playworks coach in Baltimore during the 2010-2011 school year. During college, she played Ultimate Frisbee on the Vassar College Women’s team, the Boxing Nuns. She currently captains a women’s club team in Baltimore, coaches the University of Maryland Baltimore County women’s team, and recently received her certification to officiate high level…

April 11, 2012

How Has Playworks Changed Your Life? Tell Us Your Story! ›

Whenever I’m visiting one of our partner schools in a Playworks city, I meet a parent or a teacher who wants to take me aside and tell me an incredible story about how our Playworks coach – or one of our staffers, or a board member, or a junior coach – has done something so…

March 30, 2012

Children’s Play the Irish Way ›

I’m just back from a really extraordinary week in Ireland as a part of Ashoka Ireland’s Change Nation. Ashoka brought together 50 social entrepreneurs from around the world and created a framework for us to learn about Ireland, meet with local leaders, learn from one another, and ultimately to try and figure out if our…

March 21, 2012

An Equal Opportunity to Get Out and Play ›

Today’s guest blogger Kathryn Malý is a K-8 educator who coaches teachers in Seattle. She is passionate about helping teachers find ways to keep kids academically engaged by inviting movement–like the BrainDance–into their classrooms.   All children deserve a chance to get out and play at recess, right? So, it seems awfully unfair that high-poverty…

September 13, 2011

World Lessons from Children’s Street Play ›

More than 20 years ago, Jules Oosterwegel, a Netherlands filmmaker, was on a trip in West Timor. Standing and watching some children play a simple game in the capitol of Kupang, it dawned on him–I am the only one who sees this game. Why? And the Playtime Project was born. After visiting more than 23…

August 16, 2011

Power of Play ›

Playworks Program Coordinator, Coach Jory, joined the Portland team in 2009-2010 as an AmeriCorps member. He is passionate about social justice, youth leadership, community engagement and anything creative! I was sold on the idea the first time I heard it. The idea of a neutral space where any kid—regardless of skill level—could engage with one another in both…

June 6, 2011

Jackson at Play ›

Nine rock star coaches made their way to Jackson, Mississippi last month to showcase Playworks on school playgrounds for one week. Here is what they heard and experienced: “Playworks has been here only two days and my stress level has decrease by half!” -Fifth grade teacher. “Respect takes years to earn but you got it from…

May 31, 2011

Recess in Chicago ›

Nine Recess Roll-Out Coaches and two support staff brought energized play to nine playgrounds this May. Here are a few quotes and stories from the week-long demonstration of Playworks: “I have never seen the kids play so enthusiastically before. They’re actually trying to work out problems with games [rock, paper, scissors]. How can we guarantee a way to…