http://playborhood.com/ en mike@playborhood.com Copyright 2010 2010-08-30T17:43:00-08:00 http://playborhood.com/site/article/giving_freedom_incrementally/ http://playborhood.com/site/article/giving_freedom_incrementally/#When:18:43:00Z “How is it that you feel so comfortable letting Marco (6) be in your front yard without your watching?” A mom asked me this question recently.  It really froze me.  I mean, I hadn’t really thought about how we had become comfortable giving him so much freedom. Marco regularly roams our front yard and neighbors’ front yards on his own.  I wrote an article recently about Marco’s “home range” - i.e. the range he regularly and comfortably inhabits every day.  For most kids, this range is limited to the walls of their house, but Marco and my middle son, Nico, regularly hang out beyond … Solutions 2010-08-30T18:43:00-08:00 http://playborhood.com/site/article/do_your_friggin_jobs_parents/ http://playborhood.com/site/article/do_your_friggin_jobs_parents/#When:07:41:00Z A large proportion of twenty-somethings of today aren’t fully responsible adults yet.  They often live with their parents because they don’t have sufficient finances or life skills (e.g. cooking, maintaining a home, etc.).  They have a difficult time focusing on their careers, changing jobs more rapidly than ever.  They avoid long-term romantic relationships and all that goes along with them, most notably children.  In addition, depression among twenty-somethings has reached epidemic levels.  In one study, over 11% of young adults aged 18-24 in 2001-2002 were found to have had depressive … The Problem 2010-08-30T07:41:00-08:00 http://playborhood.com/site/article/camp_yale_epilogue/ http://playborhood.com/site/article/camp_yale_epilogue/#When:01:01:00Z Camp Yale was quite a success.  On days 4 and 5 we continued the positive momentum of the first three days with trampoline lessons, Roxaboxen house building in our creek bed, and more mosaic making, plus lots and lots of wild free play. So, what’s the lasting legacy of Camp Yale 2010?  I’ve identified two: Bright Spots, Solutions 2010-08-24T01:01:00-08:00 http://playborhood.com/site/article/camp_yale_day_3/ http://playborhood.com/site/article/camp_yale_day_3/#When:01:38:00Z For the first half of today, the kids engaged in wild free play once again.  They just can’t get enough of that.  They have settled on three main centers of play:  the Slotwood house in our driveway, the trampoline in our back yard, and the playhouse in our back yard.  Also, kids frequently come to the picnic table in the front yard to grab snacks or a cup of water. Then, my artist friend Jaying Wang helped our kids make mosaics - one big one to put on our fence, and a “stepping stone” for each kid to take home.  The big one is a design inspired by the book Roxaboxen depicting the play … Bright Spots 2010-08-19T01:38:00-08:00 http://playborhood.com/site/article/camp_yale_day_2/ http://playborhood.com/site/article/camp_yale_day_2/#When:22:50:00Z We started our day by walking to the San Francisquito Creek bed close to our house, which is totally dry this time of year.  Paul Heiple of Acterra led a lively discussion of the creek.  He taught us things like where the creek water comes from, what affects the erosion of the creek bank, what happens when the creek floods, what kinds of rocks we find there, and what kinds of plants we find there. After Paul’s talk, the kids foraged and climbed the banks a bit, then they collected rocks for painting, and we went back to my yard (Camp Yale headquarters).  There, some kids painted rocks, … Bright Spots 2010-08-17T22:50:00-08:00 http://playborhood.com/site/article/camp_yale_day_1/ http://playborhood.com/site/article/camp_yale_day_1/#When:06:00:00Z [Note:  For the second consecutive year, I’m running a neighborhood summer camp at my house on Yale Road in Menlo Park, CA.  Below are notes from our first day.] Fellow Yale Roader and magician Hugh McDonald mesmerized us with his magic tricks, and he taught the kids a few, too.  I got a great testimonial from a mom this evening:  “My kids had a great time at Camp Yale today.  Donny in particular is just raving about it.  He loved Hugh.  He is practicing his magic act with the coin to show his dad tonight ( I already saw it!!).” Before and after Hugh’s show, the 12 attendees, ages … Bright Spots 2010-08-17T06:00:00-08:00 http://playborhood.com/site/article/quality_time_with_kids/ http://playborhood.com/site/article/quality_time_with_kids/#When:07:15:00Z Children and parents differ sharply as to what is quality time spent between them, according to The National KidsDay Meaningful Time Survey, conducted by Boys & Girls Clubs of America in 2002. In essence, the survey shows that, while parents think that instructive time spent with children is quality time (the survey calls this “meaningful time"), children strongly prefer fun time.  Children prefer fun time to instructive time by a margin of 49% to 35%, while parents prefer instructive time by a margin of 62% to 35%.  Parents tend to want to enrich their parenting experience, while children … The Problem 2010-08-14T07:15:00-08:00 http://playborhood.com/site/article/it_takes_a_street_to_raise_jacob/ http://playborhood.com/site/article/it_takes_a_street_to_raise_jacob/#When:20:29:00Z Jacob rolled on his scooter alongside Andrew.  He climbed on to a chair to watch other kids play a board game.  He grabbed a cup of water and drank it.  He walked over to a woman and got a hug.  He hopped on his scooter again. This went on for a couple of hours. “Is anyone watching Jacob?” I asked Hetty Fox, matriarch of the Lyman Place play street. “Uh,” she scanned around for a moment.  “No, not right now.  But his cousin Andrew is right there, and everyone else here knows him, too.  Besides, he has lots of aunts and uncles and cousins who live right here on the street, as well as … Bright Spots, Solutions 2010-08-06T20:29:00-08:00 http://playborhood.com/site/article/a_players_high/ http://playborhood.com/site/article/a_players_high/#When:00:05:00Z Have you ever run a long distance and felt a “runner’s high?” For me, it’s always kicked in at about five miles or forty minutes.  At that point, I get a feeling of euphoria, and the feeling of any little aches and pains goes away.  If I run less, I don’t get that feeling.  It’s not as if, if I run two-and-a-half miles instead of five, I get 50% of a runner’s high.  I get 0%.  Nothing. I’ve come to realize that children at play can achieve something like a runner’s high when they play, which I’ll call a “player’s high.” Kids achieve a sort of euphoria, but the most noticeable thing to … Bright Spots 2010-07-31T00:05:00-08:00 http://playborhood.com/site/article/children_nature_and_neighborhoods/ http://playborhood.com/site/article/children_nature_and_neighborhoods/#When:21:24:00Z Much has been written about the deep, positive impact that exposure to nature can have on children.  I agree.  Recently, I’ve seen with my own eyes how vital a relationship with nature can be for children. However, through this experience I’ve come to realize that the discussions of children and nature have largely failed to address how to best include nature into children’s lives.  I’ve come to realize that two factors are crucial to the magical experience my two older boys (6 and 2-1/2) have had: Neighborhood, Solutions 2010-07-23T21:24:00-08:00