Play's the Thing

Thanks to our PlayWatch listserv and the smart and resourceful people we follow on Twitter, we've been overwhelmed lately by new articles, blogs, resources about play. There's so much information out there and I don't know how people keep up with it! Here's a list:

• Important new policy brief "Loss of Children's Play: A Public Health Issue" from the Alliance for Childhood

• Shared with the PlayWatch list by Museum director Janice O'Donnell: "I am so excited about a report recently put out by the "Healthy Parks and Playgrounds Task Force" in Cambridge, MA. Here's a resource that I hope every city and town official in RI, every Parks and Recreation Department, everyone who cares about kids and free play will take a good deep look at."

• From last week's Washington Post: The playtime's the thing, an article exploring debates about the importance of playtime in preschools.

• Overparenting has been a topic on several TV and radio shows in the last few weeks, inspired by this Time Magazine article about helicopter parenting - and it's backlash. Also check out How Not to Helicopter on Newsweek's NurtureShock blog.

• NY Times article about outdoor learning in a Waldorf school's "forest kindergarten"

What have YOU read lately about kids and play? Please leave us a comment and a link. Want to get more regular resources? Join our PlayWatch listserv or follow us on Twitter.

And join us TOMORROW from 7:00 - 8:30 PM for a community conversation about how we can support children's unstructured play by Building Community.