My 5 favorite blog posts of 2009

As I start the new year off, it is my new year’s resolution, yes, I am trying something “new” and going to try and do one I really think I can do, not lose the extra 25 pounds I gained over the past few years, but I will “try” to shed a few of those, not take up something new like “sky diving” which I could possibly never do because I am afraid of heights so much that when I’m on a plane I really try and forget there is really “nothing” between my feet and the ground. But rather I am going to try and post on this blog at least once a week!

I started this blog as a spin off so to speak of my main blog but I don’t want it to turn out as some of the old TV shows spin off did; as a bust. I’m really going to try and keep this one cranking.

I began this blog with high hopes of continuing my path of helping others create fully inclusive playgrounds and building on whatever dreams you may have. But what I have found is I also have a passion for passing on fun things to do with children; adventures and recipes. So I’m going to be using this blog to write about all things children with a bit of nonprofit dreaming thrown in there. If you have a dream you’d like to get help beginning please feel free at anytime to drop me a line, or if you have an accessible playground your family uses in your area I’d love to highlight it. In any event, I’d love to hear from you via email the1playgroundprincess@gmail.com or twitter.

My favorites from 2009

1. Some kids Dream about flying while others just dream about playing in the park.

2. Why worry about accessibility?

3. Building of a dream

4. Playground Picnic

5. Ghoulish delights for your little monsters

• Just a little extra because it’s the beginning of the year and I think everyone should take a moment to make sure you have this one “covered.” What’s in your first aid kit?

Happy New Year to you all and here’s to a year of new dreams!

True colors of friendship are beautiful like a rainbow

In the spirit of International Friendship day which I missed last week, I would like to thank each of you for becoming a friend of mine and for letting me share my colors of the rainbow with you!


You with the sad eyes
Don't be discouraged
Oh I realize
It's hard to take courage
In a world full of people
You can lose sight of it all
And the darkness inside you
Can make you feel so small

But I see your true colors
Shining through
I see your true colors
And that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them show
Your true colors
True colors are beautiful Like a rainbow

Show me a smile then
Don't be unhappy, can't remember
When I last saw you laughing
If this world makes you crazy
And you've taken all you can bear
You call me up
Because you know I'll be there

And I'll see your true colors
Shining through
I see your true colors
And that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them show
Your true colors
True colors are beautiful
Like a rainbow

In the spirit of friendship I would like to ask if you might help my friends at Shane's Inspiration with their annual 5/10K Walk and Roll Event. If you are in the LA area please join the cast of The Witches of Waverly Place Sunday, August 30th at 7:00am at Shane's Inspiration in Griffith Park. Even if you are not in LA if you would be so kind to donate to this wonderful organization what you can to support Shane's Inspiration's mission to create inclusive playgrounds and programs for children of ALL abilities! Thank you my friends!

Clemyjontri is more than initials, it's a wonderful playground for all

After working with me as one of first benefactors for Hadley’s Park, Adele Lebowitz decided she wanted to do something more with her estate, she decided that the joy she understood that came from the children playing at Hadley’s Park would be a wonderful legacy to leave on her property. So she decided to donate her 10 acre estate to Fairfax County Park Department with the understanding that they would create a fully inclusive playground like Hadley’s Park. Thus the birth of "Clemyjontri." You might wonder where this odd name came from or what it stands for. Wanting to commemorate her family the name Clemyjontri is made up of the initials of Mrs. Lebowitz children. Fairfax County authorities worked hand in hand with Grace Fielder and Associates to create a joyous and fully inclusive playground complete with a merry go round! Grace and her staff used many similar elements that we used at Hadley’s Park after learning from us the importance each play piece or element had.




To the casual observer, the playground at Clemyjontri Park looks like an ordinary playground, with swings, slides and play equipment fun to climb on, under and around. A closer look will reveal that some of those swings have high backs for children who need extra support. Instead of standard transfer platforms there are ramps to the elevated play components. Pathways between equipment are wide and colorful, and the ground surfaces are non-slip and porous designed to provide a greater level of access for children.




There is something for everyone - children will be able to find something to climb on, touch, read, do or create. Children will enjoy the challenges of balance and depth perception on the playground's balance beams. A mini-track can be used to race, playhouses and cubbies offer pleasant spaces for social interaction while also allowing children seeking quiet or separate areas to play in smaller groups. Tent sails provide areas of shade in the playground and benches are located throughout the play area. The playground is open daily from 7 a.m. to dusk, year-round.The Two Acre Playground Consists of 4 Outdoor "Areas" Surrounding a Centerpiece Carousel.





The Rainbow Room - With rainbow archway, surface with colors of the rainbow and a variety of swings:
Accommodates all physical levels
Integrates sign, Braille, pictures and language
Teaches colors of the rainbow



The Schoolhouse & Maze - With learning panels forming a maze that may be reconfigured:
Focuses on educational learning games
Teaches where am I reading, maps and a globe
Teaches what time it is using time zones and clocks




The Movin and Groovin Transportation Area Designed with transportation themed equipment such as a race track, motorcycles, planes, and trains:
Stimulates imagination
Teaches balance and special skills
Mimics true roadway situations




Fitness & Fun - Includes the largest piece of play equipment along with various jungle gym components:
Stimulates imagination
Progressive challenges for physical strength
Energy burner
Builds confidence



If you are in the Northern Virginia area or want to make a little day trip while visiting the Metro DC area I would strongly recommend this your children will thank you for it!



*i'd like to thank everyone who posted these wonderful photo's on flickr!

Wordless Wednesday, Welcomes you to Holland..

I have often used this short story when speaking about the importance of play for all children, so for those of you who I have not had the honor of sharing it with for you “Welcome to Holland”.

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.


But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved

Why worry about accessibility?

Five million children living in the United States have disabilities. For most of these children, the thrill of the playground is as foreign as a trip to the moon. To date most local playgrounds exclude these children.

I as the Playground Princess am dedicated to the “true spirit of children”. The park and recreation industry vendors work to make playgrounds compliant; worrying too much about how many components it takes to meet minimal ADA guidelines. Contrary to popular belief, meeting these minimum guidelines does not make a playground fully inclusive! What is a transfer station anyhow? And just how many children with physical disabilities can get out of their wheelchairs, or put down their walkers or canes, and climb up a staircase to play on a particular piece of equipment? The answer is: not many. A full 10% of children with disabilities have a physical disability. Out of five million special needs children, that number represents a lot of kids!

Now assume that some of these children can climb their way up into a structure for play. There isn’t much more they can do besides crawl around the structure. Isn’t that degrading? This is not a solution if it continues to deny children with special needs equal access for play.

It is my belief that the spirit of play should always be for children of all abilities! Let’s take a moment to remember what it was like to be a kid. Why would anyone want just the minimal play opportunities for children? Ten years ago in creating Hadley’s Park, the first fully inclusive playground in Maryland and one of the first in the country I raised the bar. I believe that in doing so we set new standards, and I hope to continue and help bring fun to every child. And remember, the thrill of a playground is for all!

Follow along if you would like to bring an inclusive playground to your area, or pass this blog information onto someone who you know would want to create a playground like this in your area. We will deal with everything from starting a nonprofit organization through what it takes to raise the funds to do so. And we will also give tips about playgrounds across the country. If you have a story about an inclusive playground please feel share it with us the1playgroundprincess@gmail.com.

Remember being a kid?

Take a moment to sit back and close your eyes and remember what it was like to be a kid. You attended school; you probably walked there. You would come home and have a snack, and then you would run out and play. These are some of the best times and memories of childhood.

Chances are you have a little movie clip running through your mind -- hopping on your bike, riding to the local playground and waiting to see who else might show up. Your movie clip may include going to a friend’s house and playing in their home or backyard. You might play kick-the-can, softball and other games; some would be physical while others might include make-believe play. Maybe you were a princess awaiting your handsome prince, or a brave pirate looking for treasure.

Your imagination took you too many special places. Aside from going to school, this is what you did-- play! Play was your childhood work. And although you probably were not aware, this is where you built the foundation for your social, physical and cognitive skills. These are skills you use in everyday life.

All children learn from developmental learning and recreational hands-on-play. Hadley’s Park Projects encompass both parallel and cooperative play in a free and supervised environment. The ideas and visions of Hadley’s Park Projects have resulted in the development of theme-play playgrounds.

Often, a playground is considered as strictly physical. When the physical play is mastered, a structure’s limited appeal can lead to boredom. How can we add to the restrictions of physical play? Theme-play offers a creative challenge to the child’s imagination and encourages play for extended periods of time. Theme-play provides endless journeys of discovery and excitement.

When children are given an “equal” playing field, they learn from each other through physical and cognitive growth. A child with a disability gains so much by playing with a typical able-bodied peer. What people don’t stop to think about is how the reverse is also important – to give able-bodied children a chance to interact with children with disabilities. Through this cooperative play, children learn at an early age that a young person with a disability is a child first, then a child with a disability second. Children see that people with disabilities have feelings and like to play, just like them. They learn to feel comfortable with people who have disabilities. Children who play together at Hadley’s Park learn empathy while learning to accept people for who they are at an early age. Hadley’s Park helps young people learn not to discriminate or be fearful of the disabled. It becomes a win-win situation and a teachable moment for all the participants.

I invite you to help your community and bring a fully inclusive playground to your area, follow along and I will show you the how to’s, all you need to do is get up and “go.” I’m challenging you! Does your community have a playground such as this? If not come on, what are you waiting for?

Some kids dream about flying while other just kids dream of playing at the park

Some say “necessity is the mother of all inventions,” well that became evident to me one spring day in early 1996 when I brought my then 4 year old and 7 year old daughters to play at a local park. We were very excited to finally get out of the house from the winter doldrums and get some fresh air at the playground. My older daughter was thrilled to have a place to run around and I was just thrilled to get outside after winter.

When we got to the playground it was the usual ritual of letting my older daughter out of the car and having her bolt like lightening to the playground area, and for me, not so fast. I had to lift the wheelchair out of the back of the station wagon and then put my 4 year old daughter into it. When that 5 minute ordeal was over, we were off but almost immediately we were stopped by a timber barricade which seemed to be placed there to keep in mulch but very obviously was a problem for us. So, as usual supermom that I am, picked up both the wheelchair and my daughter over the timbers and then thought we were off. But again, not so easy to push a wheelchair over mulch, think of trying to drive over sand; it’s not so easy, is it?

We then caught up with my older daughter who was running from each piece of equipment to the next. When I finally told her to “hold up.” She exclaimed she wanted us to “come up” on the equipment. Come up? Now how exactly was that supposed to happen? Oh, I know the wheelchair was supposed to sprout wings. Well, that is what it would have taken to get her up on the equipment. And let’s say that actually could have happened, then what? Sit up there and watch from the tower while her sister ran around and around. This was no fun!

So my younger daughter and I went over to a seating area where I sat and we both watched my older daughter run around. At one point my older daughter came over to us a little frustrated but then realized when she came over to us that my younger daughter had a tear dripping down her face. That was it! That was the moment I went from a stay at home mom to a mom on a mission! Why was there not anything my children could do together? Why was there not anything I could do with my younger daughter while my older daughter played? This was going to change, it had to!

I went home and started drawing (coming from a design background, drawing was second nature to me) and visualizing what a perfect playground would look like. When my husband came home I told him of the adventures of our day and how I was now out to change the world. I had a dream; a goal- “to build a unique park where all children could play together with or without disabilities.” A park where through playing, the concepts would help all children socially, and cognitively, as well as physically. Equally as important, a place for children with disabilities to play with their own siblings and peers.

The ideas and visions of this playground resulted in the development of a theme-play park. Often a playground is considered strictly physical. Although, when the physical play is mastered, the appeal of the playground can lead to boredom. Theme-play offers a challenge to the child’s imagination and encourages children to play for extended periods of time.

My dream playground encompassed a Transportation Area, Pirate Ship, Frontier Village, Castle, Dinosaurs, and Main Street themes. In the design, accessibility was ensured through the implementation of the ADA requirements, CPSC and ASTM guidelines; those are playground rules.

By combining all of these elements in the design and equipment, my dream would create the best playground for all children to play!