May 3, 2023 Ultimate Play Day Returns to Pittsburgh on Sunday, May 7 Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative, alongside event partners Trying Together, Citiparks, and ZeroFossil, will host its annual Ultimate Play Day from 1 – 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 7. Ultimate Play Day is an opportunity for people throughout the Pittsburgh region to gather together, play together, and raise awareness of the benefits of play for everyone. This year, Ultimate Play Day will be held at Lower McKinley Park in the Beltzhoover/Knoxville area of Pittsburgh. Local partners and community organizations offer play activities for all ages each year. This year, more than 28 vendors are participating with hands-on playful activities, entertainment, and refreshments. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of “playful” activities from vendors, including ultimate frisbee, basketball, soccer, imagination/dramatic play with costumes, bean bag toss, oversized classic games like Connect 4 and Jenga, and plenty of arts and crafts projects. Share the Ultimate Play Day flyer with your friends, family, and neighbors! Ultimate Play Day is a part of Remake Learning Days. Remake Learning Days returns to Southwestern PA May 4 – May 23, 2023. A special thank you to Remake Learning for providing a mini-grant to The Collaborative for Ultimate Play Day. SLB Radio Ultimate Play Day Interview Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative was a special guest on the Neighborhood Voices show, hosted by The Saturday Light Brigade, to talk about Ultimate Play Day! Assistant Director of Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative Adam James and Nicole Stevens from Beltzhoover Consensus Group joined SLB Radio to talk about this special day of play, why play is important for everyone, and how this event will connect neighbors throughout the City of Pittsburgh. Visit the Ultimate Play Day webpage to listen to this interview. Getting to Ultimate Play Day Ultimate Play Day is the same day as the Pittsburgh Marathon. That means there will be adjusted traffic patterns to be aware of, but that won’t stop the fun! You can find additional directions to get to Lower McKinley Park on the Ultimate Play Day webpage. Check out this map provided by the Pittsburgh Marathon to check the rolling road closures and openings on Sunday, May 7. Lower McKinley Park Learn more about Lower McKinley Park and its history before Ultimate Play Day. Check out this informational flyer on McKinley Park from Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. Remake Learning Days Remake Learning Days hosts 1200+ learning events reaching 150,000 families. The festival features events across the southwestern PA region for youth, families, grandparents, caregivers and educators to explore creative and fun ways of learning. For more information, visit remakelearningdays.org/southwesternpa. Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative is a group of organizations dedicated to advancing the importance of play in the lives of children, families, and communities in the Pittsburgh region by raising awareness on play being a critical life element for people of all ages, educating decision-makers (from parents to legislators) to support access to play for all, and modeling play through various recreational and professional activities. For more information, visit playfulpittsburgh.org.
April 20, 2023 Remake Learning Days Return to Southwest Pennsylvania Remake Learning Days return to the southwestern PA region from May 4 – 23, 2023 with events for youth, families, grandparents, caregivers, and educators to explore creative and fun ways of learning! About Remake Learning Days Remake Learning Days Across America (RLDAA) is an innovative learning festival for families and youth. Taking root in regions across the world, thousands of hands-on and engaging events are designed for children of all ages at libraries, schools, tech centers, museums, play spaces, community centers, and more. Children, families, caregivers, and educators can attend in-person and virtual events hosted by schools, museums, libraries, after-school organizations, child care centers, tech companies and more. Explore creative and engaging events and celebrate joyful learning, whether you build a robot, code an art spinner, direct a film, be a scientist, explore the outdoors, make your own music, or print your invention with a 3-D printer. Professional development sessions are also available for school, out-of-school, child care, and non-traditional educators. The majority of events are free and open to kids of all ages. Southwestern PA Event Highlights Youth Producers Meet-Up Calling all songwriters, beatmakers, and mix engineers ages 14-22! Come to the Youth Producers Meet-Up to share your tracks, hear how they sound in a professional studio, get feedback from peers and professionals, eat snacks, and meet other creative young music makers in Pittsburgh. This event is FREE to attend. When: Thursday, 5/04 | 4 – 7:30 p.m. Where: YMCA Lighthouse Project, 7140 Bennett Street, Pittsburgh, PA. 15208 For more information or questions, visit the Remake Learning Days – Southwestern PA event page, or contact K. Bey at kbey@ymcapgh.org. Flex Space Summit Flex Space Summit is a day full of exploration, innovation, and inspiration, bringing together teachers, architects, furniture designers, researchers, and more! During this one-day conference, attendees will learn about reimagining learning spaces. This conference will be held at Allegheny Intermediate Unit (475 E Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA. 15120). This event is FREE to attend and is intended for adults. Registration is highly encouraged. When: Friday, 5/05 | 8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Where: Allegheny Intermediate Unit, 475 E Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA. 15120 Register For more information or questions, visit the Remake Learning Days – Southwestern PA event page or contact Tyler Samstag at tyler.samstag@aiu3.net. Saturday Night Light Brigade Live Audience Broadcast Are you interested in learning more about the world of radio? Join SLB Radio for a special live-audience broadcast of The Saturday Light Brigade! Attendees will tour the SLB Youth Media Center, then join the live studio audience as SLB Radio welcomes live musical acts, hears from youth guests, plays word games, and much more! This event is FREE to attend and open to all ages. When: Saturday, 5/06 | 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Where: SLB Youth Media Center, Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, 10 Children’s Way, Pittsburgh, PA. 15212 For more information or questions, visit the Remake Learning Days – Southwestern PA event page or contact Tai Chirovsky at tai@slbradio.org. Pop-Up! Chess Queens Gambit will present Pop-up! Chess events across Pittsburgh every Saturday of Remake Learning Days! Those who attend can learn the game of chess, practice against instructors, or play with friends and family! This event is FREE to participate in, and chess sets are provided! When: Saturdays, 5/06; 5/13; and 5/20 | 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Where: Allegheny Commons Park North Park, 810 Arch Street, Pittsburgh, PA. 15212 For more information or questions, visit the Remake Learning Days – Southwestern PA event page or contact Ashley Priore at priore.ashley@gmail.com. Cookie Connections at The History Center Visit the Heinz History Center on Sunday, May 7, for “Cookie Connections” to learn how cookies have connected people for centuries. Explore the region through past and present cookie recipes and stories, activities, and artifacts related to making and baking Pittsburgh history. This event is for all ages. Event cost is included in museum admission. When: Sunday, 5/07 | 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Where: Heinz History Center, 1212 Smallman Street, Pittsburgh, PA. 15222 For more information or questions, visit the Remake Learning Days – Southwestern PA event page, or contact Roy Fischer at rmfischer@heinzhistorycenter.org. Ultimate Play Day Join us — Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative, Trying Together, Citiparks, and ZeroFossil — for Ultimate Play Day! Ultimate Play Day is a celebration of playfulness for people of all ages. This annual event is an opportunity for people throughout the Pittsburgh region to play together and raise awareness of the benefits of play for all people—from birth to 199 years. Partner and community organizations offer play activities for all ages at a different venue each year. Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative would like to send a special thank you to Remake Learning for providing a mini grant to The Collaborative for Ultimate Play Day. This event is FREE to attend. When: Sunday, 5/07 | 1 – 4 p.m. Where: Lower McKinley Park, Bausman Street, Pittsburgh, PA. 15210 (Beltzhoover) Share our flyer with your networks. For more information, contact Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative at playfulpgh@tryingtogether.org. Additional Information A calendar with all Southwestern PA events is available on the Remake Learning Days website. Families, youth, and professionals can search events by date, time, location, learning theme, age group, and more. RLDAA is presented by Remake Learning and many nationwide partners and host organizations. For more information, visit the RLDAA website.
Strategies to Foster Risk Taking During Outdoor Play Outdoor play is part of developmentally appropriate practice, and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children spend 60 minutes daily working their large muscles. To support children in their outdoor play, early childhood educators can reframe their views of risk taking by acknowledging the developmental benefits of taking risks and working to remove barriers and boundaries that limit open, free play. The National Association for the Education of Young Child (NAEYC) has provided the following five strategies to help early childhood educators foster risk taking in play: Examine Existing Beliefs Educators’ personal experiences and perceptions inform their actions and reactions to a child engaged in risky play. Educators can reflect on their own beliefs by asking certain questions to gauge how they champion or avoid risking taking. Taking time to self reflect in this way can help educators to determine how to foster risk and gauge the limitations they may place on risk taking and play. Those introspective questions can include: Am I a risk taker? What worries me about taking risks? What excites me about taking risks? What childhood memories do I have of taking a risk? Get to Know the Child and Environment Teachers and children are familiar with their programs’ outdoor play spaces. Thanks to this familiarity, educators can evaluate the terrain and the safety of each structure and piece of equipment, including asking essential questions like: How might each child navigate the space? What hurdles may they face? What kind of support may I need to offer? When should I offer it? Become an Observer Outdoor spaces are designed to foster running, jumping, swinging, climbing, and moving over uneven terrain. As children move, early childhood educators should pay attention to their fine and large motor abilities, taking note when a child hesitates or pauses while engaged in a task or with others. Through observation, teachers will develop an understanding of a child’s ability to appraise and respond to risk. Model and Encourage Children grow in their ability to appraise risk by observing others’ play and movement. Educators can support risk taking by engaging in it themselves and expressing their thoughts verbally. This models the internal dialogue that occurs when assessing risks and challenges. Such modeling can help children learn self-regulation as they examine their thoughts and feelings and determine their next steps. When to Intervene While acknowledging that risk taking is developmentally appropriate and a healthy part of early childhood, educators often find themselves in a paradox: they want to foster risky play and urge children to step out of their comfort zones, but they also must ensure safety. Educators should insert themselves in a risky play scenario if: the level of risk could lead to serious injury; a child demonstrates emotional distress or fear; or the structure or environment is hazardous (ice on play surfaces, broken glass, construction). Learn More To learn more about developmentally appropriate practices for early childhood development and education, be sure to visit the Trying Together Developmentally Appropriate Parenting Series.
April 12, 2023 Playful Learning Conversations Join Playful Learning Landscapes Action Network (PLLAN) for this virtual discussion on the importance of infusing communities with playful learning infrastructure. Webinar Details Tuesday, April 25 | 1 – 2 p.m. Virtual via Zoom Register Learn More In this webinar, PLANN’s Executive Director, Sarah Lytle, will discuss PLLAN’s role in fostering child-caregiver connection through playful learning spaces. Additionally, Dr. Amy S. Kronberg, an Early Learning Specialist at Preschool Promise, will show how her organization has developed Playful Learning Landscapes for her community, and Dr. Annelise Pesch, a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Temple University, will introduce PLLAN’s new certification program. To learn more, visit the “Playful Learning Conversations” registration page.
March 10, 2023 Natural Playscape Makeover! Practical Design Tips for Supporting Child-Directed Play In Natural Spaces on Any Budget Join Early Childhood Investigations Webinars and Rusty Keeler, natural playscape designer and author, for a fun, interactive, and inspiring webinar focused on helping to inspire attendees to dream and plan their own natural playscape makeovers “in any yard, on any budget”. Attendees will learn how to add natural elements to support play and, learning, how to assess local resources for free and inexpensive materials, how to tap into the expertise and generosity of your communities, and how to plan a volunteer build day to bring your natural play space dreams to reality. Rusty Keeler will offer advice to participants on how to improve their yards. If you are interested in being chosen, send pictures of your outdoor space to earthplayllc@gmail.com. Session Details Thursday, April 20 | 2 – 3:30 p.m. Virtual Register Learn More Can’t participate in our webinars at the appointed time? Never fear! All of the webinars are recorded. To view the recording, simply register now and you will receive an email with a link to the recording when it is ready to be viewed. You can still download the certificate by watching the recording to the end when the certificate link is announced and displayed on the screen. You can earn .2 CEUs for this webinar. The cost is $15 paid to University of Oklahoma online when you apply. To learn more, visit the Early Childhood Investigations website.
The Healing Power of Play and Optimism Optimism is both powerful and fragile. How can you harness the power of optimism to create safe, loving, joyful, and engaging environments where kids can heal, grow and thrive? Join Early Childhood Investigations Webinars and The Life is Good Playmaker Project for this webinar to learn about this approach. Attendees will discover the power of optimism and play, learn the right approach to creating correct, optimal environments for kids to heal, learn, grow and thrive, and understand the importance of developing a personal wellness practice to be able to bring your most optimistic human disposition into your work. Session Details Thursday, March 23 | 2 – 3:30 p.m. Virtual Register Learn More Can’t participate in our webinars at the appointed time? Never fear! All of the webinars are recorded. To view the recording, simply register now and you will receive an email with a link to the recording when it is ready to be viewed. You can still download the certificate by watching the recording to the end when the certificate link is announced and displayed on the screen. You can earn .2 CEUs for this webinar. The cost is $15 paid to University of Oklahoma online when you apply. To learn more, visit the Early Childhood Investigations website.
February 2, 2023 Ultimate Play Day 2023 Join Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative, Trying Together, CitiParks and ZeroFossil for the Ultimate Play Day! Ultimate Play Day is a celebration of playfulness for people of all ages. Hosted by the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative, this annual event is an opportunity for people throughout the Pittsburgh region to play together and raise awareness of the benefits of play for all people—from birth to 199 years. Partner and community organizations offer play activities for all ages at a different venue each year. Location Lower McKinley Park Bausman Street Pittsburgh, PA 15210 Share our flyer with your networks. Additional Information This event is a part of Remake Learning Days. Remake Learning Days Across America is an innovative learning festival for families and youth! Taking root in regions across the nation, these hands-on and engaging events are designed for kids of all ages at libraries, schools, tech centers, museums, play spaces, community centers and more. This year’s festival is from April 20 – May 26, 2023. Southwestern PA Remake Learning Days is from May 4 – 23, 2023. More details for this event will be available in the coming months. Please subscribe to the Trying Together newsletter for more details.
February 16, 2022 Spark Creativity, Exploration, and Play: Structured Activity Time for Students Join edWeb and Common Sense Education for an upcoming professional development session on integrating play into the school day. Registration is required for this virtual event. About the Session Bringing play into the school day isn’t just important for young learners but is also beneficial to older students. Play brings out creativity, facilitates the exploration of interests, and engages students in activities of their choice without academic pressures. “NavTime” is a structured activity time that provides students with the ability to play, have fun in a mentored space, and explore their individual interests while building relationships. In this edWebinar, you will learn how your school can create this opportunity for students (and teachers) to bring joy into their day. Dr. Derek Fialkiewicz, Principal, and Heidi Carr, Teacher, both from Clark County School District in Nevada, will share: Why they implemented NavTime at their middle school Ways you can and/or your school can implement NavTime The benefits to all stakeholders This edWebinar will be of interest to K-12 teachers, librarians, school and district leaders, and education technology leaders. There will be time for questions at the end of the presentation.
February 3, 2022 Ultimate Play Day Join the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative and CitiParks for the Ultimate Play Day this spring! Ultimate Play Day is a celebration of playfulness for people of all ages. Hosted by the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative, this annual event is an opportunity for people from throughout the Pittsburgh region to play together and raise awareness of the benefits of play for everyone—from birth to 199 years. Partner and community organizations offer play activities for all ages at a different venue each year. Location Liberty Green Park 100 Larimer Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15206 Additional Information This event is a part of Remake Learning Days. Remake Learning Days Across America is an innovative learning festival for families and youth! Taking root in regions across the nation, these hands-on and engaging events are designed for kids of all ages at libraries, schools, tech centers, museums, play spaces, community centers and more. This year’s festival is from April 22 – May 23, 2022. More details for this event will be available in the coming months. Please subscribe to the Trying Together newsletter for more details.
April 27, 2021 New Recess Advocacy Toolkit Amid concern for the welfare of children during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Recess Advocacy Team, co-led by Trying Together and the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative, have created a toolkit highlighting research, strategies, and advocacy opportunities for play and physical activity at home and at school. Families and educators may use the toolkit to discover new ways to play this summer and to advocate for playful learning next school year. About the Toolkit The Recess Advocacy Toolkit is designed to be a resource for educators and families on the importance of recess and play for the healthy social-emotional growth of children and includes: information on different types of play; research to inform educators and administrators on the benefits of recess; testimonials and tips from Physical Education teachers; and template emails and social media posts for digital advocacy. Learn More Families and educators may access The Recess Advocacy Toolkit on the Trying Together website. The creation of this toolkit was made possible by The Grable Foundation and Remake Learning Tomorrow Grants. For questions or suggestions, please contact recess@tryingtogether.org.
