Trying Something New

We are trying something new as we head into the final months of raising money for our playgrounds.  Another way you can follow our blog is to use the Bloglovin website.  I've recently started using this "app" (yes it's also available on the Iphone and Droid).  It's been very handy to keep up on all the sites I love to check  from family to business to fun.  Maybe it will help you out too.

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One Person's Interpretation of a Sandbox

Everyone Needs a Safe Place to Play!

even this little guy!

Playgrounds, yesterday and today

This strikes a little close to home....

This is one reason why the Friends of Pheasantbrook project for this year has been to  rebuild and restore our playgrounds. 

We want to give our children and grandchildren a better option for their time each day.  An option that is safe and encourages creativity, even family and neighborhood bonding!

Caution, Time on the Playground May Lead to:

CREATIVITY!!!!

We will definitely have to include a slide

(or 2 or 3 or 5) 

in our final design

Any other suggestions of what this final design needs, because we literally are days away from having the final design ready to go.  Speak now, or forever hold your peace.

What a Community Build Looks Like

One of the money saving endeavors we plan to put in place for the playground project is to host a community build.  The video below shows what a build looks like.  

Hundreds of volunteers, divided into teams, with specific assignments, working together all day.... and then, piece by piece, the playground starts to come together.  Friendships are made or strengthened, pride and ownership in the community and playground is instilled, and a playground is built.

It.Is.Awesome.

Thank You!

We don't say thank you often enough to those people who serve on the playground committee and donate large amounts of time to pull fundraising goals together.  Thank you for sharing in the same dream as the Friends of Pheasantbrook!

May your Thanksgiving Day be filled with Peace, Joy, Family and Laughter!

P.S. Start the laughter now by reading about one person's great Thanksgiving Day prank here.

How can a park be more than a place to play?

I recently read a short story on KaBOOM!'s website about a community completing their playground project that held one simple, important truth! You can read the story here, but here are just a few highlights.

It was a father of 3 little girls who spear-headed this project in Arizona.  For many who are already involved in the playground committee and various fundraising plans, this quote is very easy to relate to. We are motivated by our children and our grandchildren, we have desires to give them a safe and creative place to play:

"My three little girls were my biggest motivation and inspiration. They can spend all day long at a park playing and having fun - but it's not just that, they are exploring, pretending, socializing, leaning new things about themselves when they have the space and quality equipment to engage in unstructured play."

But, here's the part I would hope motivates us all to get involved in our own playground project, it is one major reason I am motivated to make our playgrounds better:

"For me, more than anything, a good park means more quality time together for families and friends. We are all losing too much of our lives fixated on a TV, computer or cell phone screen - unengaged with our loved ones and the world around us."

What are your reasons for supporting the playground project?  If you don't support it, why not?  We want to know. We want to be successful.  And we can't be successful without your full support!

Leave us a comment or send an email to phoafriends (at) gmail (dot) com.

What Kids Want in a Playground, the last of the series

Here we are, the last of this series of posts showcasing our children's designs of what "the-best-playground-ever" would look like.  

By  now we've all noticed a few trends (slides to swings to climbing and spinning).  Even if we are done with posts on the designs from our children, that doesn't mean the discussion has stopped.  

Keep talking to us about what you want to see.  Nothing's final until the build day, be a part of this exciting process!

The first 3 pictures are Baige's design.  I had to take a picture of it because she created her design in 3-D.  I love the work she put into it and scanning, as you will see, simply takes away from how awesome it is.

Oh scanning...I had to scan the design in two parts, and it's just not as cool.

Page 2 of scanning, but at least you get the close up of the toys she's selected.

 Here is another design by one of our kids.  This one also extends beyond the 8.5x11 paper that was made available.  There are no limits for these children, I love how they can dream big!  It's very inspiring.

I scanned her images too, but this picture is so much better than the two-part scan.

 Last but no least, if you would like to receive a copy of the equipment catalog from our vendor, BigTReceration, send us an email right away!  We would really like to know what you think is important to include in our new parks.

phoafriends (at) gmail (dot) com

The "Together We Can" Hand Mural

You've heard us talking about this for a long time now, but perhaps we should officially introduce to you our

"Together We Can" Hand Mural. 

This is not an exact replica of what we plan to build, but it puts across the idea of what our hand mural will be.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 5th, 2012. This will be our Community Build Day when we will gather residents, neighbors, friends and family together to help us build our new playgrounds.  In addition, we will also be creating a special work of art to honor the many wonderful people who have donated to our project.

All persons making a $20 donation will receive a reserved spot on our wall where to leave their mark in the Pheasantbrook community. In addition to making a hand print, each donor will also be able to leave their name, or the name of a loved one whom they choose to honor in making this donation.

There it is, simple as that: 

Make a Contribution (on the donate link above)       and Forever Leave Your Mark!