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Academy getting new equipment

If a child could design a playground, what would it look like? Would it have swings that reach to the moon? Would there be a slide with more twists and turns than a roller coaster? Would there be more colors than a box full of crayons?   Children at Atlanta’s International Learning Academy in Fairburn will find out Saturday, as volunteers build a new child-inspired playground in the city—a whimsical space they helped design themselves in an effort to create a quality outdoor learning and playing environment at the center. 

The International Learning Academy playground project is part of Play Smart, an innovative new program that will help design, fund and build 16 child-inspired playgrounds at early care centers throughout Atlanta from March through May. 

A collaborative effort between Smart Start Georgia, Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (Bright from the Start) and KaBOOM!, Play Smart aims to provide high-quality outdoor play spaces that will help prepare the children who attend those facilities for future educational success.

“When parents think about quality child care, reading, writing and arithmetic are usually the first things that come to mind,” said Sharen Hausmann, director of Smart Start Georgia, an organization dedicated to programs that improve the quality of early care and education for children in Georgia. “While these activities are vital to building a solid foundation for learning, parents also need to understand the important role that outdoor play has on a child’s development.”

According to KaBOOM!, a national non-profit organization that brings communities and businesses together to build safe, much-needed play spaces for children, time spent outside provides children with unique sights, smells and sounds that help a child’s development. “Building this new playground will give children at International Learning Academy a safe, fun and educational place to play, and it’s a major step in improving the quality of early care and education in Atlanta,” said Darell Hammond, CEO, KaBOOM!.

The playground at International Learning Academy was designed according to the wishes of the students, ages 2 to 5 years, who months ago took crayon to paper to sketch their ideal play space.  Based on the children’s drawings, the brightly-colored playground will feature two separate play areas - one for toddlers and one for children three to five years old. The toddler play area will include a slide, a crawl tube and several interactive panels. The other play area will feature three slides, a rock block tunnel, a crawl tube and a race car panel.

Play Smart, International Learning Academy and community members will partner Saturday, May 7, to build a new playground in less than eight hours for the children of International Learning Academy!  Smart Start Georgia coordinated the collaboration and private funding, Bright from the Start provided expertise regarding quality early learning and KaBOOM! offered logistical expertise.

“The outdoor environment is an integral part of a quality child care program fostering each child’s social-emotional, cognitive and physical development,” said Marsha H. Moore, Commissioner of Bright from the Start, the Georgia agency dedicated to early childhood care and education issues. “It is an honor to be part of Play Smart, a collaborative effort to provide children throughout the metro area with the space to learn, grow and have fun outdoors.”