TAMPA, Fla. — Welcome to the "Playborhood," where cardboard boxes and blue tape combined create your nearest lemonade stand.
"We're making a lemonade sign," said one child as he watched another color on a piece of cardboard.
It's a collaboration between kids in this Lutz neighborhood.
"I think it’s so important for kids to be able to direct themselves when it comes to play," said Julia Owens, an organizer with Rooted in Play. "I think they spend a lot of time being told what to do, and it takes away from their opportunities to explore their own creativity and interests."
Childcare costs and child development go hand-in-hand.
According to the Hillsborough County Early Learning Coalition, 90% of a child's brain is being developed between the time they are born and five years old.
That's why the childcare facility you choose and the activities they do there are so important. Playing to learn is so crucial and you want to continue that during the summer.
Rooted in Play is a local organization that gets into neighborhoods and brings families together for creativity and fun. It creates pop-up experiences for kids in the Tampa area.
"Opportunities like this are very rare for them these days and we can see that there’s a decline in kids mental health," said Owens."We truly believe as an organization that’s a result of not having access to open ended play like what you see here."
Owens said the supplies she brought along are nothing fancy—it doesn't take a lot to create opportunities like this—boxes, bubbles and paint are all you need.
"Play is scientifically proven to be the way that children learn more so than adult instruction," she said. "And we can match learning objectives by simply observing our children playing."
She said, for example, if a child pours water into a cup, they're learning about physics, measurement, and gravity, and they're working their gross and fine motor skills at the same time.
"The learning what they’re doing while playing. It actually sinks in faster than when something is repeated to them through instruction," said Owens.
She said the real goal is to get kids and parents out to meet other families and form neighborhood groups. Katie Dipaolo watches her three-year-old run around the playground, "She’s having a ball!"
She said this is the first time she's been a part of a neighborhood group like this.
"This is something new. I’ve done local playgroups before, but nothing where somebody brings in, you know, like play materials," she said. "I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for 10 years now, and I really look forward to playgroups with other moms [because it] gives me the opportunity to bond and connect with other families."
Rooted in Play tells ABC Action News that thanks to funding from ChangeX, it was able to hold this event, and future funding from the group will allow it to hold even more pop-up play experiences in other neighborhoods.
On June 29, Rooted in Play will host its Mud Day at Rowlett Park. It's from 9 a.m. til 11 a.m. and is open to all kids. It's a chance for kids to connect to the earth and get dirty!
And if you have a story about childcare, whether that's childcare costs or child development, please e-mail Heather Leigh at Heather.Leigh@wfts.com.
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