Fairytale Town is collaborating with La Familia Family Counseling Center, 916 Ink and other nonprofit partners to bring a variety of community services to the shuttered Maple School site.
Located in South Sacramento off Franklin Boulevard and 37th Street, the new Maple Neighborhood Center will create a place that is a hub of health services, programs and opportunities for children and families that we hope will be a catalyst for neighborhood stabilization, economic opportunity and community health.
Fairytale Town’s role in the Maple Neighborhood Center project is to work with the community to create a Pop-Up Adventure Playground for children and youth ages 7 to 15 in an open, outdoor area of the school. The Pop-Up Adventure Playground is based on the concept of Adventure Playgrounds in Europe. After World War II, landscape and playground architects noticed that children spent more time playing in the war rubble than they did in structured playgrounds. They observed that children were more engaged in play in spaces they created themselves and thought that these non-traditional environments inspired imaginative, collaborative and thoughtful play. They believed that this type of free play helped children gain skills they needed to become competent and productive adults, rather than passive consumers.
The philosophy of adventure playgrounds puts real tools—hammers, nails, saws, gardening supplies, paints and such—into the hands of children so they can create and destroy their own spaces with guidance rather than direction from adults. Adventure Playgrounds have flourished in Europe, and many now offer training in trades such as bicycle maintenance, animal keeping and farming, in addition to free and unfettered play.
The Maple Neighborhood Center Adventure Playground will be open approximately 20 hours each week after school and on weekends and holidays. Contributions of money and raw materials—such as boats, bathtubs, lumber, building tools, paints, gardening tools, pianos and fabrics—will be sought from community members and service clubs. Community outreach activities will be planned to inform the community about the new play space. Neighborhood youth ages 18 to 25 will be recruited, hired and trained as Play Workers to help children learn how to handle tools and assist them in creating their play space.
We are planning to open the Adventure Playground in the fall of 2016. We are seeking contributions for this unique project and hope you can help. Make a donation online today. For more information, please contact Kathy Fleming, Executive Director, at (916) 808‑7060.
Laura Numeroff is the author of the bestselling, classic children’s book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, first published in 1985 and now in its 62nd printing. She’s authored five additional books in the If You Give… series, plus What Mommies Do Best/What Daddies Do Best. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up as the youngest of three girls, surrounded by art, music and books. Laura now lives in Los Angeles, California. Laura will headline this year’s ScholarShare Children’s Book Festival the weekend of September 26 and 27. She’ll read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie plus her new book, Raising a Hero, and sign copies of her books.
What was your inspiration for If You Give a Mouse a Cookie?
For many, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie is a beloved childhood book. What was your favorite book to read as a child?