Play Atlanta

Sadly, summer is gearing down for most of us. School has already started. I can feel that slight breeze in the air. There are a few leaves falling in my backyard. Sooner than we know it, and probably want it, it will be the holidays….

Unfortunately, that means the city pools are closing…and…the splashpads. I emailed the city a few days ago to figure out when the splashpads are turning off. Yes, they are going to be turned off. 🙁

D.H. Stanton, Historic Fourth Ward, and Center Hill will be turned off October 1st.

Piedmont Park and Centennial Olympic Park will remain splashing unless there are freezing temperatures.

Now, I am not the expert on this, so if you find them running after October 1st, or find them off before then, I’m sorry. I just got my information from Atlanta Parks and Recreation.

The moral of the story is that you need to go out and splash!

(I used to sing this on the playground at school. Teach it to your kids. You won’t regret it.)

Down down baby (craddle baby)
Down down the roller coaster (roller coaster with hands)
Sweet sweet baby (cradle baby again)
I’ll never let you go (hug yourself)
Shimmy shimmy cocoa pops
Shimmy shimmy POW (Thumbs go over shoulders with pow)
Shimmy shimmy cocoa pops
Shimmy shimmy POW (Thumbs over shoulders again)
Mama mama sick in bed
Called the doctor and the doctor said (Talk on phone)
Let’s get the rhythm in the head
Ding dong (head side to side with ding and dong)
Sure got the rhythm in the head
Ding Dong
Lets get the rhythm in the hands
(clap clap) (clap hands)
Sure got the rhythm in the hands
(clap clap)
Let’s get the rhythm in the feet
(stamp stamp) (stomp feet)
Sure got the rhythm in the feet
(stamp stamp)
Lets get the rhythm in the…
HOT DOG (hands on hips making circle with hips and puttin a southern drawl on HOT DOG LOL!)
Sure got the rhythm in the…
HOT DOG
Put them all together and what do you get?
Ding dong
(clap clap)
(stamp stamp)
HOT DOG
Put them backwards and what do you get?
HOT DOG
(Stamp stamp)
(clap clap)
Ding Dong

By the numbers

• One in five U.S. children lives within walking distance of a park or playground.

• Children between the ages of 8 and 18 average more than 7.5 hours per day playing on entertainment media.

• Since the late 1970s, kids have lost 12 hours of free time per week and experienced a 25% decrease in play and a 50% decrease in unstructured outdoor activities.

Tips for parents

• Kids need at least one hour of free, unstructured, child-led playtime outside every day. Adult-supervised sports don’t count.

• Take the kids to the park or playground. Invite other neighborhood children to join in.

• Turn off electronic media, and tell your kids to go play. They’ll have to find ways to entertain themselves — otherwise known as play.

I received this press release about Cleopas R. Johnson Park and am pleased to let everyone know about this amazing playground that opened in April 2011. It is now August 2011, and I have not been to it yet, but it is on the top of my to-do list. However, it has a spot in my heart already knowing that the park is in honor of Morris College’s band director, Cleopas R. Johnson. Being a band nerd myself (I played flute and piccolo from 4th grade through college, and was even in a community band in Augusta and Atlanta for some time), it just warms my heart.

I will let you know when I get to this park…I can’t wait!

In April, City of Atlanta officials participated in a ribbon cutting ceremony at Cleopas R. Johnson Park for the installation of the city’s first NEO 360 Play System and a Hexagonal Cable Climber. The renovations also include a public art tile mosaic as the base for the community plaza. 

Commissioner George Dusenbury was joined by Cleta Winslow, Atlanta District 4 City Councilmember, representatives from the Trust for Public Land and Metlife, and pre-school children from the Central United Methodist Church. In addition, the Clark Atlanta University band performed.

“The children in the community will enjoy these contemporary play systems that make outdoor activity fun and challenging,” said Atlanta Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Commissioner George Dusenbury. “We are committed to fighting childhood obesity, and the new innovative equipment will encourage children to exercise in a clean and safe environment.”

The NEO 360 Play System builds peripheral vision, auditory and spatial awareness skills through electronic games while delivering an awesome workout. The playground also has a 17-foot tall Hexagonal Cable Climber, the tallest climber in any Atlanta park.

Cleopas R. Johnson Park is named in memory of Morris College’s band director Cleopas R. Johnson, a renowned trumpet player. The history of Johnson is an inspiration to the theme of the new playground plaza, a collaborative effort with the Office of Park Design and The Office of Cultural Affairs. The image of two horns in brick pavement responds to the public art installed in 2009. The artist is Gregor Turk a local artist who has completed artwork throughout the city.

“The detail of the trumpets outline in the plaza’s mosaic design provides the perfect ambience for community events while celebrating the memory of Cleopas R. Johnson,” says Dusenbury.”

Financial support for this installation came from Metlife, with additional funding from the City’s Opportunity bonds. The total renovation cost of the project is approximately $172,000.