Let’s take a look back at 2013 and see what made you want to play!
#1 – Coastkeeper Natural Play Garden
This is (what I believe to be) the first natural playground in Orange County – and FunOrangeCountyParks.com readers visited in droves!
#2 – Dana Point Tidepools
A wondrous place to stroll and to bring out of town visitors. Just remember to follow all the rules of the Marine Protected Area.
#3 – Wildcatters Park in Brea
We are such suckers for new playgrounds! Especially ones with nice restrooms.
#4 – Laguna Beach Main Beach Playground
This was an old playground that got a new look this year to match the iconic Laguna Beach lifeguard tower — while reminding us to be good stewards of our ocean and beaches.
#5 – Stranded (The Book for Kids by Survivor Host Jeff Probst and Author Chris Tebbetts)
The 3rd and final book in the series came out in November. We bought our copy at the school book fair and my daughter read it in a few hours!
Milestones from 2013
What an astounding year for FunOrangeCountyParks.com!
- Over 200,000 unique visitors browsed the parks and posts of this website – hitting over 32,000 in just the month of July!
- Thanks to a one-time windfall, my family took our dream trip to Alaska this summer. The guide book is in the works.
- I earned my Certified Interpretive Guide designation by the National Association for Interpreters. If you’d like me to speak to your MOMS group about parks or play, let me know!
- I wrote the cover story about the outdoor play movement for OC Register Family Magazine. (July 2013, pg. 54) Which is getting an inspiring follow-up from me in the New Year’s Eve Family section of the OC Register newspaper — so make sure you buy an paper on December 31st!
- I was invited as a VIP guest and attended KaBOOM’s Playful City USA Leadership Summit in Baltimore, MD. Very inspiring to hear about a shift in the play movement to “Give all children the childhood they deserve.” I can certainly stand behind that cause!
- I also attended the 2013 Children & Nature Network Grassroots Gathering and learned so much from others in the movement. Kenny who started the Nature Kids Institute had one of the strongest voices and vision for kids and nature. So if anyone is looking for inspiration or ideas — talk to Kenny!
Nature Kids Trailer from Nature Kids on Vimeo.
- And if you watched these two videos of kids playing (Did you watch?) you might have noticed the incredible expression on kids’ faces as they move from indoors to outdoors — and then from the street or playground to nature. You don’t need any more evidence for the value of play than seeing kids playing free in nature which is such a rich landscape for enriching their developing minds and bodies.
I was inspired by so many of you and want to thank you for your insights and suggestions. Looking forward, I’m excited that the play movement is picking up steam, but saddened that there even needs to BE a play movement in the first place. Eat, sleep, breathe — PLAY. It should be so basic!
I’ll catch you in 2014.
In the meantime, consider adopting our family New Year’s Resolution for 2014 — and every year:
Traci Lehman
Monday 6th of January 2014
Michele, looks like a wonderful year was had by you and your family. Cheers to "watching more sunsets" in 2014!!