Playground Update from Sherri Jones

A playground is coming soon to the House of Hope! We are so grateful for MWBoone and Associates that donated money for a playground.

We have to make everything ourselves, so it will take a few months. The one item I didn’t want to make is a slide. It has been over 100 degrees everyday recently so a metal slide would have been unusable this time of year. We bought a slide in Lusaka. Eventually we will build a metal frame and put it closer to the houses. For now I found a rock the correct height up by the activity room and set the slide up on the rock.

The kids were so afraid to try it for the first time! I should say all the kids except Charles. I’ve never met a more fearless child than Charles! I had to hold onto them the whole time they were sliding at first. Then the kids would hold onto the sides so they went very slowly. Asco would call out to me “Bashedi, I’m scared! Will you catch me?” So I would squat at the end of the slide and catch him. After a few times they became far more adventurous! Now they are sliding backwards and forwards, head first, and feet first, making trains, and of course climbing up the slide too.

I am so happy we now have a swing and a slide for the kids to play on and experience! I look forward to the day when the full playground is built and functional. I know the kids will enjoy it so much. You learn a lot by playing on playgrounds. They may not learn the vocabulary for it, but they gain an experiential understanding of the basics of physics including gravity, inertia, force, resistance, acceleration, momentum, friction, kinetic energy, levers, fulcrums, etc. Additionally, studies shows that in order for kids to be able to learn and pay attention they need to experience rapid vestibular input daily. Moving in all different directions stimulates hair cells in the vestibular complex. This stimulation over time helps children develop an effective balance system which leads to better attention skills in the classroom. Playgrounds provide this for kids. All this to say the playground will do so much more for the kids than just providing fun!