Abstract

Research has proven that outdoor play enables young children to learn many things about the world around them. World of Wonders is a licensed early childhood center that has been servicing 60 low-income children and their families in their community for over 20 years and strives to provide a high-quality learning experience for all children. For most children in the program, they only experience outdoor play when they come to school. Project Go and Grow (PGG) is a proposal to help create experiences and enable children to learn to seek out exercise, fresh air, and activity using outdoor play structures and equipment. Playground and outdoor equipment develop a disposition for the outdoors, physical activity, and care of the environment. One study on playgrounds and their impact on the development of children ages 0-5 determined that "Playing promotes brain development and helps lay the neural grid for a successful mind through repetitive play actions that reinforce that grid. "(Duerr, 2014). Playgrounds are more than just areas where kids can be kept busy for a while. They are a significant part of development and should be seen as vital to the program. With this proposed grant project, it is the hope to get a playground and outdoor equipment for children to Go and Grow. World of Wonders is seeking this $10,000 grant to purchase playground equipment and outdoor equipment to support children’s play and development. With this grant application, World of Wonders will strive to provide high quality care to all children.