Barangay Kasiglahan, Montalban, Rizal Received a New Playground from "Hindi Lang Laro ang Laro" Advocacy Partners

From Left: Chairman of the Board Mr. Nathaniel Sermon, Brgy.Kasiglahan, Montalban, Rizal, Councilor Jose Malapo Jr, Di lang Laro ang Laro Campaign Lead Kris Llanes, Play Pilipinas Executive Director Sigrid Perez and Department of Education Representative Harry Buena



Recently, I attended the turn over ceremony of a new playground to the relocated community of Barangay Kasiglahan,Montalban, Rizal provided by Play Pilipinas and Johnson & Johnson Philippines, in partnership with the Department of Education,  dubbed "Palarujuan".

Beside the playground is a Day Care Center, so probably kids ages from 3-5 years old can use the play area for their day-to-day activities. For me, playing outside is a great way for children to be active and have fun and the playgrounds are the most perfect location for this to happen.

Here is a brief description of the values that children can learn in the different areas of the playground....

Swing encourages the children to learn balance and coordination as they mount on a swing and begin the back and forth motion.

Slide encourages the child to  recognized the right of others to play in the area since only one child at a time can slide.In taking turns and  letting others go first, the child learns to respect his playmates.



Caterpillar encourages the child to develop coordination as he climbs on the tire structures(body) and reaches its head without falling off. The round tires increases its difficulty level as the child has to find the right spot to place his feet on. As he does so, he is motivated to use total coordination of his arms, legs and some concentration in order to achieve the balance needed to reach his goal.

Bahay Kubo allows the child to recreate his environment and his day-to-day activities in an atmosphere of play. This helps him deal with real-life situation, create solutions and resolve challenges he may be faced with. It encourages the child to be creative and use the ideas he comes up with in actual situations. It also encourages the child to develop teamwork as the setting is naturally conducive to conversation, negotiation and agreement- values that are vital to collaborate in the older year.

Sand Pit is a unique structure in such a way that it promotes both the social and solo play in the same area. It promotes social play when kids communicate with each other and agree on what they want to build together. It encourages kids to plan, negotiate on tasks towards achieving a shared goal. Even through solo playing, concentration, planning and creativity is develop.

As a parent, I know that my kids need time and space to think and play-- so I allow them to play on their own. With this new project, the parents of the community can ensure that their child will have a playground memories because playgrounds are an important part of childhood.