yground

JENNIFER FINER STAFF WRITER

Four-year-old Yonaton Nadiv (top left) designs
his dream playground.

Daniel Morgan, (bottom left) shows off his
creation.

At 16 months Noa Jerusalem (above) is too
young to create a playground but enjoys
coloring.

specializes in playground construc-
tion, parents discussed the venture
while their children drew and then
shared their ideas.
"We want the community involved
in this project," Ms. Lee said. "The
premise behind the playground is to
further develop the neighborhood.
And you don't have to be a skilled
craftsman to get involved."
Nearly 75 volunteers are needed
to spend part of the July 4 weekend
building the playground. Others will
be asked to help with activities like
child care and food preparation dur-
ing the two building days.

"It's nice for
the kids to be able to
give input."

Cheryl Jerusalem

ight-year-old Zach Foster wants a
playground where he can climb up on
a structure, swing across it, jump on
a slide and then slide down.
His older brother, Josh, 9, wants
his playground to have something
with a door, a lookout deck and a
slide.
Zack, Josh and a group of other
children had the opportunity to de-
sign their ideal playground for the
Jimmy Prentis Morris Jewish Com-
munity Center, thanks to a grant the
JCC applied for and received from the

Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foun-
dation of Baltimore, Md. Similar
grants have gone to the Jewish com-
munity centers in Cleveland and Bal-
timore.
On Sunday, community members
met with Linda Lee and Todd Sachse,
playground co-chairs, for a family
planning meeting. In July, the com-
munity will have the chance to build
the playground.
After a slide presentation by Learn-
ing Structures, Inc., a New Hamp-
shire-based architectural firm that

"I think this is really a great idea,"
said Cheryl Jerusalem, an Oak Park
resident and mother of three. "It's nice
for the kids to be able to give input
and it's important to get the commu-
nity involved."
Kit Clews of Learning Structures
Inc. will look at the children's draw-
ings and incorporate them into the
playground's design.
Said Josh Foster, "I like the idea
because you get to design things you
want. Usually other people design
them for you."

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