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Games for Change

Games for Change is a nonprofit organization that desires “to inspire direct action and real world impact through engaging gameplay.”1 To assist in global humanitarian efforts and educational needs, Games for Change facilitates the creation and distribution of social impact games.

1. Ramos, Jeff. “Can Food Force and WeTopia change the social gaming industry?” Games for Change Blog. 1 Dec. 2011. < http://www.gamesforchange.org/blog/ > 16 Dec. 2011.

Games With Rules

Games with rules is a level of play that imposes rules that must be followed by the players. It requires self-regulation by the children who play, so they can successfully follow the rules and curb their own personal ego needs. Games with rules are often characterized by logic and order, and as children grow older they can begin to develop strategy and planning in their game playing.1

1. Frost, Joe L., Pei-San Brown, John A. Sutterby, Candra D. Thornton. The Developmental Benefits of Playgrounds. Olney, MD: Association for Childhood Education International, 2004. p. 25.

GameTime

GameTime, a division of Playcore, began operations in 1929 in Michigan. Fifty years later they relocated to Fort Payne, Alabama. They use research-based design and engineering in manufacturing the company’s products. GameTime’s independent research studies are conducted by noted experts in the fields of fitness, nature, education, and urban issues, and are used as the foundation when designing their products. Some of the research has included: the Comparison of Physical Activity on a Play Structure Between Age Groups over Twenty Weeks, the Relevance of Height for Child Development and Playground Safety, and the Nature and Benefits of Children’s Climbing Behaviors and the Functions and Benefits of Playground Swings. These research projects were led by Drs.

GameTime Athletics

GameTime Athletics provides equipment and supplies for the sports and sport fields of recreational, school, and collegiate programs. Based in Weston, Missouri, they offer both sports facility equipment and supplies and sports field construction and maintenance.

GenMove

GenMove is dedicated to providing programs, staff services, and equipment that assists every child to experience athletic achievements, contribute to a team, and choose a healthy lifestyle regardless of physical limitations, athletic abilities, or past experiences. They aim to positively influence today's children throughout their lives and then their children's lives, thus their motto: Moving Generations.1

1. “Why GenMove.” GenMove USA. < http://www.genmoveusa.com/About/Our-Philosophy.aspx > 21 Nov. 2011.

Godbey, Geoffrey

Dr. Geoffrey C. Godbey is a teacher, scholar, speaker, author, and consultant concerning the history and philosophies of leisure, leisure and health, leisure and aging, parks and public recreation, and the future of leisure behavior. As a spokesman for the recreation and tourism field, Dr. Godbey had been “placing leisure into larger and larger contexts, thereby giving leisure larger and larger meaning.”1

1. Dustin, Dan. “A Tribute to Geoffrey C. Godbey.” Journal of Leisure Research. 1 Jan. 2007. online: Goliath: Business Knowledge on Demand. < http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-6282070/A-tribute-to-Geoffrey-C.html > 11 Dec. 2011.

Golinkoff, Roberta Michnick

Dr. Roberta Michnick Golinkoff believes “play is the vehicle through which children maximize their development” and that “children learn best through play and when their learning is embedded in a playful context.”1 As a professor, director, researcher, writer, and speaker, Dr. Golinkoff is “a scientific advocate for children.”2

1. “Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, Ph.D., Biography.” University of Delaware. <http://udel.edu/~roberta/biography.html> 19 Oct. 2011.
2. Ibid.

Good Sports

Good Sports, a nonprofit organization, was founded in 2003 in Boston, Massachusetts. With the sponsorship support of Spalding, Good Sports began by supplying 500 basketballs to 2,000 disadvantaged children.1 Thus began their mission of encouraging healthy, active lifestyles in disadvantaged youths, aged 5-18 years old, through the distribution of sports equipment, footwear, and apparel to community sports organizations and health centers.2

1. “Melissa T. Harper.” National Recreation Foundation. <http://www.nationalrecreationfoundation.org/crawford-winner> 13 April 2011.
2. “What We Do!” Good Sports. <http://www.goodsports.org/aboutus.shtml> 13 April 2011.

Goric Marketing Group USA

Rick Henke founded the Goric Marketing Group USA in 1994 to create playgrounds of “natural beauty, structural integrity, and intergenerational fun.”1 With his background in engineering and his involvement in developing playground safety standards in Canada, Rick was a creator of integrated playscapes, accessible play equipment for children of all abilities.

1. “About Goric.” Goric Marketing Group USA, Inc. < http://www.goric.com/about_goric.php > 9 May 2011.

Grip

Grip is defined as the act of grasping and holding fast.1 Boys and girls have approximately the same grip strength until the age of 10 years, when boys’ grip strength becomes increasingly stronger than girls. Left-handed children tend to have equal strength in both hands, while right-handed children are significantly stronger in their dominant hand.2

1. “Grip.” Dictionary.com < www.dictionary.com > 30 July 2010.
2. Hager-Ross, C. and B. Rosblad. “Norms for grip strength in children aged 4-16 years.” PubMed.gov. < http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12162590 > 30 July 2010.

Grounds For Play

Dr. Eric Strickland, one of the owners of Grounds For Play, Inc., first began consulting, designing, and building playground projects when he was a doctoral student under Dr. Joe Frost at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. In 1979, he became an assistant professor of Elementary and Early Childhood Education at the University of Texas at Arlington and continued to consult with churches and child care centers on their playgrounds. Eventually the consulting and designing grew to also include building the playgrounds.

Gulick, Luther

Luther Halsey Gulick gave significant leadership and promotion to the playground and recreation movements of the early 1900s. With most of his time involved in the fields of physical education and hygiene, he liked to take ideas and thoughts, develop them further, put an organization together to bring the ideas to fruition, and then turn the leadership over to others while he moved on to another set of ideas.1

1. Butler, George D. Pioneers in Public Recreation. Minneapolis, MN: Burgess Publishing Company, 1965. p. 55.

Gun Play

Children have fantasized about triumphing over evil for years. Fighting the “bad guys” seems to be an inherent desire, especially for boys, who use gun play as a means to feel empowered. Whether children are playing cowboys and Indians, cops and robbers, pirates, soldiers, or spies, play guns are usually involved as they engage in pretend play.1

1. Huffman, Todd. “Toy Guns and Gunplay: Should Parents Be Worried?” McKenzie Pediatrics. < http://www.mckenzie-pediatrics.com/shop/images/ToyGuns.pdf > 15 June 2011.

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