In 2021, I met Pat Rumbaugh, aka the Play Lady, in one of the U.S. Play Coalition Conference Zoom Play Chats.  The ever-enthusiastic Pat shared numerous play resources, but what I was most excited about was her new children’s book, Let’s Play Outside, which hit the shelves just last summer.

Pat is a life-long play advocate who spent the vast majority of her childhood outside, parlaying this love of play into a career as a physical education teacher and coach working to help all her students find a play activity they enjoyed.  In 2009, Pat founded a play committee in Takoma Park, MD which evolved into the non-profit Let’s Play America in 2014.

The idea for a children’s book with pictures of real children playing was born when Pat and her children, Alex, then 5 and Sarah, then 3, left story time at their local library 31 years ago.  At the time, Alex wondered why there were no books of children playing.  Pat dreamed of one day writing books that displayed children playing, bringing that dream to fruition with two books in collaboration with photographer Daniel Nakamura: First Let’s Play at the Playground and then most recently Let’s Play Outside.

With the guidance of Star Bright Books, publisher of this unique book, and with endorsements from top play experts around the world, Let’s Play Outside is inspiring children of all ages to head outside and play.  Whether they see the pictures, read the text themselves or have it read to them, Let’s Play Outside is pure play motivation.  Including two pages of tips for caregivers, educators and parents, everyone should have a copy of Let’s Play Outside.  As Pat likes to say, “Everyone deserves to play.”

Here are some of Pat’s favorite cool facts:

  • Children are born curious and adventurous; they are risk takers and enthusiastic copycats
  • When children are outside, their choices for play are bigger and more physical: climbing, jumping, throwing balls, running and swinging are not suitable for indoors, but ideal for outdoors
  • Not all children are alike, but all children love to play
  • In the last two decades there has been a major decline in the time children play outside
  • When children have opportunities for physical activities and adequate time to play outside, they are more physically fit, less stressed, and socially-emotionally healthier.

About Pat and Daniel:

Pat founded a play committee in 2009 in her home town of Takoma Park, Maryland. In 2014, Pat and Daniel co-founded the nonprofit www.letsplayamerica.org.  Pat was a physical education teacher and coach from 1981 until 2011 at Washington International School. See Pat’s two TEDx Talks on play: https://www.letsplayamerica.org/press.

Daniel is the owner of Booth-o-Rama Photobooths, which covers the DMV (Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia). Daniel loves photographing children in action. He lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.