Hathaway, Schakel help design playground with area pre-schoolers originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Monumental Sports and Entertainment partnered with Hopkins House and KABOOM! at James L. Juliette McNeil Preschool Academy in Alexandria on June 22 to take part in a playground design session at the school led by the children.
By the end of the day, Capitals forward Garnet Hathaway had worked up a good sweat. Playing with preschool-aged kids was no easy task.
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“It’s all about this organization, really from the ownership down to the guys in the room,” Hathaway said. “There’s a lot of encouragement to be able to reach out into the community and try and make a difference.”
Hathaway led the kids in a game of Simon Says and Wizards guard Jordan Schakel led another station, where kids drew out what they wanted to see on their new playground, which will be completed in September.
“I did it last year and it was more drawing, it was planning out the playground which was a lot of fun,” Hathaway continued. “I’m a horrible artist, so last year was tough. This year was a little more in my element.”
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Schakel, on the other side of the room from the controlled chaos that was Simon Says, helped the kids draw out what they wanted in their ideal playground.
“It was fun,” Schakel said. “I used to draw a lot as a kid, like in kindergarten. That was when my drawing skills stopped, so I was at their level. It was fun to interact with them. They had a lot of good energy, were excited for the playground.”
MSE said this will be their eighth funded KABOOM! Playground built in the Washington, D.C. area.
