Category — Playgrounds

Did anyone else see the double rainbow tonight? Gorgeous!

Holy cow, people I just spent waaaaay too much time updating the playground list. If I had the technical know-how, I’m sure that I could make it more efficient, but as it is I have a convoluted system that includes steps with Google Documents, then Excel, then a Word mail merge, then uploading into WordPress. Along the way there are numerous false starts (for example, when I didn’t realize that I was working with April 2010 data for. . . a while. I don’t want to talk about it). To complicate matters, when folks were contributing for the circus giveaway, I received a couple of duplicates. I included everyone’s general comments (because that’s the best part) and did my best to create compromise information when it varied slightly (1 sunny all the time + 1 mix of sun and shade=mostly sunny), but occasionally people just gave totally different Information. I’d make my best guess (one person says there’s a stream, another doesn’t, but maybe they just don’t know about it?) or include both votes. So if things seem slightly different from what you put in, that’s why. If anyone thinks something’s totally wrong and off, please email me to let me know.

Anyway. . . . TA DA!  The new and improved Playground List has at least 35 fabulous playgrounds from around the Capital District! That is awesome! Thank you so much to everyone who’s shared information to create this list. I truly appreciate your help. I’m especially excited that we’re getting great geographic diversity these days, since early on it was all playgrounds that were already in my rotation, because it was just my most helpful friends and I participating. Please: if you visit a great playground, you can always share the information with us by filling out this survey.

Now, go have some fun!

Okay, I’ve once again become carried away with the post when there’s a frightening pile of laundry to be folded.  Have I mentioned that we’re taking another long car trip that begins day after tomorrow?  So you’d think that I’d take it easy and just work ahead on the weekend post, right?  I mean, that’s what would be sensible.  Instead, here’s a post on getting wet.

We spent the afternoon at the pool, and I barely managed to drag the girls home.  We love the pool & we’re finally at the age where I think it’s going to be pretty easy.  Two big girls were coaching J in swimming, and they were so effective that my friend joked that I should be paying them.  Love that!

Meanwhile there were ample examples of the perils of pools:  harried moms balancing the shrieking-afraid-of-the-water-kid against the Mommy-come-in-and-hold-me-I-love-it kid, parents juggling the not-potty-trained-baby-pool-toddler with the way-too-big-and-dignified-for-the-baby-pool kid, the moms of tiny kids suffering the invasion of big, scary, splashy kids on toddler turf, the obnoxious kid lying on a chaise yelling for mom to bring a snack, the obnoxious mom yelling from a chaise for her kid to behave without offering any consequences when the kid ignores her, and, for me, endlessly watching exciting  “tricks” such as J hopping all the way across the pool (“Mommy?  Are you still watching?”) and M stepping off the diving board again and again.

But hey!  It’s sunshine!  It’s exercise!  It’s good, wholesome fun that leaves everyone exhausted and ready for an early bedtime!  We haven’t quite gotten into our summertime groove yet, but I am eager to give it a try.

Here’s a big list of all sorts of ways to get wet.  The few places that haven’t opened yet are opening this weekend.  Yay, summer!

Pools:

• Albany Pools are listed here.  One mom recommended Westland Hill [alas; closed this season--thanks to commenters for the update, and check them out for more suggestions] which is a zero entry pool (for non-connoisseurs of pools, this means you walk in gradually, like a beach–good for the teensy kids).
• Schenectady Pools are listed here.  We’ve been to Central Park, which is very large  zero entry pool that’s often cold & crowded but conveniently close to the playground, and Front Street, which has a separate kiddy pool–I like it better, but it’s a bit of a walk over to the playground.
• In Troy, Prospect Park has a pool.
• Victoria Pool and Peerless Pool, both in Saratoga, are very popular with moms.  Our moms’ group does an annual Peerless Pool trip.  Believe it or not, I’ve never made it to either of them.  Chalk this up to me being a cheap mom who hates to drive.  Follow the link for hours & fees.

Beaches:

• There’s a beach at Collins Park in Scotia.  It’s free for residents, but non-residents can use it for a nominal fee (I forget how much it was, but it isn’t much).
• Sand Lake has a town beach.
• Thompson’s Lake State Park (west of Albany)
• Cherry Plain State Park (east of Albany)
• Grafton Lakes State Park (northeast of Albany)
• Little Troy Park (Charlton)
• Moreau Lake State Park (north of Albany)–you might remember that I went here recently.
• Beaches at Lake George:  at least one mom found the Million Dollar Beach worth the trip and appreciated the snack hut and changing rooms.

Streams or creeks for wading:

• In Rexford, you can pull over north of Rte. 146 just east of Hetcheltown Road, by the railroad, and there are trails that will lead you to Alplaus Creek.
• The gardens at Union College have a creek.  Overlooking the gardens, the large building is a student center, and you can go in to buy food or drinks or use the bathrooms.
• Plotter Kill in Rotterdam has waterfalls and places for wading.
• Kids’ Creekside Village Playground (FANS) in Ballston Spa has a short walking path up to a creek that’s nice for wading.
• Christman Sanctuary in Duanesburg has a creek and waterfalls.
• Peebles Island in Waterford has a waterfall.
• Thacher Park has waterfalls along the trail.
• In Saratoga State Park, the Geyser Creek runs right through and past the playground.
• Normanskill is in the town of Bethlehem.

Splash Fountains:

• There are splash fountains at the Beekman Street Playground and at the East Side Recreational Field in Saratoga.  These links are profiles by Malta Mama.
• Prospect Park in Troy has a splash fountain.
• Peerless Pool is also splashy.
• The City of Albany has a lovely chart of playgrounds that have pools or wading pools/splash fountains, and here’s a list of pools and splash spots.   Moms have told me that the spray parks at Lincoln Park, Sheridan & Dove, Westland Hills and Rosemont are great.

Water Parks:

• One mom said that she gets season passes to Great Escape in Lake George through 6 Flags New England with a credit card discount.  There’s plenty for younger kids in the water park, plus fountains in various other play areas.
• Water Slide World is in Lake George, too.
• Zoom Flume is in East Durham if you’d rather go south.

Many of these are places that I have never visited, so I’d love reviews and/or additions to the list.

Man, oh man, was that a gorgeous holiday weekend or what?   We went to Moreau Lake State Park today, which I’ll tell you about tomorrow.  But here are some things going on this week:

Tuesday, June 1st:

• At 11 am, there’s a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Jerry Burrell Park in Schenectady.  The playground was designed by community members and Union College Students–it’s called Project Skip.
• At 6 pm, there’s Music in the Park in the town of Schodack.
• It’s a 39 Clues Summer Reading Kick-off Party at 7 pm at the  Colonie Center or 6 pm at the Saratoga Springs Barnes & Noble.
• Curious George Live is at the Glens Falls Civic Center at 7 pm.  Tickets range from $15 to $55.
• It’s Pajamarama at 7 pm at the Bethlehem Public Library.

Wednesday, June 2nd:

• Curious George Live is at the Glens Falls Civic Center at 10:30 am and 7 pm.  Tickets range from $15 to $55.
• From 3:30-5 pm, 4th- through 8th-graders can participate in Books on Stage with staff from NYSTI at the Troy Public Library.

Thursday, June 3rd:

• The hiking group will be meeting at Christman Sanctuary in Duanesburg at 9:45 am.  See the local hikes list for more information.
• At 5 pm, it’s Alive at Five at the Albany Waterfront Park.
• It’s the 2nd Annual Taste of the Y at the Greenbush Area YMCA from 6-8 pm.  Restaurant samples, music, bounce house and other kids’ activities.  Free.
• Students from Schenectady’s John Sayles School of Fine Arts will be doing a Pops Concert at the Music Haven Stage in Central Park at 7 pm.   I’ve seen it listed elsewhere as 6:30 pm.  Free.
• It’s Lego Night at 7 pm at the Mohawk Commons Barnes & Noble.

Friday, June 4th:

• There’s Stretching with Stuffee at 10 am at the Children’s Museum at Saratoga.
• At noon there’s a Spring Wildflower Hike at the Albany Pine Bush.
• At 1 pm, you can watch the Squeeze Play Accordian Band at Bethlehem Public Library.
• It’s First Friday in Albany from 5-9 pm.
• St. Basil’s in Troy is kicking off its Greek Festival at 5 pm tonight–it will last all weekend.
• It’s Ballston Spa First Friday from 6-9 pm.  During the summer, this will include a family-oriented film at 9 pm in Wiswall Park.  Tonight’s is Coraline.  Personally, those crazy button-eyes creeped me out way too much in the preview, but maybe  some of you can handle it. . . .
• At 7 pm, the Guilderland Public Library will be showing Swiss Family Robinson.  I’ve got to say:  I love the Guilderland Public Library.  It’s one of my favorites, and since I’ve been to programs at at least 6 or 8 different local libraries (because I am a wanton library whore), that’s saying something.  But when I first heard that they were doing Friday night Disney movies, I kind of rolled my eyes.  Like, we don’t have enough of the freakin’ Disney movies, right?  So I was ever so pleased that they are kickin’ it old school with this one, Mary Poppins, Bedknobs & Broomsticks, and Treasure Island.  Yeah, baby!  And there will be popcorn.
• Steamer 10 Theatre opens The Good (& Bad) Faeries of Nottingham tonight at 7 pm.
• There’s an Alternative Prom from 7-11 pm for LGBT youth aged 13 to 19 at Revolution Hall in Troy.  It’s  $10.
• Okay, it’s about an hour northeast of us, but perhaps worth the trip?  The Cambridge Balloon Festival kicks off tonight with its first balloon launch and fireworks.  Anyone ever gone to this?

Have you heard that this Saturday is Take Our Children to the  Park. . . And Leave Them There Day?  Lenore Skenazy, of Free Range Kids fame, came up with this idea.  She explains:

If our goal is to get kids back outside (it is), and playing together (it is), and for parents to relax (it is), and to start creating community again (it sure is!!!), then “Take Our Children to the Park… And Leave Them There Day” is a great first step.

Across the country — what the heck, across the world — parents will  converge upon local playgrounds and parks with their school-age kids. They will tell them to have fun, make friends and don’t leave with anyone. Then the parents will wave goodbye and the kids will amuse themselves for whatever amount of time they’ve decided with their folks. An hour. A morning. Or maybe even just half an hour, to get used to the whole thing, which, admittedly, sounds radical. But is it?

The crime rate in America is back to where it was in the early ’70s. Crime was going up then, and it peaked around 20 years later. By the mid ’90s it was coming down and continues to do so.  So the strange fact — very hard to digest — is that if YOU were playing outside in the ’70s or ’80s, your kids today are safer than you were! I know it doesn’t feel that way. In fact, here’s an interesting poll about how the majority of people feel crime is going up when actually its going down. But anyway, the point is:

Most of us used to play outside in the park, without our parents, without cell phones, without Purell or bottled water and we survived! Thrived! We cherish the memories! And if you believe the million studies that I’m always publishing here, kids are healthier, happier and better-adjusted if they get to spend some time each day in “free play,” without adults hovering.

I know there will be shrill voices insisting, “Predators are gonna love this holiday!” but keep a level head. Crime is down. Awareness is up. There is safety in numbers, which means getting kids outside again, together. This won’t happen until we actually start DOING IT.

So far, my kids don’t walk to the playground on their own.  They do play outside without me, and they’re allowed to walk to neighbors’ houses if they tell me first.  A week or two ago I actually wandered around the neighborhood looking for kids, because it was an unbelievably beautiful day and there was hardly anyone outside.  It drives me crazy.  We do have a few neighbors that will come out and play, but I aspire to have the girls form part of a neighborhood gang.  Really, my vision is the crowd in Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books–especially The Bully, where the kids transform a shed and the mothers take turns baking brownies.  Except, you know, in my fantasy the dads would bake, too, and/or the kids would get take-out dumplings or samosas sometimes.  Right now we’ll sometimes have a lone little girl come over to play, and eventually my kids want to go inside or even just play with each other, and then I have a sad little girl standing forlornly in the driveway.  If there were a whole crowd, then kids could come and go with perhaps a little less drama. . . or maybe that’s wishful thinking?

In any case, I do love the idea of building a little a better neighborhood community.  Last year we hosted a little BBQ potluck with the neighbors, and I know that there are at least five other going-to-be-kindergarteners on our block, but there’s only one of them that I actually see outside regularly.  Of course, some of this is because the parents have to work, so the kids are tucked away in daycare for the day–maybe we’ll see more of them as it stays lighter later.  I’ve heard of one neighborhood where they take turns hosting happy hour once a week over the summer–now that sounds like an excellent idea.

So, I think that I’d probably try to screw up my courage and send the girls to the playground for an hour or so this Saturday–M already walks to school, and J’s a little young, but with M I think she’d be okay.  But our dance card is full:  we’ve got Niska-Day on Saturday.  Plus we’re hosting two friends for a first-ever (babysitting) sleepover, and we’re going to try to make it to a neighborhood party that we always miss because we’re just too freakin’ exhausted from all the parade marchin’ and general frolicking.

How about you?  Do you send your kids to their local park?  Or, would you?

I’ve updated the Playground List. If you visit a new playground, or if you have a favorite that isn’t listed yet, please share it with us by filling out the survey.

For those of you who didn’t catch it in the comments and who aren’t a Fan on Facebook, Schenectady’s had to shut down the Tiny Tot Land portion of the park to fix the buckling surface.  They didn’t have a firm date for the re-opening, but when I hear, you will.

J at Craig Elementary School

Small-bany just wrote a review of Riverfront Park in Rensselaer.  One of the things that struck a chord with me was that she’d passed by the playground many times, and she’d finally gotten around to stopping.  We really do get so ingrained in our routines that we miss out on some serious. . .  you got it!  Fun!

My friend and I had a similar experience recently with River Road Park in Niskayuna.  This park is convenient for gatherings because it’s got a big pavilion, plenty of tables, and bathrooms right there.  But, really, the equipment itself tends a bit toward the young side.  Between the potlucks and playdates and the equipment itself, I’m just bored with it.  Or I was.

Last time we went, we took ourselves for a little walk.  Now, I’ve done the bike path loop before, but this time we struck out into the woods.  We’ve always known, in theory, that the path leads to Rosendale Elementary School playground, but we’ve never taken the walk.   We decided to let our five-year-olds lead us, and we acted like we had no idea where it might lead so that when they “discovered” the other playground, they were shrieking with delight.  But we were surprised, too, because the trail felt like a mini-wilderness, and someone before us had put together a fort-like structure made entirely of branches (when we saw this, we both cursed ourselves for not bringing a camera for this blog), and several fallen trees made excellent balance beams.  I have a whole new appreciation for the playground.  And we still haven’t gone down the bike-friendly path through the woods!

Oh, and one more playground-related note:  does anyone know of any playgrounds (besides Tiny Tots, River Road, & Rosendale Elementary School, which I’ve thought of already) that have the extra wide-strap-’em-in swings that are suitable for bigger toddlers or children with special needs? We have a mom who was asking about this one.  If you do, can you tell us in the comments or, even better, complete a survey on the playground?  Thanks!

I’m quite proud of myself because after barely managing to scrape together that playground list, I’ve written myself directions for the future. . . now I can update it in 13 easy-to-follow steps!  Yay, me.   And 13 is my lucky number.  So I’m just feeling good all over.  I’ve also made it easier to find this little gem any time.  I’ve put the Playground List & the Playground Survey on the Big Ol’ List of Links, and it’s also over on the left-hand side, there, along with the link to my Facebook page.   Ahhhh.  I have to tell you, this is very satisfying.   M and I were doing a new 96-piece fairy puzzle this morning, and the puzzle and the playground list were similar processes for me.  First, seemed simple enough, and a lovely idea.  Then, despair when I thought I’d never get the dang thing done, and finally, a thing of beauty made all the more beautiful because just 20 minutes ago I was tearing my hair out.  Hooray.

Okay, enough self-congratulation.

Yesterday we went to Tree Paad in Malta.

The kids had a great time.  We organized with friends and negotiated a group rate, so if you can manage that, oh–you should.  The big attraction was Fort Ballocity.

Fort Ballocity

The kids ran around like maniacs.  They had a wonderful time.  Some of my mom friends also ran around like maniacs and had a wonderful time.  There were also toddlers enjoying themselves, with their moms trailing them and trying their best to shield them from the overzealous “big kids”.  I felt a little bit bad, because usually these moms probably have the place to themselves, so I’m sure that they were not loving our group, which was definitely preschool to elementary.  They do have a separate toddler area–nothing fancy, but safe.

The kids also played a game of Lazer Tag.  It’s not as dark as other places, and they had a few teensy vests.  My children don’t have a great deal of experience shooting guns, so this was new for them.  J enjoyed it, and M was frustrated because she didn’t really understand how it worked, except that she could tell that she was sucking up, big time.  And, yeah–she was.

J also did the Spider Web, because I was being Wimp Mom.

Spider Web

Originally J didn’t want to do Lazer Tag and opted for the Spider Web instead.  Then, of course, when all of her friends ran for the tag, she had a change of heart, and I just didn’t have it in me yesterday to tell her no.  This is partly because the Spider Web just wasn’t terribly exciting.  I’d say it was fun, generally, but paying $3.50 to climb up three levels and slide down a few times seemed a little bit ridiculous.  The Tree Paad folks were very conscientious about safety, which is good, but. . . I just thought that if I were J, I’d have been bummed by my choice, too.

Here’s the thing:  I’m a fan of the all-inclusive resort.  I hate having to pay for separate things.  I just spent the whole visit thinking, cha-ching, cha-ching.  There were also the many token games that you could redeem for fabulous prizes like a Tootsie Roll or a Pixie Stick in a plastic wrapper that would only open if you tore at it with your teeth.  Oy.  I also hate the over-stimulation.  I swear, if I’m in a shopping mall for more than 2 hours I start worrying that I’m going to get hives.  So by the time lunch rolled around, I decided that I had to escape and spread my money to other sectors of the community.  We skipped the food (standard stuff that would make Jamie Oliver squirm–pizza, fries, etc.) and evacuated.

I can see that on a normal weekday, it would be a nice, mellow place to take a toddler who was too little to ask for tokens and Lazer Tag. It’s also a fab-u-lous place if you want to ensure a nap for your kids later in the day.  They were completely exhausted into submission.  I overheard moms talking about how it was the Best Birthday Party Destination Ever.  And my friends who really do enjoy Lazer Tag and chasing their kids around Ft. Ballocity love it.  This is one of those situations where I’ll have to admit that, in spite of the blog, I’m not always the most fun Mommy ever.  It’s not my cup of tea.   My  kids would love to go again, and it’s worth a once-in-a-while trip.  I’ll just make Daddy take them next time.

Okay, I was procrastinating about this playground list because, really, this weather doesn’t put me in a playground mood anyway.

But when I read the Gazette this morning I realized that I had to do another playground post because this WaterPowerPeace project has got to be just about the coolest thing ever. Basically, it’s about playgrounds designed to harness the energy from playing children in order to generate electricity and provide water in developing countries.  And they’re having a free event at Proctor’s in Schenectady on Wednesday (as in tomorrow, or today, depending on when you’re reading this).  And it started at the local Woodland Hill Montessori School.  Linking this made me realize that I’ve been calling it Woodland Hills since I’ve moved to this area.  Whoops.

Anyway, that’s pretty groovy, right?  On a much smaller scale of grooviness, may I present to you the Playground List? I know that this list is still very short, and it’s not super-pretty. . . but ya gotta start somewhere, people!  So here’s what I have so far.  I haven’t figured out how to link to it on the sidebar yet.  I know:  it’s probably not much more difficult than putting it here in my post.  But since it took me over two hours just to get it from the Google spreadsheet into this somewhat presentable form (don’t ask!), I am done for the night.  I hope it inspires you to try someplace new. . . once we have some decent weather again.  I hear that Thursday is supposed to be lovely.

On a sorrowful note, I have to confess to you that I lost a Facebook fan yesterday.  Apparently there was, indeed, a gum-smacking Hummer driver who was offended by that kvetching post.  I am going to re-commit myself to sending only good karma out into the bloggy universe.  I will try my best, at least.  I’ve been thinking about this all day, and then I accidentally reported on my near-catfight with shovey-Mc-Soccer Mom at the Easter Egg Hunt. . . but that’s it.  I am done.

I am all about the joy.  I am all about the fun.

Okay!  I’ve been saying that I’m trying to figure out a way to get information about all sorts of playgrounds, and I ‘m hoping that all of you can help me.

Here’s how it works:

1. Think of a playground that you think is worth knowing about.
2. Click on the link to a survey and answer questions (it should take about 5 minutes) about this playground.  I don’t have a way to prevent duplicates, so I’ll try to update you about which playgrounds someone’s already told me about.  But even if someone’s told me about a playground, you can still name it, skip some questions, and add your extra comments.  I’ve also added a link to the survey over on the left side, in case you want to complete a survey some other time.
3. I’ll gather up your information and create a page (like the Big Ol’ List of Links and What about TODAY?) for your enjoyment.

• Indian Meadows
• Central Park
• Rosemont Park
• The Crossings of Colonie
• Ridgefield Park
• Town of Bethlehem Elm Ave Park

Also, if you know me personally, you might know that I’d already created a list of area playgrounds for my moms’ group, so if you can think of a few recommended playgrounds, fill out a survey about one that I’m less likely to know about on my own, please.

Sound good?  Willing to help?  Please?  Okay, then click away!

Capital District Playground Project

How about this super-fabulous day?  Did you get to play outside?  I hope so.

J & I took the Trail-gator over to Schenectady’s Central Park in the morning.  I’m pleased to report that it is almost completely dried out, at least on the little kids’ side.  Alas, with joy comes sorrow, and I must tell you that the super-squishy new surface did not fare too well over the winter.  Sure, many of us saw it coming when little pebbles of rubbery stuff were already crumbling a bit last year, and I was resigned to the pits in the surface underneath the swings.  But there was also quite a bit of buckling, as if the whole hot-cold expansion-contraction thing was a bit too much for it to handle.  So now there are little trip-inducing ripples hither, thither, and yon.  It’s not a big deal, but knowing that Schenectady’s surely as cash-strapped as the next municipality, I hope somebody’s going after the playground company to get a fix or some money back.

In the afternoon, we headed to the school playground because it was simply too beautiful not to play outside.

Anyway, speaking of playgrounds, I’ve been wrestling with exactly how to come up with a good list of Capital District playgrounds. I’ve actually created a list for my moms’ group before, but of course that was just the ones closest to me.  So I thought that I’d enlist your help in gathering playground information.  So I’m working on a method for this, and you’ll hear more from me in the next couple of days on this one.

Meanwhile, tomorrow’s St. Patrick’s Day, and Stewart’s is selling 50-cent ice cream cones to anyone wearing green.

But, wait!  There’s more!  I’ve been steadily collecting the time- and money-commitment camps for Spring Break, but I have to share what I have so far because the first two camps listed have deadlines for this Friday.   I’ll keep my eye out for more, and if you’ve got some, please do comment or send me an email.

• Register for the Schenectady Museum’s Spring Break Camp by March 19th.
• World Class Gymnastics has a Spring Break Day Camp.  For boys it’s Tuesday & Thursday from 9 am to noon for $82, for girls it’s Monday, Wednesdy, & Friday in the mornings for $121 or 9 am to 3 pm for $182.  Half payment is due by March 19th.
• Drama Kids and Kidzart are running a Spring Break Camp together.  I couldn’t find more information on their website, but they both emailed me.  Here are details:  Monday to Friday 9 am to 3:30 pm at Christ’s Church in Guilderland for grades 1-6.  $210/week.  1/2 day, 3 day, and before/after care options available–call either place directly for more information.
• Spring Break programs at the Albany Institute of History & Art.
• There’s a Spring Break Camp at the Children’s Museum of Science and Technology in Troy.
• Frozen Ropes has half- and full-daybaseball camp for 6- to 12-year-olds.

Ack!  So tired!  Enjoy more wonderful weather tomorrow. . . .