Woo-hoo! It feels like it’s been a long time coming, but finally we welcome spring and Park Days. The Mill Dam Park is open and ready for play and we are continuing our annual park days on Wednesday mornings from 9:30-11:30. This weekly event is a very simple concept that has been hugely successful the past four years. It’s designed as a common time for families and children to join others at Mill Dam Park. We have often seen weeks with over 20 children playing together at the park.
I feel fortunate each time we’re playing at our park, there is so much space to run and play, great play structures to climb/slide/jump on, our awesome splash pad to cool off in, swings to soar high, trails to walk in, picnic areas, growing trees and a beautiful creek to visit. The Parents’ Voice is happy to supply a toy bin with toys that are perfect for extending pretend play in the sandbox.
We’re currently looking for kitchen utensils or pans ie. muffin tins, big spoons, baking pans and pie tins. We added some of these items last year and saw them to be a big hit and they stood strong for the whole summer. Any donations can be left in our toy bin at the park.
The Croques-Livres continues to flourish as well. Stop by to read a book, borrow one to take home or leave a few you’ve outgrown for others to enjoy.
Park visits are literally my favourite thing to do in the summer though (a beach with a play structure is equally amazing and may take the lead on favourite thing) but really I love visiting parks with my kids. There’s so much to explore and it never gets old. Each visit they’re trying to expand their skills and accomplish something they couldn’t do the day before! Having said that, there definitely are some tips I’ve picked up along the way to make park days easier to pack for and clean up from.
Park Tips
1. Have one large tote designated for the park, it’s bound to be permanently sandy.
2. Make a checklist: there’s actually a lot to remember such as bathing suits/towels, hat, sunglasses, sunscreen. Whichever items can be left in the car, do so, then you can’t forget them. Otherwise have the kids help out with a quick run through of the checklist before leaving. Dole out the responsibilities – you’re in charge of your bathing suit, while mom takes care of the towels.
3. Get sand off outside of the house. Shoe dumping is a must – everyone in our house knows they have to dump their shoes before coming in the house. For getting sand off of bodies use baby powder. If you rub the body parts filled with sand with baby powder, the sand slides right off.
4. Keep a park bag in the car. It can have your picnic blanket and toys there, ready for each week/visit.
5. Park snacks: keep them simple. I’ll often throw in some frozen yogurt tubes, they thaw during the visit which lets me eliminate the need for an ice pack. Other simple snacks are raisins, trail mix, fruit pieces, veggie sticks, crackers, cheese strings and we always pack water. The day you forget the water is usually the day they’re thirstiest.
6. Lastly, wrap wet/sandy bathing suits in the wet towels to avoid sand spilling all over the house. There are also great mesh bags you can buy at the dollar store that are great for wet items as well.
We hope to see many of you out at our park days. We’re looking forward to a place where the kiddos can run, jump, slide, build and socialize.
