We picked the grandkids up at school and went to the park with them. At their elementary school, at least in the lower grades, parents (or other caregivers) wait on one section of the schoolyard and classes come out one at a time. Kids look for their parents, tell their teacher, “there’s my (–)”, the teacher dismisses them one at a time, and the kid runs to their grownup, backpack bouncing.
We brought some flying toys to the park: a balsa airplane, whirligig propeller toy (one of those sticks with a propeller attached to the top, that you fly by spinning the stick between your hands), and a flying ring called an aerobie which you throw sort of like a frisbee. It’s a precision designed circular wing and can fly a great distance if thrown expertly. We’re not experts, but Ari was getting it to travel over fifty feet after several tries.
Kids are amazing with each other. Grownups can be hesitant to talk to each other, but with kids it’s “Hi I’m Maija, what’s your name?” “xx” “Great! Now we’re friends!”
I used the stopwatch on my phone to time those kids running a lap around the woodchip-covered playground area, and to see how fast they climbed up and slid down. I think the kids liked the attention.
Ari did the tunnel slide, hesitantly at first, then confidently by the time we left.
Pequosette Park in Belmont has been rethought since we were there. There is lots of new play equipment including 3 places to play “cafe” or “tollbooth” or “farmer’s market”