Since the weather has turned gorgeous over the past few weeks, we have been frequenting this park, which is a mere five minute drive from our home....

Nice, huh?  It's very new too, about a year and half old, I think.  The city maintains it impeccably and continues to dump money on it for comfortable benches and covered picnic areas.  There's a nice walking trail, which has views of the play area from every angle.  Nice.  Very, very nice.

But do my children appreciate it?  Do they use the hundreds of thousands of dollars of play equipment?  Do they stay in the areas where they are visible to me from my shaded picnic table?  Oh no.  They like to play here...

Doesn't it seem they have left the confines of this small town park for the deep jungles of South America?  Doesn't it look like an anaconda could swoop down at any moment and swallow them alive? 

That is a muddy creek which flows along the perimeter of the park.  It is a magnet for my children.  I cannot see them as they play unless I stand for two hours on the bridge which crosses it.  I'm left to only listen for screams or splashes and only hope that it wasn't one of mine who just drenched themselves with muck and grime.  It usually is.

I must regularly pluck ticks off the above child, so that he will not succumb to Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever or Lyme's Disease.  And I must wash mud out of the child's hair below, so that she can go to ballet class in an acceptable manner.

So, again, I ask, are they some weird freaks of nature?  Or are they just nature freaks?  Maybe a little of both?  I don't know, but something tells me this is ok.  And something tells me that perhaps the city could just invest money into more creeks instead of slides and swing sets.

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Posted by Arby

Give a kid a present and they will inevitably play with the box.

We have Cody Park. It has a similar type of playground, tennis courts, a baseball diamond, a walking/jogging trail, and a small stream which cannot be seen from any of the benches or picnic areas. Guess where my children want to play?

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Posted by JenIG

sign my kids up under the 'freaks of nature' list. they would no doubt love to plunge headlong into that slimey swamp stream along with your weird kids.

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Posted by 4sweetums

My kids would be in the creek too. THey would take the creek over the playground anyday.
Blessings,
Dawn

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Posted by teachingmisssmartypants

I think your kids are pretty normal. Mine would play on the equipment and THEN go in the creek.

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Posted by sadie423

Totally normal....my kids would love it. They tend to play some then take to rolling down hills or throwing sticks into the creek below. If they were allowed in the parks creek (WAY too far down) they'd be rock hopping in seconds. All thr more reasons why we go to the mountains and Greenway instead.

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Posted by lahbluebonnet

LOL It sounds like they enjoy wet texture play more than proprioceptor and vestibular play! That's all Sensory Integration talk, based on how our brains develop and perceive things. In other words...this is normal!!!! =) My dc always prefer to create their own stuff rather than using someone else's creation. lol
Blessings,
Laurie

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Posted by mycrazylife

I'm totally with them. I'd rather play in the creek any day!

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Posted by proverbsmomof3

If there is water (or mud for that matter) that's where you'd find my kids also. Whan my oldest was little, the only time he seemed to want to go outside and play was when it was raining and sloppy outside. Go figure. Looks like they were having fun and isn't that the real purpose of a park. Really could save tax dollars if they would just pay a life guard instead of building elaborate jungle gyms. LOL

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Posted by 4sweetums

I just tagged you. Come and see.
Blessings,
Dawn

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Posted by jenn4him

Good point. *grins*
Jenn

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Posted by Sandpiper

I love this post! It sounds just like my kids! Sure, they would inspect the playground for a few minutes, but give them some bush and creek and 'bye-bye' playground!
Your kids are perfectly normal! The way kids should be!

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Posted by nancysnook

my crazy-scary sunshine graphic for BFS this week...why don't join in on the fun and do the assignment with us? From BFS central station to you...Nancy

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Posted by Anonymous

Your kids are like my side of the family. You've been to Galesburg, right? That teeny, tiny little ditch next to G-ma & G-pa's house might as well have been a raging river for all the fun we had in it as kids. Same with the ditch that ran beside/behind our house in Cleveland. Even without my brothers I ran in that ditch killing villians and hiding from Soviets.

Keep the bubble bath handy and the creativity alive.

Love you!

Amy

Edited by kellieann on May. 8, 2008 at 12:13 PM

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