This weekend it was hot. Hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk, only the minions aren't old enough to really appreciate that one yet, so we'll keep that trick up our sleeves for now.* So instead we decided to hit a local playground that features a splash pad with a little help from my brother.
If you don't live in the area I hope you enjoy the pics and can use some of the ideas to inspire and explore in your own city. If you have any recommendations for great playgrounds (or new criteria I haven't thought of) please post a comment on this post or email me.
Park Name:
Vine Avenue Playground, Toronto Ontario
Location:
Vine Avenue, just north of Dundas just west of Keele Street
Parking:
Some Street Parking for free (we walked over)
Theme of Park:
No real theme there, bright primary colours on the equipment.
Ground Coverage:
Small wood chips for the actual playground, grass in the outer area and cemented around the wading pool.
Variety of Equipment for different ages:
The park had great equipment for older kids with a few prime choices for the little ones (a lot of baby swings and spinners for Jack and a sandbox for Molly). The play area separated nicely, and far from the road, so supervision becomes more about playing with your kids than preventing Jack from playing Frogger in the road. The main draw for the younger kids is the wading pool. The Splash Pad is open this year from June 28 - September 1st. Most of the children here while we played ranged from age one to eight.
Washrooms:
There were washrooms, but the doors were pad locked and there appears to be a Fry Guy guarding the place.
Special Features:
The splash pad has recently undergone a face lift and some maintenance thanks to the My Park is DiVine project that is selling T-shirts to help fund the beautification of the playground wading pool. This pool is supervised with wading pool life guarding staff during designated hours (on Sunday they were there from 10am-6pm).
Downfalls:
The actual play equipment is for kids a little older than ours, so for this summer and maybe next we will only really use the park for the splash pad.
Best Part of the Park:
The parents. Everyone was so friendly and willing to encourage** their children to share and play well with other children.
Tips:
Bring some buckets and beach balls so your kids have some fun items to play with while they wade. Also, bring a pair of flip flops and prepare to get wet yourselves. Oh, and don't forget to bring a towel!***
Overall Rating:
4/5
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*I'm really excited to fry an egg on the sidewalk because my mom would never let us do that growing up because it was a waste of food. Stupid, sensible mom.
**AKA Force.
***100 bonus points for anyone who picked up on that South Park reference.
You should come to Dufferin Grove one of these days. I'll come meet you there!
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