North Delta Adventure Playground, Year 2
North Delta's Adventure Playground opened up today and of course, we paid them a visit. My kids love this space and my husband and I love the idea behind it so you can bet that it will be a frequent destination for us throughout summer.
The set-up is exactly what it was last year, with kids playing with hammers and nails, creating forts out of recycled goods and getting their hands dirty. My kids were painting trees! With how many kids were there on opening day today, I can see how much of a hit it was last year and why they decided to bring it back. Growing up, I lived on a great street with a lot of kids who were my age. We played without adult supervision 90% of the time. It's a much different world we live in today but I wish my kids could have that kind of play. One of my most greatest memories of my childhood was my neighbours entire property. Their garage was filled with old knick knacks, their home was the perfect place to play hide and go seek and their backyard was a jungle. Don't get me started on their roof! We swung off a rope tied to a tree and jumped off their garage roof. Dangerous, yes but fun, EVEN YES-ER! I swear, the Adventure Playground looks exactly like what my neighbours backyard looked like when I was growing up. I can just imagine what my kids feel walking into it. To an adult it looks like a junk yard but to a child, it's a treasure trove full of wonderful possibilities.
Just a few pointers before you head over for a visit:
- Your kids MUST wear closed toe shoes and no, Natives don't count!
- Mom/Dad/Caretaker, wear closed toe shoes. Although they advise that your children explore the play area by themselves, there's a good chance you'll have to walk in there anyway.
- Bring a snack or better yet, have a picnic! - This won't be a 15 - 30 minute visit, you can bet this is a play space your kids will want to stay in for hours. I can only speak for the North Delta location but there's great covered and uncovered spaces with tables.
- Bring a foldable chair - I saw a couple of parents posted up near the entryway of the play space, totally something I'm going to do next time.
- They do advise that you allow your children to go in themselves but I say, go with your gut. The play space is pretty intimidating. Ease into it and don't feel like you have to because the other parents aren't doing it.
For more information on this awesome initiative, check out their website here.
