Playgrounds

Me -I like to go to the playground. I like to go on the swings.I don't like to pump my legs I like it better when people push me. I am not good at pumping my legs. I am very good at waiting for people to push me. I like to go on the slide. I like when playgrounds have things to climb on. I like sandboxes but playgrounds hardly ever have them anymore. My sister used to have a sand and water table, but we were hardly ever allowed to play with it. They have a nice playground at my school. My sister is bored with it because she has already been in the school for a long time. I am happy to have a big playground at my school. Last year, when I was in kindergarten, I went to a different school.  We had a little playground. There were no swings. There was only one thing to climb on. It did have three slides attached to it though. We hardly ever went to the playground anyway. This year we will have recess almost every day when it is not raining or really cold or the playground is wet or snowy. I can't wait!*

*The above is a guest post by little sister, Aurella, as dictated to Mom.

Mom - When I was young playgrounds were so different than are now. The swings and slide were metal. When it was really hot you couldn't go on them or you would burn your legs especially on the slide. They also had metal monkey bars which usually just went straight across. They didn't have climbers like they do now. They had a merry-go-round which spun around in a circle. They had sandboxes. I know of a couple playground we go to or used to go to that still have a sandbox, but most of the ones I know of do not. On the whole, I am not in favor of sandboxes. First of all, I don't like sand in general it is too messy. Also, I don't think sandboxes are very sanitary especially not public ones. When Melia was little we got her a sand and water table because she had a lot of sand toys, and we didn't go to the beach that much. We hardly ever let her play with it because it was too messy and the rain kept getting in even after my husband built her a cover for it. Nowadays, playground equipment is made out of plastic so it doesn't get so hot. Swing seats are also made out of plastic. They usually always have climbers and sometimes even more than one for different age levels. The ground is covered with wood chips, pieces of rubber, or a completely rubber surface instead of just dirt or sand like when we were kids. However, the wood chips and rubber pieces are messy and get all over your clothes and in your shoes and all over your house. The rubber floor gets really hot in the sun. There must be a better way. The fact that there is not so far only shows that while there has been a lot of improvement in playgrounds over the years, there is still room for more.

And that's our view. What is your favorite playground memory?

Tune in tomorrow for Funny Friday.