Staying at home with my daughter, Snowy, this summer is brand-new territory for me. Snowy is five and headed to kindergarten in the fall, and I am an educator who has worked as a children’s minister and in educational nonprofits. I’ve never had the chance to stay home with Snowy, but now that I do, we are going on near-daily adventures. That could get costly and draining, but I have a great tool in my arsenal: our local MetroParks.
I am so thankful for our excellent local parks system. Within the Toledo Metroparks system, there are ten playgrounds, many of them fairly newly renovated. We’ve visited four so far, so we have six more to check off our list. And I’m sure we will: we are less than two weeks into the summer!
I love so much about our MetroPark playgrounds. They are clean, well-maintained, and often well-themed with animal sculptures, leaf-shaped stairs, and more. They’re also totally free! It’s hard to find things to do with a 5-year-old that don’t cost money, so the fact that we have ten free places to play close by is amazing. Between this, the library, and the zoo pass that doesn’t expire until October, we have a lot of things to do that don’t cost us any extra (important between medical expenses and me currently staying home!).
These are the four MetroPark playgrounds we’ve visited so far. All in all, I love our MetroParks, and it’s a huge reason I love Toledo, our closest city, so much.
Providence Playground is the playground in our small canal town, and it’s tried and true. It’s not as exciting as the other playgrounds, consisting of two normal sets of swings and your usual castle setup, but it’s also only two minutes from our house. So on a day I’m not feeling up to much else, I can at least take Snowy to the park up town. It is also surrounded by beautiful trails that run beside the canal. It was actually at this canal, in a canoe, that Mr. S proposed to me!
Snowy’s favorite before today was Farnsworth Metropark, nested right along the river by the boat launch. This playground features a re-creation of a natural fault in the Earth’s crust and is heavily themed. There are animals to climb on, fake trees for swing sets and hiding places, and a lot more! It’s a small playground, but the theme makes it fun. Plus, it’s a great playground for hide and seek.
Oak Openings: This is one of the prettiest MetroParks, surrounded by very tall trees. It is also right by Mallard lake. The main play structure is themed after a two story Oak tree. There are also lots of swings, including a large disc swing, and a zipline!
The one thing about this playground is it was extremely buggy, probably because of its very wooded location and the close by lake. The wet season we’ve been having makes them breed in swarms! Luckily another grandparent who had been there the day before lent us some insect repellent. I now keep bug spray in our car for that reason!
We went there today, and it has officially usurped Farnsworth as Snowy’s favorite. There are two person swings, a giant disk swing, two nature themed play structures, a turtle and frog to climb on, and a lot more. Plus, on our walk to the playground, we were able to spot a chipmunk and several robins, which is always so much fun for Snowy.
Getting outside has been extremely beneficial for my health in ways I didn’t expect. I am a mom with multiple chronic illnesses, and I endured multiple hospitalizations this spring. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been feeling better than I have in recent memory, and I know being outside with Snowy at the parks has a lot to do with it. It’s a way for me to engage in some physical fitness: walking to the parks on the trails, pushing Snowy on the swings, without overdoing it. Several of the parks also have two-person swings so Snowy and I can swing at the same time! I am really thankful for my increased health and hope it sticks around. I really so enjoy the time I spend with Snowy at these parks!
Our parks are also a great learning experience for us. Snowy is my little scientist. She loves discovering and learning new things. Our park adventures give us chances to talk about habitats, ecosystems, animal adaptations, and a lot more. It’s also great for me as an educator: I feel like I am still using my education background as I experience new parks and things in nature with Snowy and help answer her questions and aid her investigation.
Do you have a good local parks system?
pear / 1565 posts
I love the theme playgrounds! They all look fun!
I recently discovered our elementary school’s playground! It houses K-4 and it’s SO much bigger/cooler than our regular community park/playground. Best of all we can walk there!
I must say we do have a TON of playgrounds where we live, ranging from small/boring to medicore, to great. One of our fav things to do is checking out a new playground!
cantaloupe / 6730 posts
Oh yes, I love playgrounds. We have 7 within walking distance of us and we’ve gotten in the car and driven to new ones too. It’s a reason I love that we’re in an older part of the city, rather than a new suburb. Parks and playgrounds everywhere.
pomelo / 5621 posts
Those parks look great!
We only have one super small playground in walking distance of our house. The downside of being in a developing neighbourhood. There is going to be a big green space right behind us, I’m really hoping this summer it gets done. We have lots of walking paths which is great for DS to ride his bike.