Chalk and Cheese Chronicles

Beyond the Plastic Slide

Yesterday, we tried to check out the new Peekadoodle Kidsclub which is tucked away in Ghirardelli Square, but they were closed to the public, only hosting birthday parties on Sundays. So we saved oodles of money and sought out the always fun and always free Koret Children's Quarter (formerly known as Children's Playground, remodeled in 2007) which is nestled in the Golden Gate park.

We just can't stay away from this place. Every other playground we have visited is just boring by comparison. Mind you, this is exactly the type of park which would have terrified me two years ago when I was still sticking to tiny, enclosed parks. This park is vast and bustling with no gates and no enclosures. But now that my boys are older, they can better handle a playground like this and so can I; it's a playground that meets their energy levels. But because this park is so huge, I don't think I'll ever take my boys here alone. Better to go 1:1 as we did today, one parent per child.

To the Playground We Go! (List of SV playgrounds/parks)

Original Chalk and Cheese Chronicles blog post.

I have spent a huge amount of time hanging out with my kids at playgrounds, trying to tire them out. In the beginning, it was easy. The main purpose of a trip to the playground was to mingle with other moms in my twins play group. We all had blanket babies back then, so watching them was easy (though we didn't think so at the time). Then, once all the kids became mobile, we headed to enclosed, gated playgrounds. That worked for a while, and will still suffice from time to time, but now my 3-year-old twin boys want more. They want to ROAM. They want to RUN. They want to CLIMB. The 3 foot plastic slides (oh, please!) don't do it anymore. They want a playground with a little bit of an edge.

Do you know of an awesome Silicon Valley area playground, something a little outside the usual? Do share!

Anyhow, here's a partial list (actually, more like notes, with input from my friend Rena) of San Jose area playgrounds that you might want to check out. Whether you have blanket babies, toddlers, or preschoolers, somewhere out there, there's a playground for you.