Visit to a child play space

I took my little star to the new children's museum in Mansfield today.  The day was questionable in terms of weather; it rained on and off all day- which meant that taking him somewhere to play outside was not the greatest idea.  Also I wanted to do some "research".  I knew two people who had gone to the museum, and I saw it a few weeks before it opened, and one mom (with baby and 2.5 year old) loved it; the other one was concerned about safety and cleanliness for her 18 month old.

Now bear in mind that I am going to be EXTRA critical since I do see this place, as competition to some degree.  It's not major competition since our science play space and their museum are really meant mainly for local use, but I do want to make sure ours is different... and better!

So we went.  My son had a great time, so it was a good experience.  However, my son is 3.5.  I can see the concerns for a younger child who'd likely to put everything in his mouth.  And the floor... well, they really need to refinish it.  Its a wooden floor with all sorts of pain and gunk on it.  It looks terrible.  Some things don't look totally clean.  I think they were working so hard to get it opened that they never really had time to completely clean it before they did, so now it just gets spot cleaning, and some corners are missed.  But they did get it open and its kids are enjoying it.

The mom also was concerned about the planting boxes.  You see they have a really cool concept- dirt like stuff in boxes with gardening implements, pots, fake flowers.  My son loved it.  However, they used a rubber mulch material that I really can't imagine is exactly safe for kids in terms of degrading into powder... and who knows whats in it.  The mom who was concerned worried that her kids threw it all over the floor... well yes, kids do do that and it was a mess.  I'm not so sure another material would be an improvement.  I could see improving the set up to contain it in the space slightly better, but... some things are just messy.  They had done a nice job by setting up two different tables of different heights.  It would have been nice to have a shelf /table nearby for potting.  My son kept trying to put the pots on the ledge and shovel the mulch into them.  Of course they were not very stable there.

They also had a nice apple tree thing where kids could stick up fake apples with velcro. Of course they also had baskets, a wheel barrow and a wagon.  Well, two kids had already confiscated the apple in the wheelbarrow and wagon when my son wanted to play.  However they were willing to share and he enjoyed the basket.  I think you could have had pictures of apples for the kids to match the colors or some numbers to count.  The space was over the same old wooden floor, and the apples were always dropping on it.  They looked worse for wear and I don't think they will last long.  Perhaps beanbags or a soft floor would have worked better.

They had a grocery store with little carts, toy cash registers, and a scale.  My son loved it- he spent a lot of time "weighing the food" and using the cash register. They had a lot of "food" including a lot of packaged goods that were shrink wrapped empty boxes. The mom who was critical didn't like the whole shrink wrap idea- and I can see why- for her kid probably wanted to chew it or take it off.  It worked for my older kid. I think filling the boxes with something to give them weight would be a good idea.  I thought it was nice that they had lots of different kinds of food including fruits and vegetables.  They even had grocer's aprons and paper shopping bags.

My son's unexpectedly enjoyed the "vet" area. Once I showed him what a vet might do, he enjoyed putting the stuffed animals in the carrier, giving them shots, examining them with the stethoscope and the flashlight.  I saw some older kids putting on lab coats, writing down stuff, really play acting.  Then my son didn't want to go into the "doctors' office", so we didn't go, but it was actually pretty cool- they had  incubators with toy dolls, a scale, and examining equipment including an x-ray display light.

Somehow, I was just not surprised that his favorite seemed to be the science lab.  They had some balances there including a three beam, but they were either locked or broken.  That was annoying.  The also had some science stuff like rocks and magnifying glass, and magnets, but they were in boxes kind of where kids wouldn't tend to look for them.  I thought they should be out, ready to go.  Of course what my son got into was the chemistry bench.  They had alls sorts of graduated cylinders (plastic), measuring cups and spoons, funnels, and colored water.  Too much fun.  He turned out to be much better at pouring than I had expected.  Unfortunately whenever there was another kids there wasn't really enough water or it wasn't set up well for two kids to really enjoy it at the same time without getting in each other's way.  Also once they mixed the colors... well there were not any refills until a volunteer could come.  They hadn't left out supplies even for parents.  The kids made a mess (as expected). I think they must go through a lot of paper towels.  They didn't rags or towels.  Somehow I think it could have been set up better- maybe the counter should have a drip catcher or the floor...  in any case it was nice to see how it was implemented to give me ideas- and to find that even colored water with cool containers was fun.  It does give kids a chance to get familiar with the equipment.

My son ignored the stage and costumes, but I saw other kids enjoying themselves.  He also wasn't really into the bank.  I think it was more for older kids.

didn't go in the padded baby room, but I saw other kids enjoying it.  It was a shoe free area. It's not very big, but I don't know how much space you really need... except that that space was really more appropriate for the 18month old in terms of cleanliness and safety.

They also had these little toddler car things- my son still fits and likes them occasionally, so I noticed at the end he was getting in the car to take him between areas.  I thought Oh no, is this what he's learning at home- you get in the car to go from one place to the other.  Because we do do that a lot.  We don't always do that- if its available locally we walk or bike unless its on the way and we are already in the car.  The car happens a lot because a lot of things are not available locally and we are often on the way.  I wish we were teaching him better.  I liked how they had enough space for kids to move around - in the cars (they have to pedal) or pushing the wheelbarrow or pulling the wagons.  Although my son wasn't really active, he was on his feet all morning.  They are building a tree house climbing things there.  I hope our space has lots of ways for kids to be active.

They also had a few tables set up in the middle for people to bring in food or eat.

At the entrance they also had a little lounge with a lego table that included legos, Duplo and mega-blocks.  For some reason they were all in their containers, so it didn't look that inviting until I showed my son what he could do. He did like it, and I introduced him to little legos.  He can do them a little bit, and liked them.  Funny thing was, the chairs were the wrong size (like normal adult size), so the kids couldn't really sit at them normally to use the table since it was too low.  Kid size stuff is really expensive.

So all in all.... yes there are some things they could be doing better- and they are easy to see if you go in there with your kid and watch kids play.   I think the space focuses best on preschool and primary school rather than toddler age. They had a little reading area with books, but no board books. I hope when we get a space I will be vigilant about making changes if they are helpful. But my son had a lot of fun- we stayed until I knew he needed a nap, and I think it was good for him to go somewhere new, see some new things, do lots of pretend play with me and also by himself with me watching.  I hope we can make a place that allows that here- and focuses a bit more on active play (though they are planning a climbing wall in Mansfield) and science so it will be different. 

Shopping, playcare, and potty training

I'm still not sure why I spent two mornings this week shopping.  I wasn't even buying food! On Wednesday I had a short meeting with someone about the science play space, and then I thought, oh, I'll go buy some balloons and maybe other things for my projects.  So I went to the Dollar Tree.  I've never been there.  Its right next to Kroger where I usually shop.  I used to shop at a Dollar store sometimes in Ithaca after Woolworths closed and before we finally got CVS on the commons.  My problem with dollar stores is partly that they sell junk- I mean do you expect high quality for a dollar?  On the other hand, my junky $1 laundry basket that I bought almost fifteen years ago is only just starting to break.  My other problem is that sometimes you just buy too much because it seems so cheap.

So anyway, I went in to our local store and was immediately mesmerized by all the stuff.  I don't know why that is.  Its not like I've never seen stuff before.  Perhaps it was the jumble of stuff in a small space?  Perhaps its because I haven't been to a store other than a grocery store in quite a while.  I found myself just taking note of each item I might possibly need or buy some day as if amassing strategic information that I expected to be useful.  Maybe its because I get excited when I can find something locally outside of Walmart.  Maybe I was excited because I didn't have my little star with me and felt I could slow down.

So, slow down, I did.  I also managed to buy some random things like new socks for me and my son.  I finally found the round balloons as opposed to the rectangle and water balloons.  When I got home (morning was gone by then!) I found that just like in the past, I was unable to blow them up even after a lot of stretching.   The idea was that you can figure out your lung capacity if you blow up a balloon and calculate the volume of air you blew in.  Well, it doesn't work if you can't get the balloon to expand at all.

So, I tried the more complicated set up that included an upside down coke bottle in a basin of water, and a straw.  It worked surprisingly easily.  I still wasn't quite clear on the physics that allowed water to be at a higher level in the bottle than in the basin.  Perhaps over time they would equilibrate.

So that was my first shopping trip.  By today I realized I needed a few more things for the science play activity we are putting on tomorrow.  One of them might be buttons.. or cardboard, and maybe my string wasn't that good.  It was time to check out our new craft store.  Oh, that place was dangerous.  Really dangerous.  So much fun stuff.  They had a really nice selection, and some of it wasn't even low quality.  Of course I had to check it out shelf by shelf.  We won't say how much money I departed with.  I mean, I finally bought us some masking tape, duct tape (it actually said DUCK tape!), and normal scotch tape that I'd been wishing we had for a while.  We'd been talking about not having small muffin tins, and they had one there...

Of course the buttons didn't work- my string would not fit through them.  I'd had to buy an assortment when I really just wanted BIG buttons, so that was not completely unexpected.  I'm sure my son will enjoy them sometime. I never did find the perfect string, so I figured I'd use what I had from the grocery store.  The card stock I found on sale had to be tweaked a bit to work, but it was a lot easier to work with than cardboard.  You see the project requires circular disks.  I found a circular cutter- kind of like a compass with a utility knife.  I bought the cheap one, probably not the greatest decision.  It works better on the card stock.  Until I saw it on the shelf I had no idea such a device existed.  I'm still not positive that scissors are faster, but I have to admit it makes a great circle.

After going to the grocery store as well- in search of string, and some groceries, I wasted ANOTHER morning shopping.  The worst part was, when I got it together to go to the gym with enough time to lift weights before I had to pick my son up from play care, I realized the gym is only open from 11-1 on Fridays.  I'd missed that. Its not open again until Monday when I would have gone anyway.  Now I'll be weak again.

As I was picking up my son on the early side it rained so I can't mow  the lawn.
About picking up my son... I was not happy about missing the gym, but I figured this way I get to eat ice cream with my husband and his students and pick up my son early.  I wanted to do this because his regular lead teacher had the day off.  I really don't feel as good about the other teachers.  I think my son is safe, but I don't think they pay as much attention to his needs.

I was also a bit surprised this morning when I dropped him off and the teacher said they were going to have popcorn and a movie.  Is this why I send him to play care?!  To watch a movie- I don't even let him watch movies.  So I was concerned and mentioned that we only let him watch stuff for 10-15 minutes, and that is quite rare. I was actually concerned that the content might scare him since he's not used to anything very dramatic.  The teacher said they were studying sports this week, so they thought it fit in to watch sports and eat popcorn.  I have to send my kid to playcare for this!!  I really want him learning to be a fan?  He should be playing sports not watching them!

So I said to myself that he was getting cultural education- I mean we are not watching sports at home.  The teacher said actually they were watching a dinosaur animation where there was problem solving because the sports videos were rated PG.  Thank goodness.  Are there not documentaries on sports or something?  The teacher also said it would only be one of the activities the kids could choose to do during that time.  I figured he'd love the movie and sit there in a TV coma.

I also asked about the popcorn- I thought there was some sort of choking risk or something.  She said it was allowed for preschoolers.  I figured she'd know best and that she (unlike me) is trained in CPR and mouth to mouth.  And actually I'd be quite happy to give my little star popcorn- its really not bad for you if you don't smother it with crap.

Apparently he liked the popcorn- though I'm guess it was smothered with crap because he said it was yellow, and that it was salty.  His teacher said he only watched the movie for five minutes and then went to eat the popcorn at the table, while the other kids watched for half an hour.  That really does surprise me.  I wonder what was up with that video.  I mean he loves videos- at least the very few he's seen.  He actually asked to see the "over the rainbow" video I had showed him before we went to a wizard of oz themed activity last weekend.  I found judy garland singing it in the movie on utube.  I let him see it again, and then he asked to see it again.

Ah... another incentive.  I suggested that once he was potty trained there were a lot of things on the computer he might like to see... like sesame street.  I'm not sure he really understood what I was offering.  Still I only let him see Judy Garland once.  I really don't want the continual asking for videos that I hear other parents complain about- though if it helps him to get potty trained...

So I did try to pick up my son early from play care.  I checked where they are supposed to post the lesson plans for I was curious- what is this sports thing- I mean what else is going on?  I only recently learned where the lesson plans were posted- its kind of hard to see, and last time I checked it was an old plan.  Well, again it was a two week old plan that was posted. No help there.

I spoke to one of the teachers who told me about the movie and popcorn when I asked.  She also said my son had an peeing accident before lunch.  No surprise there.  He still won't use the toilet there- ever.  I remember I had a whole conversation with the teachers this morning about how I sent him with underwear, but if he doesn't pee  by after lunch just put him in a diaper.  Every day lately he has one pair of underwear, and when it gets wet they put him in a diaper.  I only send him in underwear if he's already pooped in the potty.  Nobody wants poopy underwear.  I kind of assume the other two teachers- who work with the lead teacher understood this because for the most part he's been in diapers and has NEVER used the toilet at playcare.

Now his lead teacher did ask if I'd leave him an extra pair of underwear so he could wear it if he ever did use the toilet there.  I also leave him exactly ONE extra pair of pants, and I threw in a pair of shorts just in case.  When I arrived early he was wearing shorts.  These shorts have been sitting there for a long time, and are a hand me down, so I wasn't quite clear about the color.  Anyway, he was playing somewhat happily in the sandbox, and didn't want to get up.  I sat down with him for a bit.  I noticed that it looked like he might be wet, but figured that was not possible because I stupidly assumed he was wearing a diaper.  I also noticed he wasn't moving much... kind of like he does when he's wet.  He also just refused to be done playing, yet wasn't really playing much after a few minutes.  Still I assumed he was wearing a diaper- I mean he'd already wet his pants once, and it was almost  5 pm.

Finally I pulled him up.  He was wet.  He was wearing underwear- it was wet, his shoes and socks were wet and he wouldn't walk.  Then when I went to change him, I found he also had poop in his underwear- who knows how long that had been there.  I was NOT pleased.  Not only did nobody notice he was wet, but they shouldn't have put him in underwear to begin with...or if they did, they should be watching him carefully.  At least they could have mentioned to me that he was wearing it!  I always have to tell them.    I really felt bad for him too (though I was too annoyed at him for doing it to tell him that)  because he's just not comfortable using the toilet there yet, and I felt like they left him no option other than pooping in his underwear.

I think next time his lead teacher isn't there I should just put him in a diaper..or just not send him that day.

Something like this always seems to happen without the lead teacher.  Last time she wasn't there I came in and he was just sitting on the playground rubbing his eyes miserably getting more sand and sunscreen in them.  None of the teachers had thought to help him out and get his face washed.

Long enough post?  I didn't have much to say until I started.

Science play fun tip-  You can make this great pH indicator with a purple cabbage.  Just process it up and add some water.  Strain out the cabbage.  The water was this excellent purple blue color.  It turned bright blue with a base (baking soda), and pink with vinegar.  It was SOO cool.  I've known about this for ages, but it was so much more cool in practice.  Try it out!