Now with the new tarp, it will be possible for children to use the park year round, as it will no longer be too incredibly hot to play there on some days...
The park has a variety of climbing structures, swings, slides and the usual sort of stuff that you see at a playground. The ground is covered with pine mulch.
Since we have had some rain in the recent days, the top layer of mulch is dry but flip back the top layer and your will find some soil that is nice and wet from real rain water and not reclaimed water that pops up from the area sprinkler heads.
Almost like paradise sitting out there as the boys play...as we were hanging out there, probably around 70 degrees and sunny but feels very comfortable...no no see-ums or other little annoying biting creatures flying in the air tonight.
We arrive and there are other children already at the park, chasing each other around and being rowdy.
Big Bro wants to join in the mayhem but Little Bro wants to first go on the swings.
As Big Bro joins in with the children who are running around, it quickly turns from a running game into a "let's get him" game...the biggest kid at the park, aka Big Brute Kid, who looks to be in about 4th grade if I were to guess, has convinced some of the other boys to chase and catch Big Bro. At the top of the smaller slide, this Big Brute Kid corners Big Bro and amazingly enough, Big Bro stands his ground, calmly tells Big Brute Kid and the follower little kids that he is not afraid of them and that if they took the time to get to know him, they would see he is fun and that they would want to be on his team, as he is a nice kid and has friends too, even though his friends are not currently at the park. Big Bro tries to calmly tell this boy that if he wants to be friends, that he needs to play nice and include him rather than to try to call him out and be mean to him...
At first, Big Bro and the other younger boys who are chasing him think it is fun, but then, it kind of gets a little rough for a few seconds, as one of the boys, trying to look cool to Big Brute Kid, picks up some mulch and sticks and hurls it at Big Bro.
Well, after Big Bro kind of holds his ground without us interfering (and yes, it was killing me to not step in but to let him handle this on his own), well then, the group switched and came back to the larger of the two shaded areas. At this point, as one of the boys picks up some sticks and mulch and hurls it at Big Bro, this kid's mom watches as it hits Big Bro in the face, and sees that it had gotten in Big Bro's eyes and she says nothing and does nothing. Okay, I tried not to interfere, but when she blatantly sees her son intentionally whip the stuff in my son's eye and says nothing...well then, I make a general statement that "Mulch and sticks should stay on the ground as they don't mix well with eyes"...all the while, I am trying to stay calm and not raise my voice at the child who just pelted my son...
Well, Big Bro sucks it up, wipes his eyes, blinks a few times, and moves on with playing.
By this time, Little Bro decides he is done with his time on the swings and he takes off towards the soccer field adjacent to the playground. He is having a blast running, but then, he runs down to where there is a marsh and snakes and coyotes have been seen living in these areas, plus there is always a chance of alligators so Dear Hubby decides to go take a peek at where he has headed but stays far enough back so as to not be hovering. I have been left to kind of keep an eye, albeit from a distance, of Big Bro.
Just as Dear Hubby is walking back towards where I am, Big Bro calls out and ask if it is okay for him to go towards the soccer field and Dear Hubby hears him and assures him that yes, he can go there, as long as he stays clear of the marshy area.
So, Big Bro heads over and so does Big Brute Kid. Big Brute Kid catches up to Big Bro, then body slams him down into the ground. Big Bro now has mud and dirt all over his clothes but he seems to be taking it in stride and stands up against this Big Brute Kid yet again. Big Brute Kid is almost amazed that Big Bro has handled himself so well despite the head plants and general roughness that Big Brute Kid has tried to dole out to Big Bro...
Well, Dear Hubby decides that it is getting a little too rough (actually way too rough), so he encourages Big Bro to come back closer to the mulch playground area. Big Bro comes back, heads towards us, and gets out a tiny little bucket and two tools, a little rake and a shovel. He begins to dig, Little Bro pops over and joins him. The two boys are having a ball digging and playing in the wet mulch. We make it clear to them that we will have to push the piles of mulch back into place before we leave and they seem fine with that and keep on digging...they are fine with having to clean up before leaving and continue having a great time playing and digging in our area's version of dirt...
Then, lo and behold, Big Brute Kid's little sister, who appears to be the age of Big Bro, comes over and asks if she can play. Big Bro lets her borrow the little plastic shovel. Then, she switches and starts scooping with the bucket.
Then, Big Brute Kid comes over and asks if he could also play. Big Bro says something along the lines of "Sure...if you play nice" and Big Brute Kid joins in the digging...all four kids are having fun digging, scooping, pouring, and plowing a path through the wet mulch.
Along comes another little boy with his dad. As he sees the four children playing, he turns to his father and says,
That is absolutely disgusting...
What are they doing? Ew!
Why are they playing and getting all dirty and gross?
That is just sickening!
The grossed out boy's dad seems to agree...
At this time, Big Bro calls out and ask if this new boy would like to come join in the fun. He offers the grossed out boy the tiny bucket and then, adds something like "if you would rather have the rake or the shovel..."
Grossed Out Boy walks away and plays neatly by himself...
All the while we have been there, the parents of the little girl and Big Brute Kid have been sitting and watching but not saying anything or really interacting with their children. In fact, they have acted totally oblivious that they were even there with their children for the most part...
Big Brute Kid then points out to his mom that he has stayed totally neat while his little sister, who has been having an absolute blast up until this time, is "just a mess"...
Big Bro then tells Big Brute Kid's & the little girl's family that I have some hand sanitizer and that we would share with them if they would want to use it.
I go and retrieve it and Little Bro and Big Bro wash their hands off with it. As I approach the mom of the little girl and Big Brute Kid, I offer for them to use it...
She looks totally put off, totally angry, and says "Yeah"...and then, as I go to hand it to her, she says a very terse "No"...
She then tells me in a very obnoxious way that now her children will have to take a bath...
I guess that is my fault...
Sorry that your children went from being bullies to playing somewhat civilly at the park, after my sons demonstrated how to play nicely...
Sorry that they got down in the mulch, scooped it, poured it and played with it...
Sorry that my sons came up with the idea and shared their items even though your son had head butted and then, face planted my son into the soccer field just a few minutes before, covering Big Bro's face, shirt, and jeans in mud and grass...
Next time, maybe I should just do the en vogue thing and keep me kids all nice and sparkly at the park...
Next time, maybe I should encourage Big Bro and Little Bro to be bullies and throw sticks and mulch at people.
Sorry that we taught our sons to try to work things out peacefully with other children...
Yeah, that's it...
Not...
Well, on that happy camper post...
Giveaway #11 of my Whole Lotta Love Giveaways:
the lucky winner will be mailed a wonderful picture book, Talk Peace by Sam Williams and illustrated by Mique Moriuchi.
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| Love, love, love this book! |
My favorite quote from the book is:
On the Street, when you meet, when you play...Talk peace.
The illustrations of this book are adorable, colorful, engaging, and lively. The font and the book layout are really nice, but the key to this book is its excellent message: TALK PEACE...it is a tenet of Montessori education and wish that it was a tenet in all educational environments. Just love this book!
If we truly want a world that is more compassionate, caring, loving, and peaceful, we need to work at instilling these ideals at a young age. Being kind and having a genuine sense of empathy for others, connecting to the natural elements, and really playing while being outdoors is so key, too. The interconnectedness of life might be the path of finding that people are actually more alike than different...it certainly made a change in the attitude of this bratty Big Brute Kid, as he was no longer trying to be in charge of others but was playing alongside with them, digging and feeling the wet mulch in his hands just as they were doing next to him...so much can be learned while playing in the dirt, or in our case, wet mulch.
UPDATE:
This giveaway has ended and a winner has been chosen via Random.Org.the winner for this Talk Peace giveaway, via Random.Org is Comment #10 The Education of Ours. Congrats Jessie!
The Education of Ours commented:
I love this book! It's in my school library, but I'd love to win one for my girls. Today they spent the time after dinner creating a peace place in our den. It was so rewarding to watch.
This Whole Lotta Love Giveaway started 2/9/11 and ended 2/11/11.
Existing comments on the post have been deleted and the info. regrading giveaway entry has been removed, as the giveaway has ended and the winner has been chosen by Random.Org
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