First Quarter Rewind: Parks and Playgrounds

This was a fun post to write. One thing that is AMAZING about this city is the parks and playgrounds. In Brooklyn (and maybe Manhattan, I'm just not as familiar!), green space and playground equipment has been sprinkled generously. I often say that if I had to lose my backyard, I'm so very thankful that I have such beautiful substitutes at my disposal. And people here, I think, truly treat these spaces like their own yards. For the most part, they are clean and well cared for. People seem to appreciate them appropriately. And now that the sprinklers are on, I see kids playing in their underwear all the time...just like they would in their very own yards. The obvious great benefit over a personal patch of green is the communal experience. It's good and stretching to be forced to engage more with our neighbors than I was at home.

Brooklyn:

Clinton Hill/Fort Greene:

Fort Greene Park:
This is a large-ish park that's really near us. It's nowhere near the size of Brooklyn's really big park, but it's sizable. It has lots of green space, basketball and tennis courts, grills for barbecuing, and two different playgrounds. There's a little one for smaller kids that we go to all the time when Peyton's off and then there's a REALLY cool big one for older kids. The equipment is made to resemble a fortress and it's modeled after an actual revolutionary fort that stood on this site centuries ago (sidenote: most of the links are to the history of the parks, so many are really interesting in who they are named for/what the site's original use was). The kids enjoy it, but as I said it's lot of high stuff and also the playground isn't really gated well and the equipment is elaborate so it makes me nervous because it's a lot to keep up with both the kids in it. I do love going when Peyton's off, though.

Underwood Park:
This is the park that's closest to us and the one I try to take the kids to frequently on Peyton's days off. It's got two different playgrounds, but we usually stay on the side for younger kids. It also has a whole area with swings and in the Summer it has a big rectangle that has sprinklers (in the Winter kids kick balls and ride scooters in it). It has benches, picnic tables, a bathroom, and a pretty shady area. It's really nice and I love that it's so close (about three blocks from our apartment).

Edmonds Playground:
This playground is off of Dekalb, which is one of the main streets in Clinton Hill/Fort Greene. It's a cute little area and one of our favorite restaurants is right near the playground. We've only been a few times, but I like it. It's got basketball courts (Graves LOVES to watch games!), playground equipment, sprinklers, and this fabulous guy:

Parham Playground:
We've gone here a few times and enjoyed it. The playground equipment really seems geared toward older kids. Annie can do most of it and Graves still seems to enjoy it, though. And it does have some "tot equipment" and a sandbox. There's also, wait for it, a "mini pool". Can't wait to take advantage of that!

Other:

Prospect Park:

This is the BIG park in Brooklyn. It's like what Central Park is to Manhattan, although not quite as big and obviously not as famous =) It has an ice skating rink, a carousel, a fabulous band shell, a couple of playgrounds, a ZOO, and lots of pretty natural space. We haven't taken advantage of all that yet, be we enjoy strolling in the park.

Brooklyn Botanic Gardens:
The botanical gardens here are located right near Prospect Park. We've only been once but it's incredibly well done and beautiful. Thee's a rock garden, an herb garden, and even a "touch and smell" garden as well as beautiful plants and flowers throughout.

Brooklyn Bridge Park (Brooklyn Heights):
This is SUCH a neat park. It's right on the East River, so there's a gorgeous view of Manhattan from the piers. It's sort of almost a beach/boardwalk area, but not quite. There are concession stands, sand volley ball courts, a carousel, and in the Summer you can ride the ferry to Governor's Island for more fun and food. There are also about ten playgrounds at the various piers, including four themed ones (Slide Valley, Sandbox Village, Swing Mountain, and the Water Lab). Not only that, but there's a pop up pool that will come out at the end of June. I'm so excited about going back more in the Summer!

Brower Park (Crown Heights):
This park is right next to the Brooklyn Children's Museum and we've been a couple of times with friends and because it's near where we go to church on Sunday mornings. It's got a nice playground, a restroom, and some basketball courts.

McCarren Park:
This is another big park in North Brooklyn. It's not as big as Prospect Park, more comparable in size to Fort Greene Park. It's got football and baseball fields and basketball and tennis courts. It's also got one of a handful of public, Olympic size pools that are relatively close to us. The pool underwent a recent renovation which made some updates, but preserved the historic bathhouse building developed by Robert Moses in the 1930s. We played in the playground (which includes a fun sprinkler area with big (huge!) stone turtles) awhile back and it was really nice. It's a good bit north of us, but I'm hoping we'll make the trek to the pool once it opens!

Manhattan:

Central Park:
This is obvious. Honestly, and this was naive, I was CLUELESS that Central Park offered so much. I mean, I knew it was beautiful and a huge attraction, but I sort of just figured it was one of those things that was famous because it's famous. Wrong. There are so many things we haven't taken advantage of yet- ice skating and swimming, visiting the conservatory garden and discovery center, and riding the carousel and going to the zoo. Not to mention the TWENTY playgrounds. We have visited Belvedere Castle, seen a marionette show at the Swedish cottage, and enjoyed some truly gorgeous nature walks. Again, this is super obvious, but the amazing thing about the park is that you can be in the middle of it and not feel like you are where you are. You can see Manhattan, but you can't hear it. Which is, in a word, lovely.

Bryant Park:
This is a really cool, unique spot. First of all, it's this square of land that's totally surrounded by sky scrappers. It's not big like Central Park, so it's more like you're enclosed by them. It's just a cool visual experience. On top of that, it has a notable open air library where you can find books and periodicals on little carts. It has tons of seating (even an spot with rocking chairs, swings, and Adirondacks) and a carousel. In the Winter, it has a skating rink and vendors open "holiday booths" for shopping in the park.  It also has an area for outdoor games (much more than just the typical painted on cheese boards a lot of parks here have) and it hosts fun events like film festivals and even recently a huge game of musical chairs! It's just quirky and unique like that.


That's my park/playground recap. I can't wait to explore more parks and playgrounds now that the weather is nice...and POOLS. Hooray for Summer in the city!

First Quarter Rewind: Museums

I mentioned it a couple of weeks ago, but since we've been here several months, I wanted to make sure and document some of the amazing things we've done in the city. First up, I decided to share about the museums we've explored. We actually ended up getting a membership at three out of the four museums we've been to. Here they are!

Brooklyn Children's Museum
This is the one we've frequented by far the most and I expect that to continue. First of all, it's in Brooklyn. Secondly, it's geared entirely toward children. In fact, I like this particular children's museum so much because it seems to be (mostly) geared toward children who are our kids' ages- the toddler and preschool sets. I think it would still be fun for a slightly older child, but the activities are very appropriate for their ages and not above their heads. I've heard that the children's museum in Manhattan is geared toward older kids and that was the case, in some ways, the case with a lot of the activities at the museum at home. There wasn't near as much that Graves could do as there is at BCM.

Also, whereas two of the main focuses of the museum in Jackson are literacy and nutrition, there's a BIG focus on culture at the museum here. I think both are neat because it speaks to an awareness on the part of the museums' directors as far as the specific needs of the children in the respective states and I truly love that. But honestly, I'm more interested in different cultures than in healthy eating. Just being honest.

The museum here is literally the oldest children's museum in the country and during the race riots of the early 90s played a huge part in facilitating reconciliation throughout the neighborhood it's located in. This neighborhood was, at the time, the epicenter of a very violent struggle between Hasidic Jews and African Americans. I think that's really amazing and I love that serving it's community in that way is part of the museum's history.

This was our first trip...

Cork box- similar to a sand box, but not. It was the first time I'd ever seen one! 

Graves petted the giant hissing cockroach! 

Ready for the West Indian parade. This is part of a whole area called "World Brooklyn". The neighborhood that the museum is located in actually has a really substantial Caribbean population and there's a huge parade every year. 

The Afrikan area. There's this dress up station as well as an Afrikan market where you can buy pretend groceries.

On a different day, we spent our time almost exclusively in the "tot" area. I really like that there's a designated spot for tinier people (under age five-- we'll probably still sneak Annie in, being that she's "a little five" as she tells everyone who asks her age)....

We dressed up...

and made music...

and played with lions...

and created a magnetic airplane for Minnie, Cookie, and us...

and built a house for Minnie...

and played in the fabulous BLUE! sand.

Annie and Peyton did venture up to the second floor for a bit....

They did some brainstorming...

and demonstrated what conservators do!

We also took advantage of some of the special programming. One day we went for storytime. The most gentle woman read a book about monsters and we created our own. The chick who lead it was, I'm guessing, close to my age and she was SAINTLY. One little boy kept getting all in her face (his mom had a tiny baby with her and was not doing much to restrain him). Anyway, I have no idea if the kid had needs I don't know about or if he was just a little unruly. But it was rough. And she did SO well at gently redirecting him throughout the story. She never really stopped what she was doing entirely, but she'd glance up from the book and offer for him to move his chair right up beside her where he could see better, for instance. It was very encouraging to see someone handle a situation like that so graciously and without getting flustered. Color me impressed. 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art 

We've been to The Met a couple of times and really enjoyed it. It's especially impressive how much Annie is able to appreciate and absorb. There is SO much to see and so many different galleries and a ticket is (understandably) pretty pricey, so even if we don't go a ton, I think we'll get our money's worth out of our membership. 

The day we went and stayed the longest we toured an instrument exhibit. Both kids actually really enjoyed it. Annie learned the different types of instruments and how to classify them (wind, percussion, ect.)

Maps out- time to tour!

I know this will probably be weird to most people. I myself honestly wouldn't have been drawn to it a few years ago. But this kettledrum was my favorite thing we saw at The Met. I absolutely loved it and I even took Annie back to it to show her. I picked her up and said to her "that's a momma feeding her baby and that's someone writing a book. Writing and taking care of my babies are both things that are very important to me". When I said "taking care of my babies" she just threw her arms around my neck and squeezed me so tight. I know that was an NYC moment I'll never forget.

I couldn't not share this, either. This dragon instrument was Graves's favorite thing. We literally revisited it about four times. 

American Museum of Natural History

We've only been here once, but again, bought a membership. We ended up being there on a super crowded day (it was during Spring Break), so I'm excited about going back when we can take more in.

The museum has a few different parts. So far, I think it's the "dinosaur part" and the "non-dinosaur part". No really, it's actually a lot more than that. They have quite a collection of exhibits featuring other animals, both extinct and not. 

Then there's also a more cultural aspect, which I LOVE. Annie also seemed to be really interested in these societies from yesteryear. 

Seminole women were given a string of beads at an early age and additional strings would be added from time to time until she was wearing several pounds and they coiled almost up to her ears. She would feel "immodestly dressed" without them.

ETA: We went again today (after I typed most of this post) and had so much fun!

Not the best picture because it was so dark, but I feel like I always share Annie's perception of things like this and I wanted to share Graves's. The animal in the lower left is called a fisher, but Graves kept calling him a "swimmer". He said "that swimmer not get the porcupine- he swat him with his tail prickles" after I read to him on a sign that that could happen. Then he said "Wait! The porcupine put on his cage (when pressed he clarified by saying "like a super hero"- so, cape) and fly down and get the swimmer." Then he said that the swimmer "protects" birds. Well, no, but props for sitting still and telling back to me a little of what I told you. And also for being excited about learning. 

 Railroad Museum of Long Island

This is the only one on the list we didn't get a membership to (ha!). It's really sort of an elaborate trip (you ride the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road), which is part of the MTA, but is an actual commuter train instead of like the subway trains). But also, the museum is comparatively small. It actually might be my favorite of the four, just because I found it so fascinating from a historical perspective, but it's not a place you'd revisit on the regular. Unless you were just really obsessed with trains. 

Here we are on the way home. The kids didn't need to be in their carseats, it just worked out to be super practical to use them to restrain Graves ;) We had them anyway because we were riding in our friend's car once we got to Long Island. But this gives you a feel of what the trains are like. They're really nice and it was a fun adventure just to ride on them!

The museum is set up in a neat way. There are two buildings and both have really nice, elaborate toy train set ups. Like really, really impressive. 

In one of the buildings the trains are on an elevated table sort of thing and there are tons of little buttons on the sides you can push to make things happen (windmills spin, horns blow, lights go on and off in tiny stations, and lumber can even be loaded into a freight car). 

Annie has by far been the main one to enjoy and appreciate a lot of things in the city (as one can expect), so it was wonderful for me to watch Graves experience something that really intrigued him and brought him a lot of joy. 

In addition to the two buildings, there's also an outside part where real (antique? vintage? I don't know what you call an old ass train) trains are displayed for your to tour inside. 

This is the inside of a Bay Window Caboose from the 1960s. There were signs all inside of it describing its features and the "crew" that worked inside it. 

I loved it and thought it was so fascinating to learn about. 

We also got to ride on this little guy, who made his debut at the world's fair some half century ago. 

Finally, we had a guided tour of some of the old coaches that were part of the Long Island Railroad system. 

This one is from the 1950s and was operational until fairly recently! 

So, those have been our adventures so far, museum wise. We've had such a great time exploring and taking advantage of just a few of the things this wonderful city offers! Next up, I'm going to share the parks and playgrounds we've visited.