Wild Things with Wild Imaginations

In Maurice Sendak's fantastical children's book Where the Wild Things Are, a mischievous young boy named Max is sent to his room without dinner for behaving wildly. But this does not prevent Max from imagining himself voyaging by sailboat to a lush, exotic island far away from home. On the island, he is crowned king of the wild things, a pack of googly-eyed monsters with pointed teeth and hooked claws. Spike Jonze's 2009 film adaptation of the story was inspired by revelations that Sendak's monsters are metaphors for a child's fierce emotions and the mysterious island is like the extraordinary dreamscape of his imagination. A scene from the movie portrays Max lying solemnly on his bed following an argument with his mother and finding solace playing with a toy boat he has fashioned out of sticks. There are other signs of imaginative play in Max's bedroom, including a tent made of blankets and a worn wolf costume, that are reinterpreted and exaggerated in Jonze's surrealistic movie version of Max's daydreams.

When my son, a wild thing in his own way, first handed me an invisible morsel of food and smiled when I pretended to eat it, I knew that we had reached an important milestone in his development. Children typically show signs of imaginative play by 18 months of age according to an article about the brain in a recent issue of Discover magazine. Pretending is a blend of knowledge and imagination that demonstrates "a uniquely human kind of intelligence". It is critical that parents foster this development in their children by providing age-appropriate toys or other materials and scenarios suitable for pretend play. For example, when AS and I play with his stuffed animals, I give each one a name and a voice and start to enact a short narrative with it. Sometimes these narratives are based on children's stories or fables we have read. More often than not, AS will take the animals from me and enact a different narrative with his own actions and made-up voices. The ability to think imaginatively and ultimately transcend traditional ideas helps children gain knowledge, generate meaningful new ideas, explore cause and effect relationships, and find solutions to problems that will facilitate their progress into adulthood.

The shelves of toy stores are stocked full of playthings, such as dolls, hand puppets, princess dresses and craft kits, that are intended to encourage imaginative play in children ages 2 and up. But these toys can be prohibitively expensive for parents regularly seeking fresh ideas. While spending more time outside enjoying the Spring weather, I have been reminded how much children love to explore the natural world and play with simple rocks, leaves, and sticks. These objects are free and plentiful in Washington, DC's parks and may be applied as materials or tools in craft-making. Nature crafts provide lessons in cost-effective creativity and in recycling as the materials may be re-used for another project or returned to the earth again once a child has outgrown his or her use for them. Children tend to value these types of crafts and playthings more than store bought items because they have had a hand in making them. Also, they feel empowered knowing they have employed their imaginations to "make something from nothing" and found ways to share their original ideas and vision with others.

As an art teacher, I was gratified to see my creative colleagues and students use found materials from nature in lieu of expensive art supplies. In one lesson, students created color wheels with Fall leaves collected from the school yard to learn the principals of color while observing the changing of the seasons. This exercise also introduced young artists to the natural landscape as a primary source of artists' inspiration, theories and art-making media. Another art teacher distributed small twigs affixed with pencils at one end for drawing on large sheets of paper. This unconventional tool compelled her students to make looser, more abstract images on paper and consequently introduced a different style of art-making to teenage artists accustomed to rendering drawings realistically, copying directly from life.

One approach to nature art that I especially love is to allow the distinctive shape of a found leaf, stone or stick suggest how the object should be used in the artwork. A Native American sculptor I once met said that the individual soap stones he carved suggested to him what animal form they wanted to become, such as a bear or seal. Family Fun magazine featured a whimsical drawing game, "Foliage Friends" based on a similar idea. Leaves are glued to pieces of drawing paper and children use pens, pencils or crayons to add heads and legs, using their imaginations to transform the leaves into animal characters. A birch leaf becomes a bird's wing and a leaf from a rose bush becomes a turtle's shell. Another great craft idea from Family Fun includes making a simple pinecone photo holder. Take your camera along on a nature hike and document the adventure as you search for the perfect pine cone to display your favorite photo from the day!

Of course, simply being in a beautiful setting like a state or national park with your child has its own rewards, not the least of which is to watch a child demonstrate how truly inventive he or she can be. Outdoor activities can engage your child's senses, help them make relationships between themselves and the natural world, and teach them to respect the natural environment. So get outside, and let your imaginations run wild!

Brookland: The Kids are Alright!

You may have noticed a few people driving around the city sporting white oval stickers with black letters "BK" in the center on their bumpers. These are the proud, civic-minded residents of Brookland in northeast Washington, DC. Brookland has the feel of a small suburban town and is home to a tight knit community. The neighborhood tends to be more affordable for home buyers because Brookland does not have as many stores, restaurants, or other conveniences within walking distance as do other neighborhoods in northeast Washington like Capitol Hill. Nevertheless, there are plenty of free or low cost entertainment options nearby for families with young children.

The Brookland Kids listserv on Yahoo! has a very active group of parent contributors. So when I was looking for something to do with my son in NE, I checked here first. This is how I gained a little insiders perspective on Turkey Thicket Recreation Center, the playground at North Michigan Park, the Washington Youth Garden and picnic areas at the National Arboretum, and the Franciscan Monastery. The BK listserv also contains posts about local yard sales, farmers markets, and playgroups. If you are new or moving to the area, check it out!

Turkey Thicket Recreation Center is located at 1000 North Michigan Avenue, NE, a short walk from the Brookland-CUA Metro station. The playground and athletic fields are spacious and sun-drenched, perfect for games of tag, kicking around a soccer ball, or meeting for a group picnic. A shady bench under a large tree near the playground is a nice spot for Mom and Dad to catch a break while their children play. There are also several tennis courts and a basketball court for families to practice a sport and stay fit together. The aquatic facility inside the recreation center is another draw for families with a kiddie pool for youngsters learning to swim. I've heard the water here tends to run a little warmer than at some other indoor DPR pools where they keep it cool for swim meets so competitors don't tire as quickly. Affordable swimming classes for children and adults are offered at this location as are summer camps. Register through the DPR website.

Improvements were made to the playground at North Michigan Park Recreation Center, 1333 Emerson Street, NE, in 2008. The park, a sometime meeting place for Brookland playgroups, now features two play structures and rubberized ground covering instead of wood chips. One structure is suitable for children ages 2-5; the other is for ages 6-12. New Moms may get back into shape pushing baby in a bucket swing, then strolling on the paved walkway surrounding the play area. Twelve laps around the walkway is equivalent to one mile! Recreation facilities also include basketball and volleyball courts, a softball field, horseshoe pit, picnic area and lots of restrooms. If your child is more the cerebral than athletic type, exercise his or her mind playing a strategic game of chess on one of two checker/chess tables. The closest Metro station is Fort Totten on the red line.

A picnic area and tree groves at the National Arboretum, 3501 New York Avenue, NE, also provide meeting points for local playgroups. Relax and enjoy a brown bag lunch or snack at a picnic table, then lie in lush green grass staring up tree tops or chase butterflies with your little ones. The Washington Youth Garden adjacent to the National Grove of State Trees picnic area (near the M Street Parking Lot) showcases the green thumbs of District pre-school children, ages 3-5. The Youth Garden "sows the seeds of interest in gardening, horticulture, and environmental issues during the school year with carefully designed lessons and activities that are delivered in the classrooms of several schools in the area." Students with a special dedication to the program are invited to plant their own garden plots in the Spring, so the garden is at its peak in late Summer. Admission and parking are free, and plants are always in bloom. Events, including gardening demonstrations and workshops, are available to the public. Some require a fee, others are free; registration is required for all.

An image on the home page of the Brookland Kids listserv shows a toddler pushing a walker on the grounds of the Franciscan Monastery, a 15 minute walk from the Brooklan-CUA Metro station. Many visitors to the monastery come for quiet reflection as they stroll along the Cloister Walk or through the beautiful gardens, listen to the chirping of birds, and admire the statuary, mosaics, stained glass, paintings of the Byzantine-style church inspired by the Hagia Sofia in Constantinople (Istanbul). The monastery has been affectionately referred to as the Vatican Disneyland by Catholic visitors who make a pilgrimage to see 100 year-old recreations of holy sites in Jerusalem and Europe, such as the Nativity Grotto in Bethlehem and the Roman Catacombs, and religious relics. Children are encouraged to roam respectfully, and flowering plants and the architecture of the church and monastery provide wonderful backdrops for family photos. The decorations during the holidays are especially festive, and you may bring your family pets (yes, even the hamster) on St. Francis's Feast Day for the blessing of the animals. Admission, parking and tours are free, and everyone is welcome.

Kids Swim

We have had some surprisingly hot days here in Washington, DC, this April, and the cooling system for our apartment building is on the fritz. When the temperature first crept up to near 90 degrees, air inside the building was warm and stifling. It actually felt cooler in the shade outside, especially when a breeze was blowing. Circulating fans came out of residents' closets, and parents with small babies ran out to purchase window air-conditioning units.

On the second oppressive Spring day, my husband called with encouraging news. The "Resonance" water fountain at Columbia Heights Plaza was flowing again after being turned off for the winter. Children gather at the fountain to play under the watchful eye of their parents sitting nearby. AS and I strolled over to join them, and I was immediately reminded of old documentary photos from the 1950's of city kids splashing in water shooting from New York City fire hydrants. At the Plaza, some children are sopping wet in their street clothes, others come dressed in bathing suits and water shoes, and all are having a great time beating the heat. The fountain was designed by DC Metro Area artist Jann Rosen-Queralt, and it incorporates textile designs from cultures represented in the neighborhood. Water shoots upward from below ground, dancing across the Plaza at intervals when the fountain is running. Youngsters make a game of leaping from one spout to another, trying to avoid getting wet or intentionally jumping in. AS toddles out to the center to join in the fun, bringing to mind another sunny afternoon last summer watching teens wade in the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden reflecting pool, surreptitiously gathering silver coins thrown into the fountain by tourists making wishes. Adults on their lunch break from offices nearby sat noshing sandwiches with their pant legs rolled up and their manicured toes dipped into the water.

A friend of mine who is also a new mother was born and raised in Brooklyn, on Coney Island. She and I were discussing our plans to teach our sons to swim when she revealed she had just recently learned to swim herself. Swimming had provided gentle exercise she needed during pregnancy while she rallied from a long bout with severe morning sickness. We agreed it was advantageous for everyone to learn to swim, for fun, exercise, and water safety. She told me that the DC Jewish Community Center (DC JCC) offers swim lessons for children and adults, but I had missed the registration deadline for Spring enrollment. After a brief on-line search, I discovered that DC Department of Parks and Recreation offers swim classes at aquatic facilities throughout the city at even lower cost. Classes fill up quickly, but it is worth a call to both JCC and DPR to see if there are any openings. We were on a waitlist but received a call prior to the first class that space was available.

I registered for the Learn to Swim: Parent and Child (Level A, ages 6 months to 2 years) class which met 5 times for the low fee of $30 for DC residents. Classes were held at Takoma Aquatic Center on Van Buren Street, NW within 15 minutes walking distance of the Takoma Metro Station. I have also heard good things about the Turkey Thicket and Wilson Aquatic Center locations. The facility and pools at Takoma are very clean, with two large adult pools used for laps and competitive swimming and a separate graded play pool with fountains for kids. The locker rooms are spacious, and there is a separate, smaller family changing room directly off the pool deck. We used this room to change into our suits so that I didn't have to chase after AS in the locker room while attempting to get dressed. Other parents brought strollers down to the locker room via an elevator, left their kids buckled in while they changed, and parked the strollers by the kiddie pool during class time.

Only three children were enrolled in my son's class, so we all got plenty of attention from the instructor. Parents work one-on-one with their children in the water under the direction of the instructor. She had a gentle approach with the kids, respecting their individual comfort levels and praising them as they attempted a new skill. We were encouraged to bring bath toys from home to acclimate our kids more quickly to the unfamiliar environment and to develop positive associations with the pool through water play. The instructor blew soap bubbles which floated on the pool's surface to help the children relax as they were introduced to very basic skills like floating and gliding, stroking and kicking, and becoming accustomed to the feel of turning from front to back in the water. She also led us in a game of "Ring around the Rosie" in the pool, encouraging the children to put their faces under water and control their breath by blowing bubbles at the end of each round of the song. Other sessions included information regarding how to safely enter and exit the adult pool or deep water with your child and using personal flotation devices (life jackets). Each session was 30 minutes although we were invited to stay as long as we liked afterward.

If you want to spend more time at the pool, there are a few options. The DPR's Aquatic Centers (indoor pools) are open year round. Some are closed weekends or Sundays, so check the DPR website for days and hours before you go. Outdoor pools and children's pools open for weekend use by the end of May and throughout the week by late June. Admission is free to DC residents, so bring your ID. Non-residents can purchase daily or seasonal swim passes. More fee information for non-residents is provided here. A number of DPR spray parks also begin operating at recreation and community centers throughout Washington's four quadrants at the end of May. Water features at playgrounds offer another way for children in the District to play and cool down.

Brainstorming for a Sunny Tornado: Free and Cheap Activities with Kids in DC

I have heard it said that you never feel prepared enough for parenthood.

A friend nicknamed my son "Sunny T", short for "Sunny Tornado", after observing the enthusiasm and speed with which he can turn a room topsy-turvy. Sunny T earned his title, in part, by systematically removing the contents of every drawer in our bedroom. While surveying the wreckage, I uncovered a scrap of paper tucked inside a parenting book on the floor near my bedside table. Scrawled on the paper was a handwritten list of free and cheap things to do with kids in DC that I began during my first trimester, after the reality of raising a family on a shoestring budget dawned. I added to the list periodically over the next six months, ultimately fostering this blog. As an artist and teacher, I was in the practice of conceptualizing projects or lessons through brainstorming, generating ideas to inspire the process. And new parents can't help but plan ahead, visualizing what life will be like with a child. It seemed like kismet that I should rediscover this list now, almost two years after it originated. What I hoped for then is now reality; we are making fun discoveries and learning and doing new things as a DC family while living economically. Every day I find affirmation that it is possible to be enriched more by collecting experiences than possessions.

I decided to share this in hopes that it will help others who want the same for themselves and their families. It's more than a simple list, it's encouragement. Please add your suggestions for free and cheap activities with kids in DC in the comment box below, and share the love!

1. pack a picnic
   
2. explore a playground
3. hike at state and national parks
4. become a Junior Park Ranger
5. go geocaching
6. observe the stars at the planetarium
7. conduct home science experiments like baking soda volcanoes
8. discover different toys and activities at interactive museums, playrooms and rec centers
9. play with the train table at Barnes and Noble
10. cultivate imaginary play and games
11. dress-up in costumes fashioned from old clothes
12. build a "fort" in the living room with blankets and sofa cushions
13. ride a carousel
14. fly a kite, kick a ball, or throw a Frisbee on the National Mall
15. walk, skate or bicycle on a paved trail
16. stroll through the city on a self-guided walking tour
17. exercise on an obstacle course
18. splash around in a DC Department of Parks and Recreation pool
19. cool off in a public fountain
20. enjoy a cool drink on an outdoor patio
21. scarf ice cream at a parlor or a baked treat at a bakery
22. share a bite of a local specialty at a neighborhood eatery, like Ben's Chili Bowl on U Street, NW
23. host a potluck dinner for neighbors
24. meet new kids and parents at Kiddie Happy Hours
25. bring lunch to Daddy at work
26. visit family and friends
27. research family genealogy at the National Archives
28. make a scrapbook or photo album
29. call someone we miss on the phone
30. volunteer and participate in fund-raisers
31. register for classes or activities through DPR
32. join a playgroup or team
33. watch a local sports event
34. have a pillow fight at a slumber party
35. cuddle up and take a nap
36. read and have "floor time" every day
37. borrow lots of books, DVDs and CDs from the library
    
38. attend story time at library or bookstore
39. browse the children's items at used book stores and consignment shops
    
40. write letters, poems and stories
41. tell a joke or story
42. submit artwork or writing for publication
43. view contemporary art at gallery openings on First Fridays in Dupont Circle
44. tour museums & attend family events
45. re-purpose old picture frames to create a home gallery of children's art
46. learn to home-make toys, clothes and holiday decorations
47. take pictures with digital and toy cameras
48. play online computer games and puzzles
49. create outdoor art and games with sidewalk chalk
50. collect found objects like stamps or coins
    
51. make crafts from recycled or natural materials
52. give homemade cards and gifts
53. blow wishes on dandelions, fountain pennies and four leaf clovers
    
54. draw and photograph the flora and fauna at a garden
55. grow a windowsill garden or community garden plot
56. watch birds with the Audubon Society
57. learn about animals at the zoo and aquarium
    
58. visit the horses at the Rock Creek Park Horse Center
    
59. observe little critters at the pet store
60. watch dogs chase balls at the dog park
61. tour historic homes and monuments
62. shop farmers markets
63. dine at restaurants where kids eat free
64. attend Mommy and Me events at Whole Foods Market
65. taste free food samples at Harris Teeter
66. ride in a rocket-ship shaped grocery cart
67. cook, bake and eat together
68. play a musical instrument and sing in a home-style jamboree
69. dance to a live musician outdoors or at a coffee shop
70. see a puppet show, play or dance performance
71. be entertained and informed by public radio or television programs and podcasts
72. see a cheap matinee movie or a free film at Screen on the Green
73. putt a hole-in-one at the Hains Point miniature golf range
    
74. take a short boat cruise on the Potomac
    
75. rent a paddle boat or canoe
76. cheer dragon boats and crew teams racing by the Georgetown waterfront
    
77. see firetrucks up close at the local fire station
78. appreciate flash art at a tattoo parlor, then get a temporary tattoo
79. watch workers and construction vehicles at building sites
80. study the architecture of unique homes, churches and museums
81. search the grounds of the National Cathedral for gargoyles
82. build towers of giant Legos at the National Building Museum
    
83. walk under the Friendship Arch with a friend in Chinatown
84. window shop at Gallery Place or in Georgetown
    
85. ramble along neighborhood street festivals
86. meander around a labyrinth
87. watch a parade
88. participate in a march to the Capitol
89. request tickets to tour the White House
90. ride an elevator to the top of the Washington Monument
91. watch planes take off from Reagan National Airport at Dangerfield Island
92. see the DC skyline from the observation deck at the Old Post Office tower
93. see a free trade show at the Convention Center
94. support women's flat track roller derby at the DC Armory
95. take the Metro bus or train to explore another part of town
96. take a day trip
97. plan a staycation
98. trick-or-treat or see holiday lights at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park
99. ice skate at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden
100. enter lottery for the annual White House Easter Egg Hunt

Picnics at the National Mall: Every Day is the 4th of July!

Every Spring locals in Washington, DC, observe a phenomenon on the first warm day of the year akin to a flutter of butterflies simultaneously emerging from their cocoons. Outdoor dining chairs and tables suddenly appear on sidewalk patios of restaurants and are quickly filled by cheerful patrons enlivened with good food and restorative doses of sunshine and fresh air. Before our son was born, my husband and I certainly enjoyed our share of outdoor dining experiences just a few blocks from home. While our restaurant budget has since diminished, we happily still find ways to dine alfresco with a picnic in the park. Whether its a little snack for our immediate family or a larger potluck meal with friends, its always worth the extra time it takes to pull it all together.

There are so many pluses to having a family picnic that I even saw a chapter devoted to it in a parenting book. Of course the main benefit is sharing time with friends and family in a relaxed setting that is conducive to quiet conversation or active play, whichever fits your mood. It is also an opportunity for your child to experience the outdoors, possibly exploring part of a park you have never visited before, and develop friendships socializing with children of other families. And from a thrifty parent's standpoint, a potluck picnic is a great way to save a few pennies while exposing your child to new culinary adventures.

Most Washingtonians have celebrated at least one Independence Day down on the National Mall, but we assert our constitutional freedom to peacefully assemble (with family and friends for a picnic) there on a more regular basis. We have three favorite picnic spots near the National Mall, all within easy walking distance of the Smithsonian Metro station. One is on the grounds of the Mall itself, close to the Smithsonian Carousel at 1000 Jefferson Drive, SW. This is the best place to throw down a big blanket and cooler for a large group picnic. A few large trees provide shade here, but it is smart to pack sunscreen as you will likely spend time in the sun. Wide grassy areas lend plenty of room for kicking around a soccer ball, throwing a Frisbee or even flying a kite after lunch. Kids can be kids and make as much noise as they like in this vibrant public space. Leashed dogs are welcome, too. Tickets for the carousel, open 10-5 daily (except Christmas), are $2.50 per rider and worth every penny to a child. The carousel features sixty Dentzel horses, two chariots, a spinner tub, and one very popular dragon. It was built in 1947 and relocated to the National Mall from Baltimore, MD in 1981.

The National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, across the National Mall opposite the Smithsonian Carousel, at 7th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, offers shady picnic spots appropriate for small groups. Enjoy your lunch while sitting in the grass under a canopy of flowering trees, shrubs and perennials within view of modern and contemporary sculpture installations, including Roy Lichtenstein's illusionary House I and Louise Bourgeois' colossal, bronze Spider. A cooling fountain at the center of the Garden is surrounded by additional seating areas. We spent a few minutes tossing pieces of leftover sandwich bread to the Mallard ducks swimming there. You may also take advantage of the public restrooms at the Pavilion Cafe, a pleasant alternative to the portable toilets available on the Mall grounds. Pets are not permitted, so leave Fido at home if you choose to picnic here rather than on the Mall. Sculpture Garden hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 to 5 and Sunday from 11 to 6, mid-March to Memorial Day.

My last recommendation is for the public gardens behind the Smithsonian Castle. Picnics are not permitted on the grass to protect the delicate plants, but plenty of outdoor seating on benches is available for a brown bag snack with your immediate family. Take the time to stroll along the garden pathways to choose the perfect seating area and admire the elaborate flower beds and hanging baskets, 19th century cast-iron furnishings and reproduction lampposts and the turn-of-the century urns in the Haupt Garden. Consider resting along pink granite benches in the Moongate Garden, inspired by Chinese gardens and architecture, or upon one of four Victorian benches surrounding a cast iron fountain in the sweetly fragrant Folger Rose Garden. As you tour the Haupt Garden, it is fun to realize that you are actually walking atop the roof of the subterranean National Museum of African Art and Sackler Gallery.

Admission is free to all three locations, so don't wait until July to start planning a family picnic!

Toddler Art: Process and Play at Palisades Park

I discovered a book at the library last week that has me so excited about making art with my toddler son that I feel like I might jump right out of my skin. As I turned each page for the first time, I heard myself repeatedly saying "Wow!" out loud and could hardly wait to curl up on the couch at home at night and read it more thoroughly. The book is First Art: Art Experiences for Toddlers and Twos by MaryAnn F. Kohl, an author who feels "the process of art for young children (is) more important than the finished product". Kohl collaborated with a parent and an art teacher who encouraged her to fill a literary void by writing a book about art for children this age.

First Art fulfilled a need for me, too, as I learned that art classes for children in Washington, DC, start at 18 months of age at the earliest and do not fit within our budget. Only Gymboree offers an Art 1 class for tots age 18-24 months, but it is costly at $79 a month. Last December, I resolved to more cheaply introduce my infant son to art-making at home by using nontoxic materials, corresponding methods to his capabilities, and using appropriate caution for his safety (see "Arts in Infancy: Part 2"). Kohl's book is just the thing to help guide AS's toddler endeavors in open-ended art activities. She also wrote a book for preschool children that focuses on the "experience of art, not the final product a child creates".

Why focus on the process of making art and not the end product? We all remember at least one art teacher who expected us to merely imitate their examples, but how much of these copy-cat experiences did we internalize and retain? By giving young children the freedom to explore different media (traditional and non-traditional art-making tools, materials and methods) at their own pace, we open the door to more meaningful learning opportunities and a sense of ownership. Children learn best by experimenting and they develop confidence by problem-solving. For example, Kohl relates the story of a boy who was given a tightly rolled tube (like a cigar) of colored crepe paper leftover from a birthday party, a bowl of water and a large sheet of paper. He dipped the crepe paper tube in water and discovered he could draw with it as the dye from the damp crepe paper transferred to the paper sheet. After doing this several times, he tore off a piece of newspaper and dipped it in water to see if it would also work as a drawing tool. This demonstrates direct development in his visual thinking skills.

One key to success is to neatly present just a few materials at a time so that your toddler is not overwhelmed and immediately discouraged. Also, you may model art-making techniques but should encourage your child to investigate autonomously, praising them for their efforts. Often, there will be no "finished" art product. Instead, the child may employ the tools and materials in imaginative play rather than art-making or abandon them entirely to play with something unexpectedly more intriguing.

Since the weather had turned unseasonably warm, we tried one of the outdoor art activities suggested in First Art, "Out and About Water Painting". Preparation was quick, and there was virtually no clean up! We filled a plastic bucket with water, sealed it with a lid, and collected a round sponge and large paint brush to take with us to Palisades Playground at 5200 Sherrier Place, NW. I brought my camera to document the process knowing that photographs would be the only keepsake remaining from this activity. We found a wide stone and concrete patio adjacent to the mulched playground area and put the open water bucket on the ground with the sponge and brush inside. The light gray patio surface darkened dramatically when wet, providing the perfect "canvas" for water painting. My husband and I demonstrated the process for AS by making a few preliminary marks on the flat gray stones with the damp brush and sopping sponge. The marks disappeared as the water evaporated in the sun, reminding me of an Etch-a-Sketch.

AS saw he could make different types of marks with his painting tools, including lines of varying length, width and angles as well as dots and splatters. I described the types of marks aloud, introducing new vocabulary to him. He also tested other surfaces by dampening his skin, clothing, and a fence post with the brush, exclaiming "Wow!" as I did when I first opened Kohl's book. A look of concentration appeared on his face as he alternately dipped the tools and his hands in the cool water, and he laughed when he realized the sponge floated. He eventually picked up the bucket and dumped the water out on the ground, making a puddle to joyfully stamp with his feet. The entire art activity lasted just 15 minutes or so before AS was satisfied with his work and decided it was time to explore the rest of the playground.

Some scholars believe there are different styles of learning, visual, auditory and tactile, but it is sometimes difficult to determine what a child's preferences are at an early age. Parents and teachers can ensure their students' success by using methods of instruction that address all three styles. The goal is to both accommodate children's learning preferences while encouraging them to ultimately become adept at learning in a variety of ways. Effective, fun education ensures children are successful in and out of school and more likely to become lifetime learners. By bringing art to the park, we provided our learner with multi-sensory experiences that educated his mind and exercised his body through play.

Palisades Playground has several multilevel wooden forts with ramps and bridges, red plastic slides and tunnels, and tire climbing areas bound to exhilarate active kids and inspire imaginative ones. A picnic area, bucket swings, and a sandbox welcome parents with babies, too. When we were there on a Saturday afternoon, soccer games were in progress on the nearby fields so the parking lot was full. We found a spot on Sherrier Place, a pretty residential street, and walked a short distance to the playground and recreation center. See the DC Department of Parks and Recreation website for more information on free and discounted activities at the recreation center for DC residents.

For the Love of Dirt

People collect lots of things... postcards, vinyl records, coffee mugs, refrigerator magnets, old toys. I collect dirt. Friends, family and students have contributed to my collection over the years, bagging samples of earth from as far and wide as the base of the Parthenon in Greece, the volcanic beaches of Hawaii, the grave of Jim Morrison in Paris, and a backyard in Moscow. I began this endeavor before increased security at airports made it difficult to carry unusual souvenirs in one's luggage. I persist for the same reasons most people advance their collections, because they prize its nostalgic significance and sensorial appeal.

One of the things I most look forward to this Spring is the opportunity for my son to play outside in the dirt and get downright grubby. Children are fascinated with dirt and sand because of it's tactile quality and unlimited possibilities for play. They can dig in it, build with it, draw in it, manipulate it, drive vehicles over it, even swallow the occasional handful with out much adverse effect. It's potential for imaginary play is limitless... aspiring archeologists sift for dinosaur bones, make-believe princes and princesses build sandcastles and moats, wanna-be artists create Earthworks, hopeful monster truck racers navigate dirt tracks and ramps, and future chefs just add water to create soup and mud pies.

My mother (who was a stay-at-home-Mom and member of the local chapter of a Garden Club) and father (who was handy with tools and had a DIY approach to domestic life) transformed a patchy backyard landscape into a garden playground when my sister and I were young. We tended a vegetable garden, composted, stocked a man-made pond with koi fish, filled vases in our home with freshly cut flowers and, of course, scrubbed plenty of soil out from under our fingernails at bath time. This period in our lives seemed magical to me, and artist-gardener Tasha Tudor's watercolor illustrations for Frances Hodgson Burnett's enchanting story The Secret Garden enriched my appreciation of it. When my mother returned to work full-time, my sister and I joined the new generation of latch-key kids. Mom suddenly had less time for gardening, and she soon replaced many of her houseplants with artificial flower arrangements and scaled her vegetable garden to a few tomato and strawberry plants. I dolefully relayed this experience to a friend and professor of feminist literature recently who reminded me that child rearing has been likened to tending a garden. I guess at this point in my life, my mother was ready to let her well-tended roses grow a little wild.

I still miss our family garden and yearn for my own little patch in the city, especially when I can now envision my son digging up rocks in search of rolly pollies by my side. Lamentably, our community garden at Walter Pierce Community Park was closed for "erosion control engineering work" and due to concerns regarding the tilling and watering of park land that was a 19th century Quaker burial ground and African American cemetery. A Howard University professor is currently conducting a non-invasive archeological survey of the park. Friends of Walter Pierce Park, a non-profit neighborhood organization, and the DC Department of Parks and Recreation hope to eventually honor the history of the park with a commemorative garden.

Following the garden's closure, I contacted the group responsible for assigning public plots (via a lottery system) in our neighboring community only to be told that I lived on the "wrong side" of 18th Street, NW, and was ineligible to apply. Some reactive urban gardeners have resorted to Guerrilla Gardening in response to the scarcity of public space sanctioned for growing things. These Eco warriors stealthily beautify cities under cover of night by using "green grenades" to plant hearty, self-cultivating plant species in neglected parkways between streets and sidewalks and in abandoned lots. Unfortunately, "seed bombers" may be slapped with a hefty fine if caught although their illicit sowing of seeds improves the look of the neighborhoods.

Ill-prepared to pay steep penalties to the District for the pleasure of cooking with some fresh organic herbs, I keep searching for alternatives. In the meantime, a little basil plant is thriving in my son's bedroom window, and AS is getting the feel for dirt by digging in pots of my houseplants. KidsGardening.org, a website of the non-profit National Gardening Association, provides suggestions for beginning a window sill garden indoors from seeds, cuttings or plants. Parents who have neither the time nor space to start their own garden are encouraged to "adopt" a wild or public green space and visit it periodically with their children to study, photograph or draw, write poems and create leaf rubbings from the plants. The NGA promotes gardening "as a vehicle for encouraging children to make good food choices, augmenting classroom studies with experiential learning, building a love of nature, stimulating social interaction, facilitating cultural exchange, and more."

City Blossoms in Washington, DC began a Children's Community Garden project at Girard Playground supported by Columbia Heights Shaw Collaborative in participation with neighborhood schools and youth centers. Beginning in March, weather permitting, families are encouraged to stop by the Children's Community Garden during "Open Time" to participate in free impromptu workshops and help tend the garden. Open Time is on Tuesdays from 12-1 and Wednesdays from 4-6. City Blossoms' mission is to use "gardening to create environmental, nutritional, and cultural connections for children and youth", an effort that would make First Lady Michelle Obama proud. For more information about how the White House Kitchen Garden is feeding the homeless, go here. The Girard Playground project transformed an asphalt lot into a demonstration garden where volunteers lead hands-on workshops for local children. City Blossoms has facilitated other art and gardening projects to beautify areas surrounding Girard Playground and at several schools in Washington, DC.

The DC Department of Parks and Recreation also offers environmental programs and gardening workshops year-round for District residents of all ages at Twin Oaks Garden in Northwest and Lederer Environmental Education Center in Northeast. Residents may apply at either center for use of an existing DPR community garden plot during the growing season from May to end of August. Users pay a $30 fee annually. You may also participate in the DPR community gardens partnership program by adopting and managing an existing community garden or creating and adopting a new community garden. Visit the DPR website to learn more about these programs or to submit an application. Contact the DPR Camping and Environmental Education Division directly at (202) 671-0396.

As I discovered, there is plenty for would-be horticulturists to look forward to in Washington, DC, even before the first crocuses and daffodils appear in the Spring. Like the mother in Margaret Wise Brown's classic children's story The Runaway Bunny, if your little one likes to imagine himself as a hidden crocus in a garden, you can be the gardener and find him.

Raising Art-smart Cyberkids

There is a computer in the children's section at our neighborhood library that is loaded with educational software. Now that my son can walk, he makes a bee-line for it as soon as we arrive. Here we are surrounded by hundreds of beautifully written and illustrated books, but he wants to play with a computer. If it is not already in use he climbs up into the desk chair, makes a grab for the mouse or starts tapping away at the keys. Often, though, another child is playing one of the spelling, math, drawing or music games, and AS contentedly watches. When this first happened, my heart sank a little. Then I reminded myself that 19th century critics were initially skeptical about the applications of the newly invented camera (a "soul-less" black box) until master artists and scientists showed them photography's full potential as a medium for creative expression and learning not unlike a paint brush or a book.

Now I sit down beside AS at the library's computer and use digital painting tools to draw animals with basic shapes that he can identify and label by name, "Cat!", or with a sound, "Meow!". When he eventually loses interest in looking at the PC monitor, we go in search of similar subjects in some of my favorite children's books, such as Geoff Waring's Oscar and the Bird, by illustrators who use Photoshop computer software. I hope a seed of understanding will eventually begin to germinate and help AS form connections between the process of drawing animals with a computer mouse and the images he sees in published books like Waring's illustrations of Oscar the cat.

Our tech-savvy librarian has also hipped me to the fact that some children's book authors and illustrators have launched their own kid-friendly interactive websites. Mo Willems' site features games, art activities and video animations with his famous book characters, including Pigeon, Knuffle Bunny and Elephant & Piggie.

Last week, I received a phone call from my 8 year-old niece asking for help with a multi-player on-line computer game, Poptropica. Poptropica is a safe, virtual world designed by the Family Education Network (a network of educational resources for teachers, parents, and students on the internet) where kids engage in narrative quests that are both entertaining and informative. My niece had entered into a virtual art gallery and needed to match reproductions of paintings with the name of the style in which they were rendered, such as a Pablo Picasso piece with the style "Cubism". She was able to describe the images to me in enough detail that I could envision the paintings and help her successfully complete the task. She was enjoying learning about art, and I was glad to have an opportunity to play along with her.

These experiences recalled a discussion I heard pertaining to the pros and cons of children playing on-line games. Some parents and teachers express concerns that young people who sit in front of the computer for hours every day are more sedentary and have less social interaction than those who are encouraged to play sports or engage in other activities with friends. On the plus side, computer games can motivate reluctant learners by presenting educational content in an entertaining framework and provide a participatory alternative to passive television viewing.

I wondered if there were websites with free on-line gaming options that could teach us more about the city in which we live as my son and I explore them together. I discovered that the Smithsonian Institute, for one, has a Smithsonian Education site to familiarize kids, families and educators with the museum collections, special exhibitions, and upcoming events designed with young people in mind. You may explore different topics that are of interest to your student, "Everything Art", "Science and Nature", "History and Culture" or "People and Places", through interactive games and activities. Or, navigate directly to the Smithsonian Kids page for more on-line fun, such as matching games, trivia quizzes, crossword puzzles, art-making, and home or school project ideas.

The youngest computer users may especially appreciate the National Gallery of Art's interactive website NGAkids "Art Zone". Since a child must develop mark-making ("bang-dots" and scribbles, the most rudimentary visual symbols), prior to forming the controlled lines and shapes that become letters of the alphabet and subsequently the written language, demonstrating and learning how to click and drag a computer mouse to create images is a worthwhile collaborative activity for a parent and child.

The brazen young Dada artists of the first half of the 20th century embraced technology. In the Yellow Manifesto of 1928, the Dadaists proclaimed, "Machinism has revolutionized the world." It seems that nearly a century later many of us are still trying to make peace with youths' manifest fascination with machines, but playing interactive on-line games from the Smithsonian Institution and the National Gallery of Art is one way for families to have fun learning about new digital media together.

Passing Snow Days with Paper Cranes and Snowflakes

My 14-month old son has learned a new word, "Snow!" This comes as no surprise as the District looks like the shaken interior of one of those plastic snow globes from the DCA airport gift shop.

The city has been crippled by seasonal record-breaking snowstorms that buried the Washington, DC, metro area last Saturday and again mid-week just as we were beginning to see light. The federal government, public schools, and many businesses are closed and may remain that way through the weekend. Markets and drug stores are open intermittently but lines are long and the shelves picked over. Driving is treacherous, and public transportation service is limited to the main bus routes and below-ground train service. Sidewalks are unshoveled and icy in places forcing pedestrians to walk in the streets. The mail has not been delivered in days. A historic mess, yes, but we feel very fortunate to have power and water. Some of our family and friends in the suburbs have not been so fortunate.

My sister made a mad dash for groceries as soon as her street was plowed after Round #1 in anticipation of the next blizzard headed this way. Her 6-year old son asked why they were buying even MORE brownie mix, then paused in revelation and said, "Does this mean we're never going to be able to go outside again?" Collectively, Washingtonians are showing signs of "snow stress", and parents are facing the additional challenge of keeping young children stimulated and entertained while home from school. After several days, even new toys and books have lost their novelty and favorite television shows and video games have grown tiresome for kids. But if you keep paper of any kind in your house, you're still in luck- the kind of luck you grant yourself by folding paper cranes.

You may once have learned the concept of origami (from ori "fold" + kami "paper") from a school teacher; math teachers often use the exercise of folding paper to illustrate geometry. John Montroll, an American origami master with several books to his name, teaches at a local boys' school. He has gained the kids' admiration for his remarkable ability to improvise imaginative three-dimensional forms, such as a 3-headed dragon or a framed image of George Washington, out of a single uncut square or rectangle sheet of paper, as he sometimes does with a napkin from the cafeteria or a dollar bill from his pocket. If you were to tour the school, you would discover origami animals of different forms, patterns and size created by his students perched upon bookshelves and in unexpected little nooks across campus.

A childhood friend, whose mother was a 7th grade math teacher, learned paper-folding at home and eventually introduced it to her own elementary school students. Her "Introduction to Origami" intersession is one of the most popular offered. When my high school photography students mentored her 5th graders in a "Literacy through Photography" program, the youngsters expressed their appreciation by making origami cranes for us. We subsequently donated the cranes to students in the Japanese Culture Club who threaded together hundreds of them collected by the student body. The hand-made cranes were presented as a gift of encouragement to a classmate tragically injured in a swimming accident. In Japanese culture, this magnificent bird has been considered a symbol of loyalty and honor for thousands of years. Because of the strength of this symbol, Japanese tradition holds that a person who folds 1,000 paper cranes will be granted his greatest wish.

A few years ago, my same teacher friend took a trip with her Mom to their maternal homeland in Italy where she brought decorative 6" x 6" squares of paper in a small travel bag and created paper cranes as a gesture of goodwill to the people she befriended along the way. At one small outdoor cafe in Sicily, she began folding a crane for a curious school girl who approached her in hopes of practicing English with an American. Before long, several of the girl's classmates had joined in the conversation and were asking to see the origami demonstration again and again.

Origami may not be your cup of green tea, but these anecdotes suggest that young people do love the challenge of crafting new things with their hands from a familiar material like paper. In retrospect, you may fondly recall how to make paper fortune tellers, footballs, airplanes, boats or doll chains from your own childhood. If you need a quick refresher, there are a number of how-to books and websites dedicated to origami and other paper crafts for children. Look for additional resources that describe the history and cultural significance of the craft in the countries where different traditions, like origami and kirigami in Japan and papel picado in Mexico, have evolved. Also, choose age appropriate projects if your goal is for your children to play on their own. Easy origami is appropriate for children as early as four years of age, but they will still need your help getting started.

When the snow first began falling heavily five days ago, I initiated a week-long project to revisit some of my favorite paper crafts. AS is much too young to make them on his own but enjoys watching his father and I construct things, contributing where he can, and playing with them afterward. With Valentine's Day just around the corner, we first created cards with leftover construction paper and scrap paper from an old address book. I drew bluebirds on the cover of each card with crayons and, afterward, AS added his own crayon markings to help personalize them. On day two, I taped four 8 1/2" x 11" sheets of notebook paper together to fold a large paper hat for AS. We passed the afternoon trading the hat back and forth, taking turns wearing it and striking silly poses in attempts to make each other laugh. By Monday, we were in the mood to race. Our newest creations, origami jumping frogs, hopped two-by-two to cross a finish line at the end of the coffee table.

Inspiration came the next day from Snowflake Bentley, a children's book we borrowed from the library. This Caldecott Medal Book by Jacqueline Briggs Martin is about a 19th century farmer from Vermont, Wilson Bentley, who created the first close-up photographs of individual snowflakes. I read AS the story and showed him the beautiful photographic images of snowflakes reproduced in the back of the book. He then watched as his father and I folded and cut white computer paper, creating large snowflakes to hang on on his bedroom window like talismans against the next impeding storm (Round #2 of the so-called "Snowtastrophe"). The little diamond-shaped cut-outs from the snowflakes made snow-like confetti which we sprinkled over AS's head in flurries. While AS is too young to wield a pair of scissors himself, he loves to crumple paper. I gave him his own white sheet of paper so he could form a "snowball" to complement our snowflakes.

Creating paper crafts with your children is an inexpensive hobby and takes little planning. The process is fun, perhaps even therapeutic, and can help children pass time indoors in a quiet, constructive way. Projects such as paper bag puppets can be easily stored and recurrently enjoyed. Others can be pressed into scrapbooks as keepsakes once they have outlived their use. You may also use the opportunity to educate your children about recycling by reusing paper from shopping bags, magazines, and computer printers or notebooks.

This week local headlines in DC once again became national news thanks to the Blizzard of 2010. But rather than grow discouraged by another grim winter weather forecast and the prospect of additional snow days, we plan to re-purpose those newspapers and make the most of our time indoors.

The Free Aquarium and the National Aquarium

Bret: She works down at the cheap zoo.
Jemaine: The pet store?

Fans of the HBO comedy series "Flight of the Conchords" will recognize this dialogue from the Season 2 episode "Wingmen" in which clueless Bret confides to his slightly more perceptive roommate Jemaine about his new crush, a pet store employee. This struck me as especially funny since AS and I are in the habit of visiting the "free aquarium" on a regular basis. We shop at Petco primarily for our cat's food but always expect to stay a while so AS can watch freshwater fish, especially fluid little fan-tailed carp, and turtles swim in aquariums. From as early as just a few months of age, he has been fascinated by the colors and movement of aquatic animals and the sight and sound of streaming bubbles as oxygen is pumped in their tanks.

I grew up in a family of "animal people" and had pets of every persuasion from dogs to rodents to fish. Becoming a caretaker at a young age taught me responsibility and compassion for living things, and I want to foster these traits in my son as well. But I buried one too many goldfish as a young person to entertain buying one for AS. At the very least, he is too young for the "What happens when we die?" discussion, and I can't justify stealthily swapping out a dead fish for an identical live one every time something inevitably goes wrong. Fish in aquariums tend to thrive better than those in fishbowls, but setting up a large tank is not an option in our apartment building due to the possibility of water damage. So when we need our fish fix (or invertebrates, amphibians and reptiles), we enjoy the free experience at the pet store or take a trip downtown to the National Aquarium for a real scholarly water adventure.

You won't find fan-tailed carp or goldfish at the newly renovated aquarium, nor can you view the exhibits for free, but you will encounter over 250 amazing species to mesmerize the marine life enthusiasts in your family. Located in the lower level of the Department of Commerce Building at 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW, the National Aquarium in Washington, DC, is the little sister to a larger venue of the same name in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. While the DC space, and therefore the collection, is scaled down, the location is conveniently located near the Federal Triangle Metro station and general admission tickets are only $9 for adults, $4 for children (ages 3-11) and free for tots up under age 3. Baltimore tickets will put you back $29.95 for adults and $24.95 for children ages 3-11, and, of course, it's a long drive to get there.

Established as the nation's first (...another first for DC! woot!) aquarium in 1873, the National Aquarium in DC has been located in the Commerce Building since 1932. To make your trip more enjoyable, be prepared to pay by cash or check as they are unable to process credit cards. Strollers are permitted but difficult to lug down the interior stairs of the Commerce Building to the aquarium entrance. Ask the security personnel where to access to the full-service elevator instead. Also, the Aquarium is open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., but last admission is at 4:30 p.m.

The Aquarium is promoted as the place to take a "refreshing" 45-minute self-guided tour and perfect for a short break from the office on a busy work day due to its proximity to offices downtown. But I was reminded by a local NBC news feature that we hadn't returned since it received an "extreme makeover" in 2008 and a new exhibit, America's Aquatic Treasures was introduced, so we made an effort to take the Metro bus there the following weekend. After passing through a metal detector and descending several flights of steps, we paid our admission fee and entered into the dim, otherworldy halls of the exhibit galleries. In fact, it is so dark that I considered the benefits of a Kinderkord toddler leash for the first time.

The National Marine Sanctuaries and National Parks gallery highlights marine animals and habitats that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) works to preserve and protect across our nation. The mission of the NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program is to educate the American people about our marine heritage and to help "balance enjoyment and use with long-term conservation" through increased public awareness, scientific research and monitoring of these national treasures. Folks hailing from the eastern half of the country, as we do, will likely appreciate the Florida Everglades and Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary exhibits. The spacious Everglades exhibit features the American Alligator (once near extinction due to habitat destruction and poor water quality), Scarlet King Snakes, and a relative of scorpions called the Vinegaroon. AS stood with hands pressed up against the glass and followed turtles and 3-foot gators swimming past at his eye level. Gray’s Reef, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the shores of Sapelo Island, Georgia, is one of the largest sandstone reefs in the southeastern U.S. and is home to a rich collection of fascinating invertebrates, such as sea stars, urchins and anemones, and impressive vertebrates like the moray eel. We were also pleased to see that local environments, including the Potomac River, are featured in the American Freshwater Ecosystems gallery. The notorious Snake Head Fish, invasive to the Potomac and impacting its native species, can be seen here.

While we were visiting on a Sunday, a child's birthday party was in progress. Kids, under adult supervision, were zooming up and down the halls making stops along the way to point out something cool they had just discovered. The group of ten was eventually rounded-up and seated on the floor in the Amazon River Basin Gallery to anxiously await a Piranha feeding demonstration before returning to the special events room for cake and gift-opening. But you don't have to attend a birthday party to observe a feeding demonstration and hear live commentary from an aquarist. The piranhas are fed every Sunday, sharks are fed Monday, Wednesday and Saturday in the Patch Reefs Gallery, and alligators are fed every Friday at 2 p.m. for public viewing. Leopard Sharks, dainty yellow Longsnout Seahorses, an Electric Eel, and technicolor Poison Dart Frogs are other crowd-pleasers.

The Aqua Shop is located across from the aquarium entrance, and we couldn't leave without taking a quick peak. We browsed the assortment of shells and sharks teeth, children's science books, t-shirts and posters, but didn't see any "must haves" for AS at the gift shop's prices. We did discover some relatively affordable original art for sale. Small white canvases were painted in vibrant non-toxic water-based paints by "Picasso Turtles", Map Turtles and Red-eared Sliders supervised by trained herpetologists at the aquarium. To my somewhat discerning eye, it appeared as though the reptiles had first crawled through paint and then across the canvas, leaving colorful, abstract markings in their wake. In the end, we refrained from buying anything but instead considered requesting a gift membership or adopting an animal to directly help the National Aquarium save endangered wildlife. The Aquarium is a nonprofit organization funded through private and public support and admission revenue; public donations and volunteerism help the National Aquarium Institute in their mission to inspire people "to enjoy, respect, and protect the aquatic world".

City Mouse, Country Mouse

When my husband's employer granted him an extended break over the holidays, we enthusiastically made plans for a "staycation", a stay-at-home vacation, to renew our appreciation of the place we call home. Busloads of school children and thousands of out-of-towners make a trip here to the Nation's Capitol every year to take advantage of the unique sights and sounds the District has to offer, but Washingtonians tend to avoid these overcrowded "tourist traps". By doing so, we ultimately miss out on fun opportunities to learn about our capitol city. Many famous tourism spots in Washington, such as the National Mall, the iconic monuments and memorials, and President's Park (The White House), are managed by the National Park Service. Other less celebrated national parks, accepting Rock Creek, Meridian Hill, Anacostia and Kenilworth, are virtually extensions of our backyards. The parks feature something of interest for every family member, from history buffs and animal lovers to gardeners and Scouts. When researching the National Park Service (NPS) website for the District of Columbia, my husband and I were reminded that winter is a great time to explore many of these places because, as every savvy traveler knows, popular sightseeing destinations become less crowded as temperatures drop.

Locals, unlike harried tourists with packed itineraries, have the luxury of time when exploring their hometown and can savor each site they pay a visit. They can also easily do what only the most seasoned or brazen travelers tend to do, which is to veer off the beaten path in search of a city's better kept secrets. Rock Creek Park (RCP) is one undervalued jewel with plenty of things to do, so we decided to spend a couple days reacquainting ourselves with this woodland in the Northwest quadrant of DC.

The slow winding road to the RCP Nature Center, located at 5200 Glover Road, NW, is perfect for a Sunday drive and those seeking solace away from the hustle and flow of urban life on a week day. We passed a few cyclists, backpackers and dog walkers along the way as well as families lunching at picnic areas. The parking lot, which is typically full in the summer, has plenty of spaces available in winter. A bike rack is also available in front of the center for those who prefer getting there on the power of their own two feet.

The Nature Center is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. every Wednesday through Sunday except Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years Day and Independence Day. During winter, the the trees around the center are mostly bare making it easier to see wild birds perched on the branches. I heard and then spied a Downy Woodpecker within seconds of our arrival. As we entered the center we were greeted by a park ranger seated at the information desk who provided us with an informative NPS pamphlet on Rock Creek Park, a map of scenic hiking trails near the Nature Center, and a calendar of free programs at the Nature Center and Planetarium. Ranger led programs at RCP are typically offered two or three times a day on weekends and once a day during the week; the calendar includes descriptions of each event and age recommendations for children attending them. The park ranger also told us about the NPS Junior Ranger Program and gave us a booklet for children to complete to learn about stewardship of our country's natural resources and to earn a Junior Ranger sticker and badge.

On the ground floor of the Nature Center is an exhibit hall where you will find plants and animals both native and introduced to Rock Creek Park. Children may learn more about the center's live animals and assist rangers in feeding them during "Creature Feature", Friday afternoons at 4pm. A "Please Touch" area familiarizes children with the tracks different creatures leave behind and permits closer inspection of animal, insect and plant specimens. It is amazing to discover what wildlife flourishes in and around the creek, meadows, and forest habitats of this inner city park, including Wood Ducks, Eastern Painted Turtles, White-tailed Deer and the occasional coyote. Across from the exhibit hall is a play room where kids may stage small performances with forest animal hand puppets, complete a giant puzzle on the life cycle of a Monarch Butterfly, create crayon rubbings of leaves, and pore over beautifully illustrated children's books like Stellaluna and Wild Tracks that explain the natural world .

The RCP Planetarium, accessible from inside the Nature Center, is the only planetarium in the national park system. "Winter Night Sky: When I Wish Upon a Star" and "Young Planetarium" presentations are shortened programs, tailored for the youngest star-gazers. The Nature Center is also the starting point for several hiking trails in RCP, including the scenic "Nature Center Hike" and "Rapids Bridge Hike". Join a park ranger for these exploratory hikes if you're feeling ambitious, or simply take a short self-guided walk on the "Edge of the Woods Trail" to familiarize yourself with Rock Creek Park's Eastern Hemlock, Tulip and Sassafras trees among others. The trail is stroller and wheelchair accessible with a guide rope for the visually impaired.

Before leaving the center, take a few minutes to browse the bookstore. The store sells a variety of items appropriate for children: Junior Ranger hats, Ranger Roberta dolls, plush stuffed animals and puppets, a wonderful assortment of NPS sticker-, coloring- and activity-books as well as field guides and educational picture books for children of all ages. Our find of the day was Sierra Club Knowledge Cards, "Urban Wildlife: Fascinating Facts about Birds, Beasts and Bugs in Your Neighborhood". National Park Service Passports can also be purchased here. NPS Passports are pocket-size guides to parks throughout the United States and include maps, photos and practical information for travelers, but they also serve as keepsakes. Individual rubber stamps are available at park visitor centers for you to stamp your passport at every visit. If you don't want to purchase an NPS Passport but think your children would enjoy collecting the stamps, make your own passport from a small blank notepad.

It's just a short walk from the Nature Center to the Rock Creek Horse Center. Horseback riding lessons and summer day camps are offered to children and adults at all riding levels, but instruction doesn't come cheap. One-hour guided trail rides are a more affordable alternative but available only from April to October. Ten-minute supervised pony rides are a great introduction for children ages 2 1/2 and up (and at least 30" tall). Reservations are required, and it is recommended that you book trail rides 6-8 weeks in advance. Two thirds of the horses boarded here are privately owned, and you are welcome to visit the boarding facility as long as you agree to follow some simple guidelines for your safety and the well-being of the animals. We stopped to watch a group lesson for young girls in the riding ring before heading home.

Good friends living in Manassas, Virginia, grow organic produce and raise honey bees on acres of land within hiking distance of Manassas National Battlefield Park which is also managed by the National Park Service. They sometimes tempt us "city mice" to visit with promises of fresh air and a taste of country life. While I cherish such opportunities to explore a beautiful historic area and natural environment, when we return home from trips to cities north and west of Washington, DC, I sometimes find myself exhaling in relief as we cross the district line and enter what is, to my mind, one of the most culturally significant and attractive urban landscapes in the United States. The tree-lined streets, historic homes and buildings, and lack of billboards certainly contribute to Washington's visual aesthetic, but arguably it is the multitude of park lands that improve our quality of life here and attract wayfarers from near and far.

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Playground 101

One playground where I wore myself out on afternoons as a military brat had a retired jet plane parked aside a rocket-shaped jungle gym. Wires spilled from the cockpit and the black leather seat was split from repeated exposure to sunlight and rain. The infrastructure looked almost skeletal and had a musty smell to match. It might have been a frightening place for me to play if my father wasn't a fighter pilot. Instead, it sated my curiosity to see the inner workings of an aircraft similar to the one he logged so many hours flying.

I only wish I had displayed the same bravado on my first trip to our neighborhood playground at Walter Pierce Park with my six month son in tow. He was finally solid enough to enjoy a ride in the bucket swings without suffering whiplash, so we left the unsociable but safe sidelines of the park and ventured within the gated play area. I knew we had every right to be there, but that thought made it only a little less overwhelming to be one of the newbies. I smiled at everyone, waited patiently for our turn at the swing, and repeated my new mantra: I'm doing this for my kid!

Why the initial apprehension? More flashbacks to my youth, I suppose, and the days of being the new kid on the block after yet another move. Military families tend to relocate more often than most families, except perhaps circus performers. But squadron wives band together and help raise each others' children like a pride of lionesses. Was I walking into a lion's den? I recalled the image of a postcard reproduced in the back of the Washington City Paper once that said, "I don't take my kids to the playground because I don't like talking to the other moms". This submission to Maryland artist Frank Warren's "Post Secret" community project, in which anonymous people mail him revamped postcards that confess their deepest secrets, registered years before I had a child.

Perhaps I can attribute my unease to an article I skimmed in one of several parenting magazines that my mother, a registered nurse who worked with an obstetrician, earmarked for me during my pregnancy. To paraphrase the article, the full-time mother-cum-freelance columnist suggested that a parent can be neatly summed up as one of four types according to the behaviors which they, not their children, display at a playground. There is the uber-conscientious helicopter parent who hovers over their child with an antiseptic wipe, circumventing boo-boos and intervening in any adolescent playground strife. Equally as committed is the ever youthful parent who keenly initiates and participates in their child's play even at the risk of looking like Godzilla towering over Tokyo on the child-size equipment. Next we see the easy-breezy-cool-and-easy parent who parenthetically builds their child's self-confidence from a reposeful place on a park bench, keeping a lazy eye on their child while gazing in reverie from behind a pair of dark sunglasses. And finally the multi-tasking parent, who is home on a comp day and is engrossed in conversation with another parent while checking their cell phone messages, is a career role model and provides moral support to the child who checks-in visually from across the playground now and again. I had no idea which type of parent I would be until I first lumbered up the steps of the junior jungle gym and scooched down the all-too-brief slide with my son on my lap like a giant lizard invading a city on the island of Japan.

Another mom brought her son, similar in age to mine, to join us in play. She was apparently also the same type of parent; I'll call her Mothra. From Mothra, I learned that asking the child's age is an appropriate icebreaker; I have used this myself many times since. Emblazoned by this brief but positive social opportunity for both my son and myself, I began to explore playgrounds in other zip codes as well.

Turtle Park in Van Ness has the reputation of being one of DC's most popular playgrounds (voted Best DC Playground in the 2009 Washington City Paper Readers' Poll) but is outside our zip code, so I felt trepidation again as I sized up the group of parents standing in a cozy circle near the sand box. Would they sense that we weren't from this part of town as soon as we stepped foot on "their" territory and raise their eyes disapprovingly? Or would they wrongly assume that I was a nanny and relax with a stranger in their midst? Were there unwritten rules for acceptable playground behavior different from the ones on our home turf, or could I go freely down the slide here with my son? I chuckled at the absurdity of it all when they packed their kids into SUVs which sported Maryland license plates and drove back home north on Wisconsin Avenue.

A playground worth noting for its beauty is the impeccably landscaped sanctuary at Mitchell Park on 23rd Street, NW. When we discovered it by happenstance on a long walk, my husband and I mused that this lush, green space could not possibly be managed alone by DC Department of Parks and Recreation but instead subsidized and manicured by an active community association and the proud residents of this affluent neighborhood.

I remember watching Sesame Street as a child of the suburbs and thinking, "So that's where city kids play?" Urban playgrounds seemed bleak then, of gray concrete and cold steel. I am relieved to see that that is no longer the case. Washington has many parks that have been adopted by local communities and given much needed upgrades to equipment and landscaping in the last ten years. The equipment is safer and vibrantly painted, often times with special areas including water spray features, rock climbing walls, and children's gardens. Some have community centers with public restrooms if you are planning to spend the day.

More information about recreation and community centers is available on the DC Department of Parks and Recreation website. I encourage you to explore different playgrounds to find the one that's right for you and your child. It may not even be the one that's closest to where you live, but don't let that stop you from going there. If you suffer from any doubts about leaving the comforts of your own 'hood, just imagine you are a jet fighter pilot or a colossal lizard and venture forth with confidence. Remember, you're doing this for your kid.

Lions in Winter

There is something especially wonderful about being one of the few people strolling on a quiet city street early on a Sunday morning, or in an empty movie theater watching a weekday kiddie matinee, or at the zoo in the calm chill of January. It is the illusion of feeling as if the world just exists for you and your child.

At the Smithsonian National Zoological Park during less crowded visitation times just after the gates open or before close, especially on a winter's day, AS and I have observed the most remarkable animal behaviors. A drop in temperature seems to invigorate animals native to cooler climates, such as the Andean Spectacled Bears, and at dusk nocturnal animals begin to rouse from their daytime slumber. We have had the fortune of hearing the unmistakable whooping of acrobatic White-cheeked Gibbons and the howling of fox-like Maned Wolves and of seeing a deft Fishing Cat tap a paw into a pool of water to lure and catch its own meal. I watched breathlessly as an orangutan scaled a tower at the Great Ape House and traversed the O-line, the zoo's highwire Orangutan Transport System, directly above our vantage point on the Olmsted Trail, and AS beamed to behold six Asian Small-clawed Otters cavorting along the bank of a stream where they mostly pass their lives basking together in a charming heap.

Indoor exhibits, like the Reptile Discovery Center or the Small Mammal or Bird Houses, provide the perfect place to warm up. These exhibits and the animals that inhabit them tend to be smaller in size, so it is easier for small-fry to observe them more closely. Staff members and knowledgeable volunteers are happy to answer questions and encourage children to touch and interact with curious objects (such as plant seeds or fragments of bone, horn or fur) on display. You may also watch keepers feed the animals throughout the day. The daily schedule of activities and demonstrations on the zoo website lists animal feeding times for the minutest insects to the greatest mammals so you can plan your visit accordingly. Activity sheets, such as scavenger hunts and "Zoo-per Bingo", may be printed from the website ahead of time to help enrich your child's experience. In the Science Gallery adjacent to Amazonia, an exhibit highlighting species from the tropical rainforests of the Amazon River, children may emulate research scientists in the field and lab by viewing specimens through microscopes side-by-side with zoo staff conducting actual scientific research. Strollers are not permitted in some buildings due to space limitations, so pack light and bring your old umbrella stroller (not the fully-equipped SUV model you'll be anxious about leaving outside).

Outdoor exhibits are also built with the youngest zoo-goers in mind. The Great Cats enclosure features kid-size windows for better views of the lions and tigers. The Kids’ Farm provides opportunities to groom animals such as cows and donkeys in the Caring Corral. Small children may play in the Pizza Garden on a giant rubber pizza playground and learn about the origins of food. Watch in surreal delight as your tot crawls through an enormous olive, stacks larger-than-life mushroom slices and clambers up wedges of cheese like an ant at a picnic.

On Sundays from January to March, bring your family to National Zoo's Visitor Center Auditorium at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. for the Wild Side Stage performance series for children. These winter performances include "entertaining and educational shows by acclaimed, award-winning musicians, dancers, storytellers, and puppeteers from around the country" followed by special visits to animal houses to meet keepers and animals. Tickets are $7 for adults and children age two and older. Wee ones under age two are admitted free!

Enjoy Halloween by safely Trick-or-Treating together at Boo at the Zoo. Or celebrate the winter holiday season at the annual ZooLights event, an occasion to amble through the zoo after dark to experience dozens of colorful flashing light displays, animal exhibits and live entertainment.
Children especially love to see baby animals at the zoo. A highlight for us this past year was getting to know, Kibibi, the Western Lowland Gorilla born at the Great Ape House on January 10, 2009. The public was even invited to vote on her name. Information regarding animal arrivals, births and hatchings is updated on the website monthly. Some new arrivals to the zoo's animal family are raised at the Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal, Virginia, but photographs by the zoo's professional photographers and webcams trained on the babies are a welcome representative until the animals are ready for their big debut at the zoo.

I was dismayed to read a recent newspaper article in which parents residing outside the beltway resolved never to return to Washington, DC for their children's entertainment after spending $100 at the zoo in one day. What was intended to be a cheap daytrip for the cost-conscious parents became increasing expensive as they found themselves paying for parking, treating their family of four to lunch then ice cream and coffee at a restaurant, and lured to the call of the gift shop.

It is possible to spend $20 or less for a family of four if you plan ahead. Admission to the animal exhibits is always free, and public transportation to the zoo is cheaper than parking there and more convenient. The Woodley Park-Zoo metro station is a short walk to the main entrance on Connecticut Avenue. Pack a bag lunch; there are plenty of shaded picnic tables or sunny, grassy areas to spread out a blanket in the warmer months. During winter, benches indoors are a convenient spot for enjoying a PB&J sandwich and slurping a juice box with your child.

Joining Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ) is an initial investment of $60 for a Household (two or more people living at the same address) Membership but worthwhile if you plan to visit the zoo often and are eager to take advantage of free parking, 10% discounts in National Zoo stores, a complementary subscription to Smithsonian Zoogoer magazine and discounted tickets for special events. These include annual member events, previews of new exhibits, summer camps, classes and workshops, and Snore and Roar overnights. Snore and Roar overnights? Yes, from June to September you and your Mini-me can camp out under the stars listening to the roars of lions and tigers nearby! FONZ members also enjoy free or discounted admission to other zoos and aquariums nationwide.

Check out the online calendar and website to see when special events are scheduled. The zoo is open every day of the year, except December 25th. Animal exhibits are open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. November to March and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. April to October.