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.