Columbus Playground Tour Schedule 2012

The much anticipated tour schedule is below. Due to the wonderful warmer weather, we are starting it a few weeks early. We will still have a large kick off party in June.

The tour starts at 11am. I try and get their a little early to stake out a spot. I always tend to pack a cooler with lunch for the kiddos and we try and stay most of the day. Thursdays will be our normal tour day- however, keep your eye out for some special events.

Facebook is the best way to get updated, but I will also try and update the website the night before. Once we actually meet in person, I am happy to hand out my phone number if you have any questions. "Like" the Columbus Playground Tour or you are also welcome to friend me on Facebook- Jaylene Henderson. Once I get to the playground, I will try and update the page with where we are, if there were any detours, changes, etc.

Please check the map of where you are going before you leave your house. With these being parks and playgrounds, sometimes they do not have an exact address.

Drum Roll please.......



April 26th- Fancyburg Park- Upper Arlington
*This is one of my favorite parks, one of the reason I put it on here twice!
http://www.recreationparks.net/OH/franklin/fancyburg-park-upper-arlington

May 3rd- Olde Sawmill- Dublin
*The only downfall with this playground is sometimes the bathrooms are locked. Plan accordingly!
http://www.recreationparks.net/OH/franklin/olde-sawmill-park-columbus

May 10th- Scioto Audubon
*I love this park. There is an inside section, be we always meet on the lower, outside area- by the climbing wall. There is sand!
http://www.metroparks.net/ParksSciotoAudubon.aspx

May 17th- Blendon Woods- they are having a creeking event!
*Creeking is at 10am or 1pm. No sign up required. Wear your water shoes!
http://www.metroparks.net/ParksBlendonWoods.aspx

May 24th- Goodale Park
*I love the City Parks. The city's first park! Reminder- Goodale only has port-a-johns...
http://www.goodalepark.org/

May 31- Emerald Fields Park- Dublin
*A newer park, limited shade
http://www.dublin.oh.us/recreation/parks/emeraldfields.php

June 7- Homestead Park- Hilliard- Playground Tour Kick Off Party
*More details to follow for the kick off party!
http://www.dublin.oh.us/recreation/parks/emeraldfields.php

June 14th- Millstone Creek Park- Westerville
http://www.cbusmom.com/2010/10/millstone-creek-park/

June 21st- Selby Park- Worthington
*Small park with a large field for your soccer balls. Sometimes restrooms have been locked.
http://www.worthington.org/Facilities.aspx?Page=detail&RID=13

June 28th- Schiller Park
*Another great city park located in German Village. Large hill for running, rolling, balls
http://germanvillage.com/visitors-center/stroll/schiller-park

July 5th- All Children's Playground- Worthington
http://www.worthington.org/index.aspx?NID=252

July 12- Carriage Place
*Located behind the center
http://parks.columbus.gov/Facility.aspx?id=26062&terms=carriage+place

July 19th- Scioto Mile
*Get Wet! Wear you bathing suits!
http://www.sciotomile.com/

July 26th- Park of Roses
*We tend to do the playground by the library. Sometimes later int he playtime we venture to the creek or other site
http://www.parkofroses.org/

August 2nd- Liberty Park- Powell
http://www.libertytwp.org/Parks.aspx

August 9th- Huber Village
http://www.recreationparks.net/OH/franklin/huber-village-park-westerville

August 16th- Powell Water Park
http://capitalcitymama.wordpress.com/2008/08/22/powell-ohio-water-park/

August 23rd- Fancyburg Park- Upper Arlington
http://www.recreationparks.net/OH/franklin/fancyburg-park-upper-arlington

August 30th- TBD

Kick Off Tomorrow at Homestead Park!

Tomorrow is our kick off to the Columbus Playground Tour 2011! We will be meeting at Homestead Park in Hilliard at 11:00.

This year I am overwhelmed by the amount of response! The downside of it, I do not know everyone! So this year I have made up a "Passport" for the tour! Every week, I will be there with the passports and a stamp. Each kid will get a passport and then every week they will have the opportunity to have their passport stamped! This way, I will have the chance to see who is all part of the tour!

At Homestead Park, I will do my best to claim the picnic table to the west of the main playground. It is between the playground and the shelter house with the restrooms.

If your kiddos are into water, there is a water area. There is a separate area for the littles and another fort type area for the bigger kids. There is also a sand play area too.

The weather is predicting rain.... but, I am always optimistic with the weather and realize we do live in Ohio so we will make our best effort to be there. Keep an eye on the blog and/or facebook if I do decide not to be there.

More Information:
http://www.wtwp.com/parks-and-recreation/facilities/the-homestead-park/

Emerald Fields Playground- May 26th

On May 26th we are going to check out the new Emerald Fields Playround!

We will arrive by 11 am and pack our lunch in the hopes to hang out there most of the day. I know a lot of older kids will still be in school, but some of the preschools are already out.

There is some information about the new playground here-
http://dublin.oh.us/recreation/parks/emeraldfields.php?utm_source=e-News+from+Dublin%2C+Ohio&utm_campaign=b9a0abf50f-Emerald_Fields_Playground&utm_medium=email

Fun at Homestead!

Today was wonderful! Thanks to all who came out! Please post a comment if you did attend so I can remember who you all are! I think we had around 30!!

Next week is the wooden playground at Olde Sawmill Elementary School (Olde Sawmill Park). Directions are here: http://www.mapquest.com/maps?name=Olde+Sawmill+Park&address=2460+Sutter+Pky&city=Dublin&state=OH

We will plan on bringing tie-dye materials again so please bring anything else you would like dyed! I think the tie-dying was a success and a lot of the kids enjoyed it! My hands are still a little stained, but nothing that won't go away soon enough!

Some people asked, and this is the initial kit I bought at JoAnns. I did also bring some Rit Dye and mixed those in as we went along. The kit runs $29.99 but I used a 50% off coupon and this was cheaper then buying the bottles and tablecloth, etc separate. http://www.ilovetocreate.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=b4eb23ed-38de-409c-8907-30a096d3490f It's called SuperBig One-Step Tie-Dye Kit.

Follow-up instructions with the tie-dye:

*Let dry before you take off the rubber bands.

*Once it's fully dry, was in a mild detergent with cold water (Woolite, free and clear, etc) and dry (dryer or hang to dry) before you wear it.

I found this site to be a great resource: http://www.wildflowerdyes.com/howtotiedye.html

A lot of people I think enjoyed the activity. Any feedback would be appreciated! Also- I would entertain the idea of having an activity at each 'stop' of the tour if this is something you think the kids would enjoy. They would be small craft projects, etc for them to remember each park by. Thoughts?

Thanks again to everyone who came out! It was a lot of fun! Hope to see you all next week too!

~Jaylene

Homestead Park- Kick Off Party

This Thursday will be the big kick off party for Columbus Playground Tour 2010!! I am hoping a lot of people are able to make it. If you would like, please bring a shirt or other white clothing item to tie-dye. We will have all of the supplies available to help the kids make their item very colorful.

We will be visiting Homestead Park http://www.wtwp.com/parks/homestead.asp and we will be meeting by the large playground. For those of you who haven't visited Homestead before, it's an amazing park with a lot of different sections. The area will be meeting and playing at is the first large playground on the right when you pull in. (there are two smaller ones on the left when you drive in, but keep going!). There is a large shelter house there as well that has bathrooms and some picnic tables. There is also a large sand box as well.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions- jaylenemarie@yahoo.com