http://playborhood.com/regions/oakvillenorth/ en chris@playbourhood.com Copyright 2008 2008-10-23T13:45:00-08:00 http://oakvillenorth.playborhood.com/site/article/failing_the_grade/ http://oakvillenorth.playborhood.com/site/article/failing_the_grade/#When:13:45:00Z Last week, the Community Foundation of Oakville released a report that explored a number of issues deemed important to ensuring a healthy, happy, strong and well-balanced community.  Entitled “Vital Signs” the report measures the vitality of our community, identifies significant trends, and assigns grades in 11 areas critical to quality of life. This particular report is part of a series of similar studies coordinated nationally by Community Foundations of Canada. The purpose of these studies is to encourage dialogue, increase awareness and, hopefully, develop a desire to deal with these … Oakville North General 2008-10-23T13:45:00-08:00 http://oakvillenorth.playborhood.com/site/article/playground_review_sheridan_valley_park/ http://oakvillenorth.playborhood.com/site/article/playground_review_sheridan_valley_park/#When:16:36:00Z Sheridan Valley Park reminds me of a little playground I used to frequent when I was a kid.  Nestled deeply among the trees and in the heart of the neighbourhood, this little park is wonderful.  Located just south of Upper Middle Road at the intersection of Grand Boulevard and Fleetwood Road, the park boasts direct links to a number of other parks, natural spaces and walking trails in the area - Fleetwood Park, Iroquois Shoreline Woods, Lancaster Woods and Valley Brook Park.  Falgarwood 2008-10-02T16:36:00-08:00 http://oakvillenorth.playborhood.com/site/article/homework_doesnt_work/ http://oakvillenorth.playborhood.com/site/article/homework_doesnt_work/#When:20:20:00Z Alfie Kohn is a Boston-based author who regularly speaks about educational and parenting issues.  He was in Toronto this week to talk about his belief that homework just doesn’t work.  It’s the kind of argument that’s been made here before on Playbourhood.  Our contention is that kids need time to just be kids - to play and develop in an unstructured manner.  It isn’t necessary to restrict formal learning to the classroom - after all there are all kinds of educational toys, games and activities that reinforce and benefit the academic foundations.  But they also need a healthy dose of social … Playbourhood 2008-09-23T20:20:00-08:00 http://oakvillenorth.playborhood.com/site/article/why_didnt_i_think_of_that/ http://oakvillenorth.playborhood.com/site/article/why_didnt_i_think_of_that/#When:15:54:00Z ” A Club for Active Kids. Outdoors!  Clearly the kind of thing that we’ve been promoting here at Playbourhood is not an isolated concern.  The folks over at Active Kids Club have taken up the challenge and are putting the concept into action.  Here’s a quote from their web site expressing the importance of playing outdoors starting at a young age: “Increasing your child’s exposure at an early age to outdoor play doesn’t just benefit their physical development. It enriches all aspect of early childhood development, mind and body. By exposing your child to both structured activities and … Playbourhood 2008-09-18T15:54:00-08:00 http://oakvillenorth.playborhood.com/site/article/luddite_or_visionary/ http://oakvillenorth.playborhood.com/site/article/luddite_or_visionary/#When:15:02:00Z Here at Playbourhood, we talk a lot about kids playing outdoors, doing things on their own in an unstructured environment and putting away their GameBoys.  There’s nothing wrong with television, computers or organized sports - they all have a valuable role to play in our kid’s development. But it’s only one part of the bigger picture.  Providing a good balance is what it’s really all about.  Mike Lanza talks a little bit about this over on the Playborhood site in this great post about “shunning technology” in favour of more “face time” with family and friends.  … from Playborhood 2008-09-17T15:02:00-08:00 http://oakvillenorth.playborhood.com/site/article/playground_review_martindale_park/ http://oakvillenorth.playborhood.com/site/article/playground_review_martindale_park/#When:15:27:00Z Martindale Park is located in a wonderful spot.  It’s smack dab in the middle of a thriving and well-established residential part of town just south and east of the Trafalgar and Upper Middle intersection.  The park is large and backs onto the main campus of Sheridan College.  That means the area has a great mix of people of all ages which makes for a healthy Playbourhood atmosphere. College Park 2008-09-15T15:27:00-08:00 http://oakvillenorth.playborhood.com/site/article/streetlights_and_hypocrites/ http://oakvillenorth.playborhood.com/site/article/streetlights_and_hypocrites/#When:18:16:00Z This week I’ve found myself wondering if I’ve become a hypocrite.  It stems from a struggle between a sincere belief that a living in a Playbourhood is both desirable and vital for our children’s healthy development and the natural instinct as a parent to protect my kids.  Looking around my own neighbourhood, I see plenty of kids interacting with each other, playing in the street and having a great time just being kids.  Recently the kids a few houses down invented a game of tag played on their scooters.  They race up and down, back and forth, around and around.  They’ve found a way to … Playbourhood 2008-08-26T18:16:00-08:00 http://oakvillenorth.playborhood.com/site/article/get_active/ http://oakvillenorth.playborhood.com/site/article/get_active/#When:14:36:00Z Yet again, reports and studies show that a rising number of children are becoming obese because they are not active enough.  They are spending far too much time in front of television screens, at computer terminals and with game consoles in their chubby little hands.  Here’s an article from Parentcentral.ca which talks about this very problem.  Playbourhood 2008-08-19T14:36:00-08:00 http://oakvillenorth.playborhood.com/site/article/playground_review_glanashton_park/ http://oakvillenorth.playborhood.com/site/article/playground_review_glanashton_park/#When:13:39:00Z When we first arrived at Glenashton Park, I was struck by the quiet silence.  Despite being located next door to the busy Iroquois Ridge Community Centre, there wasn’t a soul on the playground. That’s a shame, because it’s a great park.  Lots to do for all ages with both low and high slides, tons of swings, and a variety of things to climb including two low rock walls.  The only drawbacks are the pea-stone play surface and the liberal use of metal used for construction.  The problem is that the park is far in off the road and in the middle of a large green space.  Homes area a bit of a walk … Iroquois Ridge 2008-07-18T13:39:00-08:00 http://oakvillenorth.playborhood.com/site/article/high_gasoline_prices_are_good_for_children/ http://oakvillenorth.playborhood.com/site/article/high_gasoline_prices_are_good_for_children/#When:14:12:00Z Adults drive cars.  Children don’t.  They walk or ride bikes. In suburban areas built mostly for cars, adults in cars dominate.  On the other hand, children suffer.  They usually stay inside or wait to get driven by their parents because: 1) most places of interest are not within walking or biking distance, and 2) the streets are unsafe for young pedestrians or bicyclists. Fortunately for children, high gasoline prices are making adults less interested in driving their cars, and more interested in walking. Continued on Playborhood from Playborhood 2008-07-10T14:12:00-08:00