So, what’s the lasting legacy of Camp Yale 2010?  I’ve identified two:

For the first half of today, the kids engaged in wild free play once again.  They just can’t get enough of that.  They have settled on three main centers of play:  the Slotwood house in our driveway, the trampoline in our back yard, and the playhouse in our back yard.  Also, kids frequently come to the picnic table in the front yard to grab snacks or a cup of water.

Then, my artist friend Jaying Wang helped our kids make mosaics - one big one to put on our fence, and a “stepping stone” for each kid to take home.  The big one is a design inspired by the book Roxaboxen depicting the play …

We started our day by walking to the San Francisquito Creek bed close to our house, which is totally dry this time of year.  Paul Heiple of Acterra led a lively discussion of the creek.  He taught us things like where the creek water comes from, what affects the erosion of the creek bank, what happens when the creek floods, what kinds of rocks we find there, and what kinds of plants we find there.

After Paul’s talk, the kids foraged and climbed the banks a bit, then they collected rocks for painting, and we went back to my yard (Camp Yale headquarters).  There, some kids painted rocks, …

Fellow Yale Roader and magician Hugh McDonald mesmerized us with his magic tricks, and he taught the kids a few, too.  I got a great testimonial from a mom this evening:  “My kids had a great time at Camp Yale today.  Donny in particular is just raving about it.  He loved Hugh.  He is practicing his magic act with the coin to show his dad tonight ( I already saw it!!).”

Before and after Hugh’s show, the 12 attendees, ages 2-1/2 to …

Play Day

3pm - 6pm

Bring your kids to play with us in our Playborhood! See how we’ve transformed our front and back yards into venues for everyday play. Fun activities include the following:

1. draw on front yard white board
2. play with vintage (circa late 1960s) hot wheels track and cars
3. build huge structures with Slotwood, which is like life-sized Lincoln Logs
4. play in sandbox
5. play in fountain (also see this video)
6. jump on in-ground trampoline
7. do …

Play Day

3pm - 5:30pm

Bring your kids to play with us in our Playborhood! See how we’ve transformed our front and back yards into venues for everyday play. Fun activities include the following:

1. draw on front yard white board
2. play with vintage (circa late 1960s) hot wheels track and cars
3. build huge structures with Slotwood, which is like life-sized Lincoln Logs
4. play in sandbox
5. play in fountain (also see this video)
6. play street hockey
7. do the following with our huge playhouse:
   

Well, in the past week and a half, we’ve had a change of heart.  We scrambled to find a spot in a good “Young 5s” or “Pre-K” program for him, and we found one.  We just informed our neighborhood elementary school, Oak Knoll in Menlo Park, that he would not be attending this fall.

So, why did we change our minds?

Seven years ago we moved to our neighborhood and decided that we wanted to know our neighbors.

So, taking matters into our own hands, we launched a regular series of backyard happy hours for our neighbors and friends with the goal of having a casual drop-in/out event in our yard on a regular basis in the summer.  Now, seven years later I look back on the impact of this simple event, and it is amazing:

• We know all the people on our block, almost everyone on the neighboring block, and the folks on the sides perpendicular to ours.  Some of these people we are now very close with.
• When we …

This fall, my son Marco will start kindergarten at our neighborhood public elementary school, Oak Knoll.  So will our next-door neighbor Jonathan.  So will the girl who lives behind us, Bailey.  So will the kid around the corner, Eli.  So will the kid one block away, Spencer.  So will my good friend’s kid, Emma, who lives three blocks away.

Marco will ride his bike to school most days along with many of those kids.  I fully anticipate that our kids will have a wonderful time playing outside here every day after riding back from school.  All the groundwork we’ve laid in making outdoor …

[Editor’s Note:  The author, Wendy Kandasamy, is the listing real estate agent for the property discussed in the article below.  She works for Alain Pinel Realtors.]

I lived in a “Playborhood” long before I heard of this word.  I live on Iris Way, which is a micro-community within the Green Gables area of Palo Alto.  It is more than a beautifully tree-lined street.  It really is truly a community!  There are seniors, families with children of all ages, and young professional couples who were drawn to this street because of the charming homes, canopy trees, and close to Duveneck …

So, how’s it going?  In brief, my verdict is that we’re right on the verge of becoming a bona-fide Playborhood now.  I consider a Playborhood to be a place where children, ideally from more than one family, play outside on their own on a regular basis - i.e. at least a couple days a week. 

At least three or four nights a week after dinner, I play with my two boys - Marco (4-1/2) and Nico …

I’ve spent time on Holly Oak myself.  I agree that it’s one of the few bonafide Playborhoods we have in Palo Alto and Menlo Park.  I can’t say much …