PlayGroundology

Winter ships out

Posted on March 26, 2026 | Leave a comment

Winter ships out, Jubilee Park, Bridgetown, Nova Scotia – 2013 – PlaySnaps number 45

Winter ships out, Jubilee Park, Bridgetown, Nova Scotia – 2013

Last week, I thought winter shipped out. A melt had all but evaporated the snow and there was a welcome warmness in the air. It looked like winter was finally on the ropes, no match for the inevitable change of seasons. But no, it came back unannounced like a stray cat and seems to be settling in. Once again, the yards are a uniform white.

It won’t be long though before the neighbourhood scenery will be more like this snap, a boat skiffing into spring through receding snow. This small, red-trimmed white dory was an extension of a more formalized play area in Bridgetown, Nova Scotia’s Jubilee Park. An in-ground slide and other elements are visible in the background. Up front are industrial, precast concrete cylinders peppered with colorful hand prints, an unusual feature in play spaces around these parts. They’re a nice touch full of possibility. Small ones can ‘hide’ inside, certain to be found! Another feature – shouts reverberate, sound bouncing back and forth making a new mix.

On one of my visits, I sit in the dory, balance on the gunnels, and generally make myself at home as captain and crew. Standing in the bow I look off in the near distance at the slowly meandering Annapolis River and imagine floating away. The entire play ensemble here was ahead of its time in Nova Scotia. It’s a wonderful example of a comparatively inexpensive and inviting rendition of an exciting space for the pre-school and early primary years crowds.

For me the dory was always the pièce de résistance, a true touch of magic. A life size item of material culture relevant to the place and evoking the qualities of daily life and dreams, of feet firmly planted on the ground and adventures on the high seas.

See all PlaySnaps 1 through 45 right here on flickr.

Each week I’m uploading a couple of original images. Pulled from a collection of more than 20,000 shots taken over 20 or so years. The snaps are a smorgasbord of people (mostly kids), play and places. There is no particular order to their presentation – chronological, thematic, or otherwise.

It’s been my good fortune as an adult to occasionally immerse myself in play. Being an onlooker and by times a helper has made for many joyful moments. I’m thankful to our kids for indulging me over the years and letting the camera in on the fun. I hope some of these photos will tickle your fancy, bring a smile to your own heart of play.

Leave a comment

Posted in Dory, Jubilee Park, material culture, Outdoor Play, winter ships out

Fort Beauséjour – a great stay

Posted on March 22, 2026 | Leave a comment

Fort Beauséjour – A great stay, Aulac, New Brunswick – 2016, PlaySnaps number 44

Fort Beauséjour – A great stay, Aulac, New Brunswick

I didn’t think to ask the site interpreters at Fort Beauséjour about the purpose of the mirror image ‘L’ shapes. Cobbled together nearly 300 years ago, the stone blocks of the outer perimeter are infilled with bouldery rocks. Located outside the star shaped ramparts of the fort, the function of these solidly ensconced formations is a mystery to me. Perhaps with 18th century eyes or a smattering of archaeology I might crack the code.

After running through the grounds sporting tricorne hats and bearing wooden muskets, the kids zero in on the ‘Ls’. Their curiosity is more about how than what. How to get up, how far down the drop, how long can they play? It’s climb, clamber and jump – climb, clamber and jump. There is a healthy hesitation looking down from the nearly five feet high ledge before they launch their first jumps. It quickly becomes old hat once the risk factor is sublimated.

The artefacts are a great spot to create a few moments of fun and derring-do. We’re about two hours from home with another 10 on the road before we reach our destination. This is a lovely stop to stretch our legs in the outdoors, to peer across the isthmus that connects Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. It’s not much of a problem to get the guys bundled back into the car – Quebec and les grand-parents are calling.

Leave a comment

Posted in affordances, Fort Beauséjour, National Historic Site, Parks Canada, play stop, risk, risky play

Shredding the White Stuff

Posted on March 11, 2026 | Leave a comment

Shredding the White Stuff, Brightwood Golf and Country Club, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia – 2023, PlaySnaps number 43.

Shredding the White Stuff, Brightwood Golf and Country Club, Dartmouth

This year’s abundant accumulation of snow has all but evaporated. It’s been a steady melt during the past week. Already I’m getting a little nostalgic and misty-eyed.

This photo sweeps me right back to winter’s delight. Three girls shredding the white stuff as they rip down the slopes of a local golf course. Each of them living the moment in a laughter fueled descent as snowy wisps rise and freshen happy faces.

There are plenty of variations to the downhill slide – standing up, backwards, scrunched together, head first belly down, linked together single file or side by side, careening off ramps and more. Occasionally there are face plants but the show must go on!

Out on the slopes reminded me of when I was a kid. Our apartment building gave onto a park that had a magnificent feature – a hill with about a 40 degree incline. When the snow was down, sledding traffic was heavy from early morning until well after supper.

For a couple of weeks one winter, standing up while whizzing to the bottom was in vogue. It seemed that our wooden four seater toboggan was expressly designed for this trick. With feet wedged and braced firmly in the second and third seats and hands wrapped tightly around the taut guiding rope, it was possible, more often than not, to get down without falling.

Flying saucers, crazy carpets, sleds with runners and for those without specialized equipment, scraps of plastic and sheets of cardboard, the kids were all doing their own thing. Once our snowsuits were soaked through or our fingers and toes were numb with cold we’d retreat to the warmth of home.

Back then it seemed like the promise of thrills and spills on the hill would never end. In fact, it never has. The promise is relayed from one generation to the next paying the fun forward.

See all PlaySnaps 1 through 43 right here on flickr.

Leave a comment

Posted in sledding, snow play, snow sliders, toboggan, winter fun

Backyard Matrix

Posted on March 2, 2026 | Leave a comment

Backyard Matrix – Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia – 2020 – PlaySnaps number 42.

Backyard Matrix – Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia – 2020

Truth be told we haven’t seen any kids actually flying in the backyard. This shot though makes me think that it might not be totally out of the realm of the possible. It’s like a scene out of a primary school kids’ version of The Matrix with these two neighbourhood lads taking on the action figures roles. They’re intent on one thing and one thing only – having a bit of fun while testing their abilities!

Hovering over the couch for a millisecond they defy gravity like two kung fu fighters. They are in the zone. This one moment is of the indelible variety – it will be remembered as the time of stunts under warm blue skies.

Instead of being hauled curbside, these couches inhabited our backyard for over two years. They were great props for jumping, acrobatics, lounging and became go to furnishing for fun…..

See all PlaySnaps 1 through 42 right here on flickr.

Leave a comment

Posted in Outdoor Play, The Matrix

Vernissage (original title)

Posted on February 27, 2026 | Leave a comment

This is a quick treasure from many years back when I was fortunate enough to take 9 months in parental leave. Apart from the fatigue at having 3 kids under 5 on the go and just 2 adults to respond to their needs, these were incredible days. I recorded a number of our adventures in a blog, The Finest Gift.

Art was a big part of the mix. Everyone with kids will remember the sheer volumes of art they produced at child care, school and at home. Back in those early years, the creations brought us joy, wonder, laughter, amazement and more. What a fertile, uninhibited time between the ages of about 3 and 8, This repost from The Finest Gift is one of Nellie’s early, public works.

Is there a line that separates play and art or are they on a continuum? What are your thoughts?

—————

Originally Posted on July 30, 2010 | in The Finest Gift Leave a comment | Edit

The reviews are in for Nellie-Rose’s first show and we’re popping the champagne corks. If you were not one of the lucky ones to see this spontaneous event live, check a couple of these rare photos.

“A virtuoso piece for her first public exhibition.”
Sandbanks Sentinel

“Performance art as it should be practiced.”
New York Art

“An audacious use of space and materials, colour, form and symbolism ”
La Rive Gauche

“A precocious tour de force.”
Post Modern Happenings

Leave a comment

Posted in art and play, art projects, parental leave, The FInest Gift, vernissage

Speedsters in the Shadow of the Eiffel Tower

Posted on February 25, 2026 | Leave a comment

Speedsters in the Shadow of the Eiffel Tower – Paris, France – 1971 – PlaySnaps number 41

Speedsters in the Shadow of the Eiffel Tower – Paris, France – 1971

The speedsters did their thing immediately opposite the Eiffel Tower not quite in its shadow. There were physical reminders of historic pomp this way and that – the Tour itself, the Palais de Chaillot and the Jardin de Trocadéro where the action took place. On weekends the Avenue Albert 1er de Monaco was humming with this popular activity. The road’s gradient was pitched down toward the river. It was a shared space – cars, mopeds, bikes, rollerskaters, skateboarders and onlookers.

It seemed like there was a never-ending stream of kids on skateboards hurtling down the length of Albert 1er their legs suspended mere inches above the road surface. The only steering mechanism averting outright disaster was the redistribution of body weight to the left, or right as needed. I had no idea how they stopped after picking up speed downhill but they clearly did. We saw the same skaters hitching a ride back up to the top holding on to car bumpers, or the rear wheel package racks on bikes and mobylettes.

The young lad in this photo, taken by my father, looks fully engaged. Is he yelling, screaming, or maybe even swearing? Using today’s conventions and standards this would easily align with what adults think of as risky play. I remember watching those kids zip by and thinking of how exhilarating it looked. I also knew that I didn’t have the nerve for it myself. Dodgy as it might appear from a bystander’s perspective, this flying down the road with spectators looking on seemed to be a thing.

That particular day we were out as a family grabbing some fries at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. We thought they were some of the best in the city and it wasn’t too far from where we lived in the 16e arrondissement. We were happy to happen upon the spectacle that was somehow organically organized, not part of any officially sanctioned activities – it just was. I have no doubt that was part of the appeal for participants and spectators alike.

See all PlaySnaps 1 through 41 right here on flickr.

Leave a comment

Posted in Paris, Paris France, risk, risky play

Dirt, Glorious, Dirt

Posted on February 20, 2026 | Leave a comment

Dirt, Glorious, Dirt – Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia – 2010 – PlaySnaps number 40

Dirt, Glorious, Dirt – Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia

What is it with dirt and its semi-liquid cousin, mud? Kids revel in the texture, moistness, crumblability, in finding the right packing-compressing capacity to fashion hand-made spaghetti mudballs. It’s like a gravitational force pulling them in and opening the door to playful experimentation.

There may be a subtext too, the fun of spreading it about liberally on clothes and shoes, on face, hands and dare I say it, in hair. But dirt isn’t available just anywhere in urban environments. It’s usually hidden by grass, flowers, hedges or buried and inaccessible beneath cement sidewalks or macadam roads.

Make no mistake, dirt and mud rank high on the list of preferred natural materials to play with. Just let kids get their hands on it and witness the fun. On the small parcel of land that we are lucky enough to live on, a disused garden bed proved an ideal space for some poking around. There’s only so much a kid can do to avoid getting mucky before muckiness becomes the desired new norm.

As you can see this family friend was at one point sitting down on the job, taking a breather, or, admiring the dirty muddiness of it all – maybe all three. Kids embrace the joy of getting dirty as often as they get a chance to do so. Each June 29 International Mud Day celebrates letting loose. Championed by the World Forum for Early Childhood Care based in Belfast, it’s a day to purposefully wallow…

See all PlaySnaps 1 through 40 right here on flickr.

Leave a comment

Posted in Mud Day, PlaySnaps

Pink Elephant

Posted on February 15, 2026 | Leave a comment

Pink Elephant, Dundas Street West, Toronto, Canada – 2012 – PlaySnaps number 39

Pink Elephant, Dundas Street West, Toronto, Canada – 2012

These four young lads are settling in atop the only pink elephant I’ve ever seen anywhere, except in animated cartoons. Clearly the boys are habitués as each of them appears pretty chill up on their perch howdah style.

This climber, located on the grounds of Ryerson Community School, is in the heart of Toronto. It’s a stone’s throw from Kensington Market and almost as close to Chinatown. The elephant is a rarity from the days of playgrounds gone by – a different vintage than the equipment seen here in the background, a relic almost.

I enjoy coming across these long in the tooth pieces. There is one particular rocket ship design that I happen upon occasionally that dates back to my childhood in the mid-60s. Hats off to municipalities and school boards that continue to feature these old yet safe and serviceable playground artefacts. Astronauts, conservationists, explorers – the old pieces really provided a platform to fuel fun and make believe.

Leave a comment

Posted in old playground equipment, old playground furniture, pink elephants, PlaySnaps

Old Friends

Posted on February 11, 2026 | Leave a comment

Old Friends – Parc Bibeau, Sorel, Quebec – 2016 – PlaySnaps number 38

Old Friends – Parc Bibeau, Sorel, Quebec – 2016

There are plenty of old friends in Parc Bibeau. Springriders, swings, trees, a climbing frame – we’re familiar with all of them. But most of all Parc Bibeau is home to ‘the caterpillar’ – painted steel round bar designed in the stylized shape of, you guessed it, a caterpillar. For years the kids made a beeline to the caterpillar when we pulled up to the park, just a short distance from grand-maman and grand-papa’s home in Sorel, Quebec

As long as playgrounds stayed in vogue with the kids, we’d make at least one trip to Parc Bibeau’s caterpillar on each of our visits. On occasion les cousines from Gatineau would be there and sometimes les petits cousins from Sorel. The more the merrier, the caterpillar had a mighty back and a lengthy torso – plenty of room for the cousins to get together and play. I loved the caterpillar’s simple lines, bulbous head and the oh so convenient antennae offering a chance to do a dare by grabbing on and letting go….

A place for hanging, climbing, balancing, jumping, skinning the cat, acrobatics and much more, the caterpillar was like an old friend welcoming the kids to a familiar and reassuring space.

Simple can be a great fuel for the imagination.

See all PlaySnaps 1 through 38 right here on flickr.

Leave a comment

Posted in Caterpillar, playgrounds, Playgrounds Sorel, PlaySnaps, simple pleasures, Sorel

Footloose and Fancy Free

Posted on February 5, 2026 | 2 comments

Footloose and Fancy Free – Halifax, Nova Scotia, 2009 – PlaySnaps number 37

Footloose and Fancy Free – Halifax, Nova Scotia, 2009

Beyond permission, children don’t need much encouragement to play. As recently as 30 or 40 years ago, independent, outdoor play was the default – a by the kids, for the kids daily dosing of discovery, amusement and anticipation. Not to get lost in rose-tinted nostalgia, but back in those heady days it was a self-evident truth that there would be play and plenty of it – a kid’s purpose so to speak.

I wanted to provide our kids with similar opportunities. While we were all still revelling in the unbridled freedom of their pre-school years, we embarked on a city-wide tour of playgrounds. Over the course of a little more than two years, we put about 50 playgrounds through their paces. See PlaySnaps number 39, ‘On Tour’ for more details on how we documented this monkey bars, swings and slides tour in PlayGround Chronicles.

This photo dates back to those days. Following a visit to a school playground, the guys went exploring and found this painted hopscotch court stretched up the side of the school. Aside from throwing pebbles on the court, neither one of the kids really had a clue on how to play. My attempts at shedding some light on this schoolyard game were woefully unsuccessful.

But the beauty of it all was that knowing how to actually play hopscotch was pretty much irrelevant to them. They had permission, space, a new pursuit and their own imaginations to play as they chose. For 15 or 20 minutes they were enthralled in adventure of their own making.

Maybe I read too much into it but in this pic I see verve, elan, fun, friendship and discovery. They’re frequently present when play is on the loose.

Read more about outdoor play and ‘fun transfer’ here.

See all PlaySnaps 1 through 37 right here on flickr.