Kerala_Taylor

Wow, you've outdone yourself! Not just one list but three! And given that the Bay Area tends to be hottest in the fall, I'm sure local folks will love the water park suggestions.

These are all GREAT suggestions. It takes input from dedicated users like you to continue improving and refining our tools. We are trying to make the process as streamlined as possible but realize it's a bit cumbersome as is. We'll be passing all your feedback along to our developers -- keep it coming!

@sashametro -- thanks so much for sharing! I actually reached out to her last week to see if she'd be interested in mapping the playgrounds on our site and/or participating in the Challenge next year. Haven't heard back yet, but I'll see. Great additions @playparks and @emeraldperil -- keep 'em coming!

Wonderful list -- and adorable photo! I'll be putting press releases together soon, and will keep you posted.

Thank you so much! This is great. I'll be putting press releases together soon.

Top 5 local playgrounds? Share your picks! Please take some time to review all the playgrounds you have explored over the past few months, and choose your five favorites. Include:
- The name of each park/playground
- A link to the entry in our Map of Play (we hope it includes at least one photo!)
- A sentence or two about why this particular playspace made it on the list.
- BONUS: Is there a clear Worst Playground? How could this playground be improved?

Thanks to everyone who answered last week's Question of the Week about their favorite playgrounds! We featured some of them in our blog today: What sets a playground apart from the rest? Our Park-A-Day Challengers share their favorites.

Great read, thanks for sharing! That blog is on my Google Reader but I never saw that post.

It's great to see your daughter trying new things -- that's what play is all about!

Thanks so much for sharing this opportunity. You might also be interested in the Let's Play playground grants we're offering in partnership with Dr Pepper Snapple. We're accepting applications now! http://kaboom.org/grants

We're so excited to have you on board! Looking forward to hearing more from you in the weeks to come. And if there's anything we can do to help get your playground project going, please let us know.

You've got so many great photos in here! And congrats on being almost halfway to your goal of visiting 50 playgrounds!

I love this, Tracey. I'm going to feature it next week on our blog for Wordless Wednesday!

Some of you noted that your children are using play equipment in "unintended" ways -- for instance, climbing on top of monkey bars instead of swinging from them. Last year's Challengers found that as they visited more playgrounds, their kids tired of the traditional play equipment and began to interact with other playground elements, like trees and benches. Which brings us to this week's question:
What new ways have your children found to play?

Welcome to the Challenge! At some point, you may want to try a playground visit in the rain -- as our 2010 Challenger Liza Sullivan suggests here: http://kaboom.org/blog/six_tips_getting_most_out_your_playground_visits

The Winston Heights Xccent Playground looks so unique! As for risk-taking, I especially loved your comment: "I find the more I let him take risks, the more he knows his own limits and the less I have to be right there in order for him to act safely on the equipment." This is so true.

Thanks for the feedback -- we're aware of some of the bugs causing the app to crash and are working on the next version now. We'll keep you posted!

That's a great question -- what's the line between too much and too little risk? Sometimes I think it takes testing the boundaries for you and your kids to learn when they are too far outside of their skill sets or comfort zones. That's why falling and getting injured is an integral part of childhood. That said, trusting your intuition and common sense as a parent is also important. Curious what others think!

Each week, I plan to post a question to the group to get you thinking about your play experiences from different angles. This week's question:

What risks have your children taken while playing this week? (How did you react? What did they learn?)

Go in the rain, let your kids take risks, bring art supplies... Here's a great post by our 2010 Summer Challenge alum Liza Sullivan, Six tips to getting the most out of your playground visits. Any other ideas to add to the list?

Great post Angie! The problems that Richard Louv identifies with today's playgrounds are so true. Can't wait to hear about more "dangerous" playgrounds in your area!