Portland Summer Children's Activities

Come summer time in Portland, it’s the perfect time to further enhance your child’s view of his or her world by taking small outings and taking advantage of the great outdoors!

Parks and Playgrounds    abound in and out of Portland.   It is after all one of the most family-friendly cities.     The parks are the perfect places to get about and move, develop your child’s gross motor skills, discover friends, and kindle their imagination.     A few of our favorite parks are:

Washington Park Children’s Playground (south of the Rose Garden)  -  a beautiful, large, shaded playground, where kids of all ages have fun.    You can park right next to it or reach the park by parking close to the Rose Garden following the winding road.   Plenty of bridges, slides, and swings.  There is a sand play area as well and other fun stuff.   There are nearby benches and some picnic tables.  http://washingtonparkpdx.org/attractions/

Pirate Park (Morgan’s Run Park or Waterhouse Linear Park) - is a hidden gem of the Bethany-area neighborhood.  Not adjacent to any roads but can be found along the walking/bike trail that runs through the Morgan Run Park.   Lovingly called Pirate Park because of the pirate/nautical theme it uses on the playground structure.   Very nice sand play area (bring extra clothes and beach toys) and get ready to be dirty.  People young and old cannot resist.   http://www.thprd.org/parks/parkdetail.cfm?id=119

Water Parks and Swimming Pools   Indoor swimming is available year-round, but outdoor swimming is the best on those hot 90-degree days or triple-digit heat waves we occasionally get to have.   

Wilson Outdoor Pool.     A popular summer destination during summer, this pool is next to the Wilson High School with a number of different pools for different ages and abilities.   http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder/index.cfm?PropertyID=863&action=ViewPark

Conestoga Aquatic Recreation Splash Pad.   You have the option to combine swimming or just play and splash in the splash pad.    Check out the hours of operation before going.  http://www.thprd.org/aquatics/conestogaaquatic/home.cfm

53^rd Avenue Community Park (Hillsboro) – a newly designed and constructed park in Hillsboro.  Worth noting is their fun Fountain / Splash area open during summer.  Great fun for kids and adults alike.  Plenty of fun awaits in the swings, slides, a merry-go-round and climbing structures.   Also, a nice sand area that runs next to the small creek invites you to get down and get dirty.

http://www.ci.hillsboro.or.us/ParksRec/53rdAvenueCommunityPark/53rdAveCommPark.aspx

These are just a few and not an exhaustive list.   And of course, as always, there are our other favorites as well, namely:  OMSI  (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry),  the Oregon Zoo,  and the Portland’s Children Museum and good old-fashioned amusement rides at Oaks Park.

Keep on the lookout for more parks and playgrounds around you.   A good resource to start with is your local Parks and Recreation such as:   

•         Portland Parks and Recreation -  http://www.portlandoregon.gov/parks/
•         Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation District -  http://www.thprd.org/
•         Hillsboro Parks and Recreation - http://www.ci.hillsboro.or.us/parksrec/Default.aspx

Portland never ceases to amaze me with its local culture and constant stream of new, novel and exciting activities for the family!

Open House and Enrollment Going on

If you are a parent of a child who will be turning 3 or 4 this year by September and want to enrol your child in a preschool by Fall - then now is the time to start your search. January to March is normally the days when schools do open houses, tours and orientations for interested new families.

Luckily I started doing this a few weeks ago and got hold of scheduled open houses and got the enrolment dates of some of the preschools in my area that I was interested in. What I found interesting though was how "competitive" this search becomes as the desired time slots and schools are limited for a growing population of small children in the community. A little homework and soul-searching is needed when you are finding a "first" school for your precious child.

I started compiling a list of preschools around the area - and hopefully it will help you too. Personally I found the initial task daunting as it was hard to find an exhaustive listing of preschools around the area. A lot of it had to be done initially by manual search (driving around town and looking, interviewing neighbors and other parents). The internet is also a tool, however, I found that not all had a web presence (surprisingly). The most you would find for some is an address and a phone number - hence, in lieu of pictures, an actual school tour would be the best advice (not good for the initial scouting though).