Woodsboro Regional Park
It snowed again! We finally got out for a bit yesterday on a warm and sunny 42 degree day! Camden didn’t even wear his coat! Between Cub Scouts, gymnastics, ballet, wrestling, school, work, and not having a car for two days, we FINALLY had a few minutes to get out and play at the park across the street from the kids school.
The playgrounds at Woodsboro Regional Park are not the most accessible, which means it can be difficult for wheelchair friends. However, there are quite a few inclusive features! There are five elements of inclusive play: Social/Emotional, Physical, Cognitive, Sensory, and Communication. Woodsboro Park does incorporate cognitive play features, like the alphabet board, drums at a lower level, and animal learning board. Kids love spinning! It is a great sensory relief! This park has a good mix of some vintage equipment and newer builds! One of the favorites is that dangerous old merry go round where some kid always gets thrown off! Spinning and hanging upside down are great for overstimulated kids (and grownups), and is a great calm down tool!
The walking trail is mostly accessible. There is a section in the back of the park where the sidewalk ends and goes off road for a bit, but one could easily turn around and walk back around the lake. There is a main playground and a playground on the other side of the park by the lake. The one by the lake features a level access to roll from the sidewalk to the rubberized ground cover, but once there, there are no ramps, or accessible swings. The main playground also has ramps from the sidewalk to the main playground, however, the ground covering is all mulch, and again, there is not much in terms of ramps or accessible features.
One fun inclusive feature about the walking trail is that they incorporate the United Way Born Learning Trails! Born Learning began in 2005 as United Way’s first national public engagement campaign. It made public service advertising, parent materials and online tips, tools and templates available to help United Ways advance early childhood impact strategies. One of the things that makes Born Learning so unique is the rich, research-based content that is consistently delivered across all of its products. Its playful design and bold colors visually link the entire collection, including the cognitively stimulating Born Learning Trail. The Trail is a series of 10 interactive signs that offer fun, active learning activities for young children and their families. It helps parents, caregivers and communities create quality engagement opportunities when out on a stroll or visiting a local playground. You can learn more about Born Learning, United Way or setting up a local trail here!
Woodsboro Regional Park is a local (to us) Frederick County, Maryland regional park. Some general features of the park include sports fields, two playgrounds, four pavilions, a walking trail, stream, fishing pond, skating pond, sledding hill (I’m biased, but it’s way better than Pinecliff’s), skating pond, and even Frisbee golf! This park has become our home and go to! We have made many memories holding birthday parties, egg hunts, and late summer nights with friends. There is no good address to post, but the park is on the corner of MD 194 and 550 in Woodsboro, MD. If you are interested in helping families PLAY, LEARN, and CREATE memories check out Sophie and Madigan’s Playground! There are many ways to get involved!
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