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2:51 I am sitting at picnic table with my daughter who is in an orange umbrella stroller which I positioned in front of me to conceal my notepad and pen on my lap. We are at a new “play for all” playground which was recently installed in front of an old neighbourhood rec. centre. The playground is accessible to the physically disabled so there are many low set features like swings or spinning chairs that someone in a wheel chair could access. It is also a great park for small children for this reason. It is chilly with grey skies today so the playground is empty. I’ve been here for about ten minutes and have seen many small children walk by with one of their parents but they continue into the rec centre.

2:52 A mom with two small children and a dog, around the age of three and four, pass by the playground. The children want to play but the mom ushers them along stating, “It’s too cold.” Two boys about the age of 11 or 12 come darting out of the rec centre to the playground. Boy 1 jumps on the tallest feature on the playground and immediately goes to the top. He is wearing a marron puffy down jacket, jeans, and white sneakers. He has sandy coloured hair, buck teeth, and big eyes. He looks gangly because he is tall and thin. Boy 2 is wearing the same jacket but navy blue. He has darker jeans on and black winter boots. He has brown hair. He is heavier set than the other. There are no parents around.

PC: I wonder if they’re brothers because they have the same jacket?

Boy 2 runs to one of the two low circular shaped swings and stands on it. Boy 1 follows and stands on the other circular swing next to the first boy. Both grab the ropes suspending the swings and use their bodies to get them moving.

2:54 Boy 1 lies down on the swing while it’s still in motion. Then he gets off and gets back on the swing but facing the rec centre this time. Boy 2 is still swinging but also turns direction to face the rec centre. Boy 1 is going much higher than boy 2.

Boy 2 looks at me. Boy 1 jumps off his swing and is oblivious that I’m here. Boy 2 gets off and walks to a different structure in the shape of a sea serpent which he climbs. Boy 1 is still swinging fairly high.

Two little children and their mom walk by.

PC: I wonder if there is a swimming lesson going on since these two look to be the same age as others who’ve walked by since I’ve been here.

Boy 1 moves to a small, red spinning seat. Boy 2 climbs on to the head of the sea serpent. He seems cautious and starts to lower himself to a lower part of the head instead of jumping from the top. Once to the lowest part of the head, he calls to his friend (brother?) to get his attention. Boy 1 doesn’t see him and goes back to the circular swing.

PC: Boy 2 was trying to get his friend’s attention so boy 1 would watch him jump off the head.

Boy 2 walks to the other circular swing and stands by it. Boy 1 jumps off his. They’re talking but I can’t hear what they’re saying. Then boy 1 says, “Let’s see who can jump the farthest!”. Both get on the swings in a standing position. Boy 1 starts swinging first and is going very high. Boy 1 says, “Bet I can get higher than you! You can jump whenever you want.” He jumps and falls (on purpose). He then stands where he fell to mark his spot. Boy 2 jumps but not very far at all. He hops a bit further once on the ground then quickly moves to the spinning seat.
PC: Boy 2 was trying to make his jump look longer by taking small hope after he initially touched the ground. He was trying to avoid playing the game again and from hearing comments by moving to a different structure.

Boy 1 pushes him around on the seat then goes to a structure that looks like a boat. Boy 2 goes to a swing made to hold a wheelchair and balances on it while standing. He doesn’t swing. Boy 1 goes to the spinning seat and spins himself.

Boy 2 looks at me. Boy 1 doesn’t.

PC: I wonder if boy 2 feels self-conscious that I am here. He must notice me watching at them. He is obviously not as athletic as the other boy and an audience might make him feel nervous. I wonder if boy 1 is unobservant or confident enough in his athleticism that he doesn’t care who watches.

Boy 2 lies down on the swing while boy 1 moves to that structure and pushes him. Boy 2 looks back at him because boy 1 is behind him. Boy 1 changes the side that he is pushing on to face boy 2 now.

PC: I think these two have a fairly respectful relationship even though they are quite different. I don’t think they would choose to play together at recess at school because boy 1 would choose a sports game and boy would probably choose to read or walk around. This further strengthens my guess that they are brothers.

Boy 1 moves to a spinning pole and then walks away, exploring other small noise making features with his hands as he goes. Boy 2 is still swinging on the wheel chair swing but is going slower now because no one has pushed him for a bit.

Boy 1 is standing by a feature that you shout into that looks like a periscope. He says, “I have a secret to tell you that I’ve never told anyone.” He walks over to the wheelchair swing to help his boy 2 who is struggling to get off. Boy 2 looks at me as he gets off the swing.

Boy 2 walks over to a different periscope. Boy 1 says, “I can not tell anyone.” Then he speaks into the periscope feature. Boy 2 makes noises (animal sounds) back into it. Boy 1 says, “Come on. Let’s go.” They both walk off the playground and boy 2 gives a noogie to boy 1.

PC: I feel bad for boy 2 because it must be tough for him to be around other boys at school who are much more rough and tumble than he. I find myself thinking he is probably successful in academics. However, that shows me that I can stereotype students as either being athletic or academic.

End 3:05