[Editor's note: This "archive-edition" discussion originally ran in April. Next week we plan to return with a fresh topic: birthday parties (and those durn gift bags).]

This week the JP Patch Moms Council talks about the best outdoor spots for children in our neighborhood. Add your own favorites in the comment section below.

Erica Lewy: We’ll be going to the Lamartine playground more often now that the tire mulch has been removed

I was totally overwhelmed when I started writing this. JP is so full of outdoor places, I can't believe how lucky we are to live in such a great part of the city. This winter almost made me forget how wonderful it was. I think I need to get warmer clothes so we can enjoy these places year round.

SW CORRIDOR PARK

My daughter loves watching the trains go by on the park. We also love the playgrounds that line it. We hit the Stony Brook and Green Street playgrounds - in summer the sprinklers are fun -  and we'll probably be going to the Lamartine playground more often now that the tire mulch has been removed. It's also fun to watch people play tennis there. We'll most likely be doing some bike riding and learning to ride along the corridor - perhaps starting this weekend.

PLAYGROUNDS - some of our favorites

• Forbes Street Playground: This little neighborhood playground tucked in between a couple of three families is a favorite of my daughter's. It has two small play areas and a local cat that frequents it.
• Mozart Playground: Two play areas one for older kids and one for the younger set, sprinklers and steps to run up and down, great space to ride small bikes around in, basketball courts, places to draw with chalk and swings…what more could you ask for (get some chicken at Alex's Chimi's on the way home - yum!)
• Brewer-Burroughs Playground (otherwise known as the Tot Lot): This is basically the first playground you get to know when you have a baby in JP. It's fully shaded and all the little kids love it. Parents drop their used toys off there so it's chock full of ride in cars and old push toys. My daughter's 3 and she still loves it. There was talk of a renovation about a year ago. I'm not sure what's going on with that but I'm sure people would welcome it.
• Curley School Playground: The additions to the Curley School playground a few years ago included group swing and a playground merry go-round thing - I don't know what it's called - but the kids can spin each other around and they enjoy it. It also has natural elements like logs and rocks to climb on.

FARMER'S MARKETS

I like taking my daughter to the JP farmers markets (in season) when I can. The Stillman's market has traditionally been held on Tuesdays & Saturdays and The Community Servings Market is near the Stony Brook Station, this one is easy to hit with her after I pick her up from school, or after work. She's a lot more apt to eat vegetables if she picks them out from the market.

FOREST HILLS CEMETERY

Yes it's a little morbid but it's also beautiful. It's open every day, it's free, there are sculptures all over the place (no, not tombstones - actual sculptures).  You can even get a map so you can look at the sculptures and read the artist statements.

[Editor’s note: The usual arts events held there are on hold while the cemetery figures out what kind of arts programming, if any, to continue.]

FRANKLIN PARK ZOO

It may not be the Bronx Zoo or the San Diego Zoo, but it's ours and it's right in JP! We've got baby animals to name, giant anteaters to see and wooden trains to ride in. It's really easy to get to and parking's free. What more could you ask for?

JAMAICA POND

This is always a great place to look for ducks, turtles and frogs- dig in the dirt, collect acorns and sticks and take a walk. It's a little cold in the winter but we still venture out there occasionally when it's cold and windy.

ARNOLD ARBORETUM

This is a place I wish I went to more. It's gorgeous. We've gone a few years for Lilac Sunday (coming up moms) and a few times for a walk on the paths but it's a resource that I think is underutilized (by me I mean). They have family activities the last Saturday of every month April - October.

Phillipa Tawn: We have our secret JP places ,which my children have graciously agreed to share!

I think anyone who has ever lived in JP would agree that there is an indefinable specialness about this wonderful neighborhood. I am biased of course but I do believe that JP is a great place to bring up children.

The best outdoor places for kids? Well-there are the obvious contenders such as the zoo and Green Street sprinkler park. We also have our secret JP places which my children have graciously agreed to share!

Near to the Arnold Arboretum’s Center Street entrance is a small bridge. For my children this is troll bridge. I have spent many hours crouched under this bridge playing the ugly troll while my three children repeatedly re-enact the Billy Goat Gruff story. Once the novelty of overcoming the troll has worn thin, we usually walk to the arboretum terraces where my children love to play on the “stage”. Endless impromptu concerts, plays and dance recitals have taken place on this platform over the last years!

It seems a strange place to take kids but we are fond of visiting Forest Hills Cemetery. All three of my children learnt to ride bikes here on safe car free roads. The benches by the pond are also perfect resting spots for tired parents in need of a dose of tranquility.

Still in the Forest Hills area is a tiny secret garden that my children believe no one else has yet discovered. At the top of Wachusett Street is a playground and a baseball field. If you cross the field you find, tucked away in the corner, a lovely neighborhood garden. The Leland Street Community Garden is a fragrant little oasis in the middle of the city. For my children this is their secret garden-a garden that, in their minds, would rival Frances Hodgson Burnett’s one any day!

Deb Nam-Krane: We have an embarrassing number of great playgrounds

If JP doesn't have a large number of child-friendly retail spots, it does have an embarrassing number of great playgrounds.  You could walk along the Southwest Corridor between Forest Hills and Stonybrook and hit at least four playgrounds.  Green Street is great unless it's the dog days of July or August; at that point, go to the sprinkler park at Stonybrook.

Mary Hannon: We helped start the toy donation tradition at Brewer Street Tot Lot

We are lucky to have so many playgrounds and some of my best friends today are friends I met at the famous “Brewer Street Tot-Lot.”  I was one of the first to throw out my working riding toy as a donation and we watched them pile up…

Amy Abair: We look for the infamous white squirrel at Jamaica Pond (is he still around?)

Let's start with the playgrounds since there are so many.  There is the infamous Tot Lot on Brewer Street, as Mary mentions.  I see it as “The Place Toys Go to Die” but kids love it and it is completely fenced in.

The playground on Rossmore Street was a great starting point for myself and my son.  It is small, fenced in, and has a soft rubber ground.  It was good introduction to climbing structures for my then 16 month old and it was a nice ease into climbing structures for myself.

From there we enjoy all the playgrounds along the Southwest Corridor.  I cannot tell you what street any of them are on because we have given them each their own name; Stony Brook playground, tennis court playground, Green St. playground, and choo choo playground (near English High and named for the proximity to the T tracks).

The Southwest Corridor is a great area without the playgrounds.  When our son was younger we would spend loads of times watching the trains go by.  It was a great treat when the T drivers would beep their horns for us.  We use the various fields in the Southwest Corridor for playing soccer, baseball or just running around.  Our son is now one of the bike riders on the bike path and he is just so proud of himself.

The Jamaica Pond is a great place to explore.  We walk and run around the pond.  Watch the ducks and throw rocks in the water.  We look for the infamous white squirrel (is he still around?).  Last summer we started taking canoe rides in the pond.  We had picnics while watching the Boston Pops perform at the pond last summer.  In the winter there is sledding and in the spring baseball on the baseball field.

The Arnold Arboretum is a place we spend a lot of time.  We explore nature and go for hikes on the many trails.  We look for frogs in the pond.  I enjoyed my first Mother's Day at Lilac Sunday.  We climb the hill at Peter's Hill and look out at Boston.  This year we might attempt the 4th of July fireworks from there.

Finally there are all the festivals throughout JP.  In the spring there is the Wake Up the Earth Festival at Stony Brook.  It starts with a nice parade through JP and then ends with so much music, food, and crafts for everyone to enjoy.  I love watching our son take his shoes off and dance to all the live music.  In the early fall there is Lantern Festival at the JP Pond.  This event is huge with tons of kids running around in their costumes with their homemade lanterns. 

Jamaica Plain offers so many outdoor place where your child can just explore without the need of any toys or electronics.