Playgroups

[ezmay]

Lee and I are looking at starting our own playgroup and would like some input from other mums as to what you would want or expect from a playgroup.
What toys/equiptment would you like?
What sort of structured activities would you and your child/ren enjoy?
Morning or afternoon?
What is too much to pay per week?
Ant other ideas or points you might have would be greatly appreciated as well.
Thanks in advance

[leelee]

:hehe: yep what ez asks :hehe:
we will not be bitchy etc i can friggin promise that.

[Heather]

I would think that if you contact Playgroup (http://www.playgroup.org.au/) all the info you require....especially insurance cover....would be available.

[mummyof3babes]

http://www.playgroup.org.au/start-a-playgroup.asp?page=362 ;)

Edit to add: Heather, you beat my by seconds!:hehe:

[leelee]

:D thanks ladies but what about some personal input you know like from the heart what would you like in a playgroup etc :x

[Heather]

Going back too far for me I'm afraid.

[ezmay]

As lee said thanks for the link but we are after some personal points of view. What are your experiences? what do you like/not like about the one you go/went to?

[tianakaesha]

The playgroup I go to works so well because it is a focussed group. It's not a general playgroup - it's an alternative/natural parenting playgroup.

Most of us have had negative experiences with the main-stream groups, and so found refuge in our little one where we are very supportive of the natural parenting ways.

We go to pools and parks etc for our meets though, so that does not really help you!

[leelee]

actually hun it was a great idea thanks tianakaesha, something to think about, but no pools for me if i have to get in me and bathers dont get along to well:hehe:

[jeanieinparadise]

Where we used to go to for playgroup was a childcare centre, so they already had the toys and stuff - tea and coffee facilities are a must!!

[mummyof3babes]

The playgroup I went to in Q was $3 per session per family and $25 per year insurance. There were many boxes of craft, play equipment. We used toy libraries alot, we often had 'special visitors' like a woman playing her guitar entertaining the kids, and other sorts of characters. We sometimes had ladies from the Playgroup association come and talk with us, (I was treasurer not leader) and they would bring books, learning cards and other supplies. We sometimes had little party-plan days for kids toys, wall buddies etc... We had Teddy bear picnics, Christmas Party, Egg hunt at Easter, Christmas in July partys etc...

The part I didn't really like was the 'morning tea' bit, I found that most mothers would rather sit on the butts eating cake and biscuits, drinking coffee, talking about crap rather than getting into play with their kids. When there wasn't a craft session or anything planned for the day, the kids would run around playing and the mothers would sit there stuffing their faces!

I would prefer it was centred around the kids and maybe just bring them a snack each, if it was a tea party then it should be a Mothers Group, not a PlayGroup.

We held it in the Community hall, we had a cupboard there to lock all the gear in. Then we moved onto an old Preschool building. I think it would be great if you had your time set and met at places if you couldn't get a venue, even like Lollipops or Playdays centres.

Let us know if you get up and running and I'll pop in with DD3 one day.

Good Luck!;)

P.S. Contact them and you will get an info pack sent out, I can't remember what's in it now. Just info, tips, a DVD I think.

[lucyloo]

The playgroup that I attented once, was held in the morning. I think they mostly as most toddlers have an afternoon nap, and people have other kids to pick up etc. The playgroup in my small towm was held in the church hall, and it cost $2 per visit. There were tables out with craft, and outdoor play things outside, like swings, bikes, balancing walk beams etc. It was quite structured, the kids could play on anything, but they all came inside and ate together. But it wasn't very interactive, all the mothers sat inside and ate and drank coffee, while all the kids generally played unsupervised. Hope this helps girls, and good luck with your adventure.

[mummyof3babes]

oh yes forgot to mention times, ours was in the morning too, around 9:30-11:30, that way the children would be home for lunch and nap. Sometimes it would go longer eg. a trip to the Botanical Gardens or party which included lunch (for the children!)

On those times we made a roster and worked out who would bring what (food items) We had a kitchen in the old preschool so we could heat-up cheerios, party pies etc... make sandwiches, cut-up fruit, you get the drift!

[dragonfly97]

sounds very nice we do not have anything like that around here

[Cherie]

I remember taking my kids to Playgroup..they never went to Daycare at all. I was the craft co-ordinater there and had to think up things for the kids to do. All the mums did get involved and when we had morning tea we all had it together . Any major socialising was done outside the playgroup. We used to go to each others homes for morning tea at least every fortnight.

[redrobyn]

I took my d.d. to playgroup but it was a long time ago, I used to open up and set up all the play equipment, it was in a scout hall and was huge inside so if the weather was bad there was plenty of room for the kid's to run around ,the mother's generally interacted well, there was tea drinking but the focus was generally on the kid's, you should make up some flier's and put them out and see if anyone is interested and general input. Other than that I'm not much help as It was too long ago for me. Though my d.d. had a bad experience at a church playgroup and it put her off playgroup's.

[Charms]

oh i miss my playgroup!!! i loved it!! we were only a really small group in the end...had trouble making enough money to cover our rent.( after the official playgroup fees)

we met in the mornings and everyone took along a plate for morning tea. since we were renting a hall in the church there were tea and coffee making facilities and we did fund raising along side the church to have a little play ground put in. :)

our meeting were really unstructured with no set craft times or anything like that. some days we did painting, some days iced bikkies...all sorts of things...the kids had a blast if they had craft or not!! :jump:

i really hated my mothers group..being an unmarried young mum i just felt out of place! but once my mollie and i found our playgroup..it was wonderful!! :) i miss those days of coffee and chit chat and all the kids....

i met some wonderful famiiles there and most of them came to my engagement party a few months ago!! :)
(oh and i think we paid like $2 per visit, paid monthly to "playgroup NSW" i think it was and a yearly membership of $25)

[zoopadoopa]

I'm happy :D to hear that someone is taking the effort to start their own playgroup. Our local playgroup has 30 people waiting and we are waiting to get a place.

In the way of toys to play with I dont know any children that dont love balls (eg. the little plastic ones that go in those ball pits).

[mel35]

Playgroup for me was a bit different to everyone elses here it seems.
It was MY TIME where I got to go out and interact with other mums and have adult conversations, I used to sit on my butt and chat and eat cake:hehe:
We had rosters for most things, setting up and packing away was for everyone to do. Each week we had one person that did adults morning tea, 1 person did craft with the kids, 1 or 2 would cut up the kids morning tea and supervise them eating it and another person would supervise the kids playing.
I had 3 kids under 5 at home and also babysat for a few of my friends, I used to do lots of crafts and activities at home with my kids, so playgroup was an opportunity to have a break from each other.

[kezabelle]

I've attended a few different playgroups now and they're allin the morning - lots of kids sleep in the afternoon. The one we go to now is from 10-12 and is probably a fraction too late - bub falls asleep on the way home before eating lunch.

Activities the kids have enjoyed are bikes, sand pit, craft, etc. They have always seemed simply happy to have other kids to play with rather than the toys themselves.

A designated baby area is good too. Just a blanket or similar on the floor somewhere to the side that the bigger kids know is off limits. You can use a playpen if you have access to one too.

I love the wrap up time to be structured - so a story and some songs. A farewell song that you use each and every time seems to work for kids too.

Activities that parents may want to share, or stories, culture, etc are also great, but not always as easy to arrange.

Cost has usually been $2 plus insurance and that includes biscuits and coffee for the parents - but one I went to had it separate.

As for food, I went to went where everyone brought a plate to share but it didn't really seem to work too well. The one we go to now, everyone brings a piece of fruit that is cut up and put on a plate and the kids have their own snacks too.

For me, playgroup is a wonderful opportunity for my kids to meet other kids and to socialise 'away' from me. It is also a great opportunity for me to catch up with friends, meet new people (especially when you're new to a place) and just generally have a bit of adult conversation. I don't 'play' with my kids during that time. I supervise them obviously. If they want to do a craft activity that is beyond them or play with something that they can't manage, I then help out. But, I'm also a big believer in them learning for themselves, so I don't interrupt every time they come to a hurdle.

Oh, and if you have a toy library or similar near you, utilise that for toys, etc.

Hope that helps a bit girls. :) Good on you for starting your own!