I am starting a new playgroup at my church, very informal - no preaching, just moms and kids getting together to hang out and get to know each other better. I've never been in a playgroup setting so I need to know a few things about getting it set up. Do I need to plan an organized craft or activity for moms to do with their child or should I just set out toys for the kids to play to give more time for moms to visit while watching their kids. We are planning to do it once a week from 10am to noon. Should I plan a snack? Any other ideas or advice would be appreciated.
Edit - children's age will range from 0-5, most will be in the 2-4 years.
I would start with setting out toys and seeing what kind of response you get. Once you talk to other moms you can see what interest that particular group. A 5 yo may be bored with a craft for a 2 yo. Have toys, coloring books and crayons.
I am in mom's club, so we have a playgroup several times a week. Although we don't have a set time or place we do like to have a simple craft or activity for mom and me time. then we let the kids play. I also suggest that you do bring a snack and ask the other moms to pitch in every week wether it be with planning the craft/activity or bring snacks.
I participated in our church playgroup, most of the kids were between 2 and 5. It also was once a week. We opened with "circle time" which included a prayer and singing. The organizer planned the craft each week and all the moms signed up to take turns bringing the snack. The last 20-30 minutes we got out the toys for the kids to play and moms to visit. It worked well for us, we are on summer break from playgroup and my son misses it. Good Luck.
I'm not sure how old your kids are, but I'm sure that would make a difference in whether or not you try to plan a craft or not
.
It's been many years since I was in a playgroup, but when I was, our kids were no older than three. We didn't do any craft, but we did have snacks that were provided by the host. We took turns hosting and met once a week. We basically, just let the kids play. When it was time to leave, we all pitched in to help clean up the toys. You could always change it up if you need to. If you start with crafts and the kids seem uninterested, you know they'd rather play. But, if they are getting bored with just playing, you may want to talk to the moms about introducing crafts. Either way, you will all have fun, I'm sure!
