As fun as it is to be part of a playgroup, there are many considerations that the hostess and group members have to take into account to ensure its success. Managing a playgroup is a big juggling act involving choosing the right venue, deciding the best time to hold meetings, determining how long and how frequent the group meets and estimating the costs involved.
Check out some practical tips to run playgroups successfully.
Choose the Ideal Location for Playgroup Meetings
The right venue to hold a playgroup session depends largely on how big the group is and the kinds of activities involved. A small group comprising eight or fewer mums can easily arrange to meet in one another’s homes. It’s often more intimate and cozy hanging out in someone’s home instead of a public venue like a community center or library. If meeting at a member’s house, be sure that everyone will help with preparation, snacks and cleaning up.
On the other hand, it may be easier for a bigger playgroup with more than eight mums to meet outside the home. The local playground, library, community center, church, fast food restaurants with play areas are all good locations for playgroup meetings.
Decide the Best Time to Have Playgroup Sessions
For stay-at-home mums, it’s probably best to have playgroup sessions on weekdays. Mondays, however, are not that great because many mums tend to use Mondays to catch up on household chores they have put aside during the weekend. Avoid Fridays too, if possible, as many families take three-day weekend holidays beginning Friday, particularly during holiday seasons. This means Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are likely more suitable for playgroup sessions.
Managing a playgroup efficiently also means picking the right time of the day to meet. Young children tend to get tired and cranky in late afternoons. Many also take naps in the afternoon. So try to hold meetings in the morning or early afternoon.
Determine the Duration of a Playtime
How long should a playgroup last? Babies and toddlers have extremely short attention spans and often get restless, cranky and display disruptive behaviors if they have to spend too much time in the same place. Limit a playgroup with children aged three years or younger to less than to 90 minutes. If the playgroup consists of older preschoolers, they can be engaged in activities like story telling and songs and dances as well as have some casual playtime too. For these kids, a two-hour session may be suitable.
Set Frequency of Group Meeting
Another issue is deciding how often the playgroup should meet. There are groups that meet twice a week, once a week or once every fortnight. Weekly meetings are highly recommended because they are easy to schedule and do not demand too much time from busy mums. If a playgroup meets less frequently, like once a fortnight or once a month, some members may forget about the meeting and miss it.
Estimate the Costs of Hosting Playtime
For smaller playgroups, the costs involved are only expenses on snacks, drinks and craft supplies. If the group meets at a member’s home, the local playground or a fast food restaurant, they don’t have to pay facility rental. But for bigger, organized playgroups, there may be additional costs such as fees for guest speakers, childcare services, newsletters, website maintenance and special events like excursions, birthday parties and holiday activities.
There are several important issues to consider when managing and hosting a playgroup. To run playgroups successfully, choose the ideal locations, decide the best time, set the duration and frequency of group meetings as well as estimate the costs of hosting playtime.
Found this article useful? Read also Starting a Playgroup, Free Creative Play for Children and Physical Activities for Kids.
References:
Carren W. Joye. A Stay-at-Home Mom’s Complete Guide to Playgroups. San Jose: Writers Club Press, 2000
Peabody Broad, Laura and Towner Butterworth, Nancy. The Playgroup Handbook. New York: St Martin Press, 1991.
 |
