Little disappointed about playgroup/pre-school

TLCDad wrote: I was so excited that our local church had a parent-coop playgroup/preschool. I had put Ashley on the list to join the 2 year old group this fall since she turned 2 in September. She would have gone two days a week -- Tues and Thursday. Parents have to help 1 day a month, which was fine by me... I was looking forward to it as well. But, state regulations have changed and 2 year olds now have to be in a separate classroom than 2-1/2 year olds, so they have changed the class to 2-1/2 to 3-1/2. Grrrr.

I guess I will look for other opportunities for Ashley to play with other kids, maybe a less formal playgroup. Ashley has met lots of kids by going to our neighborhood park, but most of them go to a sitter or daycare during the day. Anyone have any other ideas where to look for a playgroup?

amynicole21 replied: Sorry that fell through - what a disappointment! Is there a YMCA nearby? You can also go on meetup.com to see if there are some parenting groups in your area. I love that website Another thing I can think of would be to check your local library to see if they have children's readings there. I bet that going to something like that would introduce you to lots of families with kids Ashley's age. I hope some other people have suggestions, because I'm interested too!

MommyToAshley replied: Opps, that was me .... I was on TLCDad's computer

MommyToAshley replied:
Good Ideas... our library branch doesn't have the children's reading group any more, I think they stopped for the summer. But, I will definitely look into it this fall. Good idea on the YMCA too. They are building a new one not too far from us, I will have to check it out once it opens.

Kirstenmumof3 replied: I'm lucky we have 2 playgroups in our area. But only one is spefically geared for babies. Claudia loves going there and I've made some friends. It's a nice small group. I'm not sure how you would find out about playgroups, I guess look at the supermarket the next time you go and look at the ads by the door (don't know if they do this where you are, our grocery store entrance is littered by ads). Good Luck and sorry to hear that she has to wait a few more months.

jem0622 replied: Consider a Mother's Day Out program. You may have a local church that sponsors it. Also check other local churches to see what they have. MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) is a great organization also, but would require you to attend.

A&A'smommy replied: UGH sorry that happened!

alice&arik replied: Arik and I just found a play group in our town. We went to our first one last night. It was a lot of fun. He had a great time. He hasn't been able to play with other kids latlely because I still havn't found a job.

Anyway, I just did a general search on the internet for playgroups in my area. It is called Mommies and Kiddos. Tomorrow we meet at the zoo, then at the park after. It is a very nice group of girls, and all the other kids are about the same age as Arik.

My city is a lot bigger than i thought, I had never seen a population sign, then last night I did. I had guessed before that there were about 30,000-50,000 people here, well there are 151,000+! So I don't know how big your city is, but they might not have as many groups as a bigger one.

Good luck!

paradisemommy replied: i would also try calling a local elementary school. i was just talking to my mil and she was telling me about a program they have where some of the teachers come in on certain days and they have like playgroup/activities. the parents stay there too and it's like 2 or 3 days a week. sounds really neat and i have been looking for something like that. luckily my mil works at the elementary school or i would have never known. so maybe you can try your area???

kimberley replied: awww that is really disappointing have you tried local community centres? some daycares have drop in times too. i hope you find something else, otherwise, find a nice park close by and take her there the same time everyday and she might meet some new friends good luck!

Kaitlin'smom replied: what a bummer.....I hope you find something for her, I know we need to make some regular playdates for the girls.

Maddie&EthansMom replied: That is too bad! I know how important it is for them to get in some where. Maddie loves her preschool and she started when she was 2 as well. Our church was full so we had to take her to a different church. This may be something worth considering. It wasn't our denomination, but they assured me it was a 'Christian' atmosphere and non-denominational. (If you are looking for a church based program this may be helpful).

Good Luck!!

coasterqueen replied: UGH! That stinks! I know how you feel. I'm always looking for something for Kylie since she's the only one at the sitter now. I asked her sitter to find kids her age to watch, but she's about ready to sign 2 babies up instead

I would suggest the YMCA. We did a gym and swim class where Kylie got to play for 1/2 hour to an hour with other kids her age. She loved it. We'd do it more but ours is only offered during weekdays or evenings and we are at work during day and it's kind of hard to get there in time at night. Good luck!

MommyToAshley replied: Thanks for all the ideas... I am going to check some of these out and let you know how it goes.

Oh, btw, TLCDad saw that I posted accidentally under his name and he said "Well at least you didn't talk about your BB hurting in the BF forum or something like that" LOL! (I guess that would sound kind of silly coming from a guy )

CantWait replied: How dumb is that!!!

coasterqueen replied:
ROFL! That would have been hilarious!!!

California Girls replied: Just want to say thanks for all the great ideas everyone! I needed the suggestions as well!