I didnt join playgroup for that very reason. My mums group turned it into a playgroup at 12mths and I just found it silly for a couple of reasons.
1. The cost seems ridiculous for what it is. Similar to what you said and no tea, etc supplied. They take turns each week bringing it for everyone.
2. I still meet up with the people I want to out of playgroup.
3. DD gets alot of social interaction at activities at Daycare 2 days a week.
4. The time that they have it on is at DD's arvo sleep time.
I go to playgroup with DD - 3 years and DS - 17 months - the one we go to won't take kids under 1 year of age, which is common sense as they do crafts, run around on the play equipment outside, sit down at a table and have fruit for morning tea, etc so for any littlies under 1 years it would be a waste of time. So now that DS is over one, he is enrolled as well and is enjoying participating, which is great. I have been going to this playgroup for two years now and have met some really lovely ladies who I have seen outside of the playgroup session. The cost would be about the same as yours, we have to pay for the term upfront to ensure we have a place.
Maybe just for now, keep going to each others houses/parks/cafes/playcentres until your littlies are a bit bigger.
I also dont go for the same reason.. Our playgroup is $25 upfront to playgroup vic, then $20 a term!! I only went once to suss it out, and there was no way I was paying that, especially when there are lots of free activities around town for DS.
the part of the fee structure you have that i dont understand is the $40...is this to the community house? it just seems excessive that they want the 40 on top of a weekly allowance of $4 (which BTW i also find a tad excessive!).
our MG became a 'playgroup' when our free sessions at the MACH centre also ran out. we had to for insurance purposes for any of the places that we wanted to use. for us currently (in a group of 10) the playgroup VIC fees are $25 p/a pp, and a $14 fee for the community house per term pp. i find the latter exxy as we used to just do a gold coin donation and meant that whatever week you couldnt make, you didnt have to pay for. also, the terms are following school terms and i just dont see the point of that...we used to be able to go all year round (big deal in brunswick where it is baby boom capital and space for kidlets etc to just play and hang out is a premium). BUT that said, the support and friendship and fun that DD has is worth it for us, especially as we do have a space for the kids to play rain, hail or shine. visiting eachothers homes is not practical when many of us live in narrow victorian terraces with no yard lol.
Odd, I am pretty sure the playgroup I am starting Tuesday is free. I asked the nominated lady on the phone about fees and all she said in reply is "just bring a piece of fruit for the share table". The facilities seem pretty nice too with an outside shaded area and inside nice plush rugs for the kids to play on.
I think 'playgroup' is a registered name and the fees are for joining a playgroup in the Playgroup Australia association which is why there is an annual fee and I have seen other playgroups that charge an annual fee and $4 per week per child or $10 for a family on top of it.
I think if you want less fees but still want to go along to one, look for groups with a variation on the name such as Playtime Group or just Playtime. I go to a playtime group and they charge $1 per week per family. Morning tea and craft are all included but we all go on a roster and take turns at doing different things like bringing morning tea, running craft, telling the story or doing the singing. I think it works well.
Most of these variation groups will be run by community centres, schools or church groups - places where insurance is already covered by the overarching organisation.
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