I don't think you are being unreasonable. What you are wanting is what I would expect from a playgroup. I will watch this thread with interest as to advice you are given I imagine at some stage I will be looking for a playgroup for DD as we don't know many people in this area
Our playgroup has free play, but the parent is supposed to stay with the child cause we are on kindergarten grounds. Not all parents do that, and I am guilty as charged but being playgroup co-ordinator plus the president of the Kindy there was always something for me to do there so one of the other mums would usually watch Ashton.
10am is fruit time, and we all bring in a piece for fruit to share. So there is no "my food is better than your food"
We then go back to free play. Free play consists of sandpit outside, crafts if you want to do craft, painting, or just playing with toys inside or outside. One of the mums last year introduced song time at the end of each session. So that is now done as well
I LOVE our playgroup. We pay $95/term for 1 x 1.5 hr session a week. But it is basically Kinder but we stay. They have free play, very involved activities (could be cooking, present making you name it!) as well as a new craft activity each week, painting, play-doh, puzzles, stories, the pretend corner (which has been a shop, an office, a hospital, a campsite and many other things...), trains, blocks, dressups, dollhouse and many many more activities. We also have a story, a sing a long and outdoor play which is also partly structured.
The lovely lady who runs the playgroup has been a kinder teacher for nearly 30 years. She is absolutely gorgeous, she was also one of Paris' Kinder teachers and will be one of Seth's. Our playgroup runs from our Kinder but I would definitely recommend looking at Pre-School or private school run playgroups for more of a structured plan.
I don't think you are asking too much - a lot of what you have mentioned in precisely why I left my local playgroup. I was looking for something a bit more structured, not just ditch the kids on the floor and b*tch about stuff or gossip. I am not interested in that in the slightest, and I felt I was probably being talked about too, when wasn't there, as a strange cloth loving, full term breastfeeding hippie he he. Anyway. I found a wonderful Steiner playgroup. It is quite a drive but we make the effort at least once a fortnight.
Basically we arrive and the children and parents sit around a small table and knead a piece of their own dough, making a shape/bread roll. After that the kids have free play with the beautiful steiner toys. After that we wash hands and prepare for morning tea. We have fruit and the freshly baked bread rolls. Afterwards we have a little more play time and then pack up all the toys and have circle time - a few songs and maybe a story. It is all very nurturing and parents are involved, not seperate. Also as the playgroup is steiner inspired we have little songs that transition the children from one activity to the next (which the children love and sing along to), making it a really harmonious and enjoyable morning!
Maybe you have a Steiner playgroup near you?
We have a playgroup in our area (I live rurally) and it's great. the first Wednesday every month, we have a lady from a company called Hey Dee Ho, who comes out with musical instruments, songs dances and a few bit and bobs and sings songs with the kids for an hour or more. All the mums join in with their kids, and the kids LOVE it! It costs us $8 each time, but it's well worth it.
We have a roster system for activities, where one person has to set up an acitivity that is different to most other weeks. I did some pasting with magazine cut outs (nothing too flash). We all pitch in to help pull out all the toys and pack them up.
We all take a peice of fruit each week to cut up and share between the kids. DS is mega fussy, so I always take something for him but try him with the fruit first.
We also havea roster for a different person to provide morning tea for the mums.
We are all really laid back and there's no chatter about how bad such and such is etc, but I might just be lucky because we are all reasonably isolated.
We also have a playground outside the hall which the kids run out and play on for half an hour.
Our group starts at 10am and goes until everyone is ready to go home. It suits some sleep patterns, but not others. If someone needs to leave early, it's no drama.
I have no idea if that's what you would expect or not. hehe. That's just what happens here. We also have a few fundraisers throughout the year for new toys etc.
I don't think what you are asking is too much. I would call a few and ask exactly what you get for your money. I went to our first playgroup last week run by a local church.
They had different 'stations' with different activities such as painting, drawing, playdough, duplo/lego, and then other toys.
After free time play, all the kids sat down and had morning tea which we bought ourselves then had outside play, then come inside for a short story and songs.
Time is from 9.30 til 11.15.
We pay $40 a term and in addition they ask that you help with some fund raising during the terms so they can upgrade toys etc...
thanks girls.. i was starting to worry it was just me.
I dont expect to have someone ring a bell to say its time to move to the next activity, but, just more "station" type things set up, as well as general toys etc.. just as you girls have said you experience.
I did try the last playgroup in my suburb today.. no one was there. There is a suburb only about 10min away, that has more church & school based playgroups, which i guess might be my better option. I just worry then that if it will be an issue as i wont be sending my kids to that school.
As part of some research i was doing, i did a tour of a large number of play groups. I was really surprised by how different each one was. Some were really structured, some spread out inside/outside, different rooms being used at same time, small groups/big groups..... A snack of fruit was probably the most consistent thing across the play groups.
So, shop around if you haven't found the one that works for you.
Set up toys. Some mums would arrive up to 15 minutes early and say my toy selection was not full enough (usually "too boyish" - well hello, I have a boy and want to keep him busy while I find the doll's house!).
Drinks and biscuits, provided and bought by volunteers, at 10am with story and songs.
Craft activity set up in another room for older children (which was usually the mums doing it anyway, which I object to - I don't want a MUM to stick on stars or whatever, I want the CHILD to do it even if it's "wrong".
Everyone notice when I start packing toys away 15 minutes AFTER it's home time and people are told this but few people help.
Some are still here while I'm trying to vacuum the playgroup room ready for the baby group in the afternoon. Not feeding mums, which is fine, just chatting mums while 3-year-olds run around and are bored and, tbh, a nuisence because they've just scared DS who now wants me to comfort him and not clean.
This is why playgroups aren't organised more! You get people not wanting to help due to the work involved. And this was a group with up to 30 mums/carers and 40-odd kids. A lot of mums just sat and talked and ignored their children and new people - that's why the people who helped out would make a point of introducing new people at story time and chatting to the new mums, just so they'd have one friend at least.
Then you get complaints the group doesn't run in school holidays, can we all meet up at the park? Which again is just an excuse to chat and ignore the children and even "are we not doing stories? I didn't bring a drink because you provide them."
Just my experience! People expect a LOT from playgroups but not everyone wants to muck in and help.
We got a lot of people in who lived miles and miles away, not to mention those who had no intention of ever going to the church that provided the facilities. So that wasn't a problem for us.
we just started playgroup on thursday, and i remembered this thread! i was so impressed with the playgroup, i really hope you do find one that is structured and suits you better.
our session runs for an hour and 15 mins. there is toys/activites galore, music playing loudly! we have free play for the first 10 mins, then we have song time. more free play, then snack & story time. after that she brought out paints, play doh, etc and that went for about 25 mins.. then it was time to go home.
its $9.20 per session, and that includes a swim in the pool before or after our session. its held at the leisure centre, where i would normally pay $4.40 for a swim.
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I imagine at some stage I will be looking for a playgroup for DD as we don't know many people in this area
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