Playgroup

Lachie has attended playgroup for a little more than two years now. It has been a truly amazing experience, learning through the power of play and growing up with his playgroup buddies and now building his own little identity. Through playgroup, we have found some great friendship.

Playgroup Victoria is a non-for-profit organisation that helps families start and run playgroups themselves. Playgroups are informal, not highly organised but are a happy combination of adults and children playing and sharing experiences together. We attend playgroup locally in a council run facility. We meet once a week for 2 hours. The kids get together and play mostly outdoors. There's a great huge outdoor play area with a sandpit, cubby house, a fort with a slide, swings, rocking horses etc. There are bikes, trikes, cars, trolleys, lawn mowers etc. Sometimes we'd do some structured activities with our toddlers like craft or painting, reading and storytelling. The moms get together for a cuppa, share and winge about nothing and everything, and most importantly just being there for one another. I think this is just so important and I consider myself so lucky to belong to such a wonderful playgroup family.

This year, I thought it's time to give something back. I've always enjoyed working with people, and working WITH the community. I became heavily involved in the committee having volunteered to be the fundraising officer. Over the year, I've organised a fair few fundraisers (as well as being heavily pregnant, giving birth, breastfeeding, mothering a 2 year old and all that jazz). This enabled us to buy a few things for the centre like new toys and books, a few pieces of furnitures and a new cubby house. We've sold 2400 chocolate freddos (having bought about 200 myself!), 30 entertainment books, father's day aprons, stickers, photobooks, photography sessions, raffles, cookie dough and christmas cakes. It was a successful and fulfilling year.

Next year, I will be vice-president. It's great to sound like you're a SOMEBODY when you're a full time milk machine, spit swiper, poo-patroller, cleaner-uperer etc.