Abundantly Blessed: Adley's Playgroup

When the school year started for Cody and Jaden, I organized a little playgroup for Adley. I was excited to give Adley opportunities to play with little friends her own age as well as to plan activities that were more geared to her level. Plus, I was looking forward to connecting with some great mommy friends too! Our group of 6 moms and 7 kiddos decided to meet twice a month-- once a month at a home with some themed activities for the kids and the other time on a sort of "field trip" to a park or other fun place.

For our first gathering, the group met at our house. I planned some activities all about circles! First, we made circle-shaped frisbees out of paper plates. The kids decorated their frisbees with dot painters and dot stickers.

Then, we did some movement activities which I didn't get pictures of, unfortunately. I sang a little circle song with the kids while we marched around a circle shape. Next, we spread some colored circles around the room and played a sort of musical circles game. I played some music, and when it stopped, the kids had to find a circle to stand on. We talked about the colors of their circles before starting the music again. Adley found a pink circle and refused to move from it the entire activity. Ha! Our last activity was some free play with poker chips-- sticking them through slots in containers and boxes.

For our second gathering, since it was still nice and toasty warm here at the beginning of September, we met at a splash pad. The morning was slightly overcast (but not rainy!), so the temperatures were thankfully very comfortable for all of us mommies! The kids all played really nicely and were occupied in the water for a nice long time. It gave the moms a wonderful chance to connect.

Our group of friends: Adley, Ben, Ryder, Katherine, Sage, Soiyer

Our second September playdate was a teddy-bear theme. We started the playdate with some fitting Teddy Grahams snacks. Yum!

All the kids brought their own teddy bears to the playdate so we could use them for a few activities. The kiddos held on to their teddy bear, and we acted out a few singing rhymes like "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, touch the ground... turn around.... reach up high... etc." Then, we all went on a bear hunt together. I've seen my wonderful husband lead bear hunts countless times but had never officially led one of my own. I kept on forgetting the verses as I led it! Thankfully, my friends jumped in and fed me the correct lines. :) Next, a few of the mommies hid everyone's teddy bears so we could play hide-and-seek. Some of the older kiddos were so excited about this activity that they wanted a turn to hide the bears too. We played several rounds of hide-and-seek.