PLAYGROUPS
Welcome Home Glenaeon Playgroups Looking back over the year, what joy we had in Term 1 and Term 2 with our wonderful playgroups meeting in person on a regular basis.
O
ur capacity in the sociallydistanced COVID-times meant we could cater for 10 families in each of our six Playgroup cohorts across our Willoughby and Castlecrag campuses. As anticipated, the introduction of a new Friday session was quickly filled with eager families. We now host Playgroups on all five days of the week with one session on each campus on Wednesdays. Our inclusive ‘family style’ Playgroups are much appreciated, not only by parents, but grandparents too. Grandparents and babies are welcome to ‘come and play’ with all the children and adults in our Playgroups. What a sense of familiarity there is as some families who are estranged from their own Grandparents are able to enjoy those who happily grace our Playgroups! It is a great benefit to all members to have this intergenerational experience, where
age is no barrier to playing, learning, developing and socialising together. We have been delighted to host the very first Playgroup Leader at Glenaeon: ‘Lisa’; Grandmother to Nadya and Arthur. Yes, the children’s mother, Emma, is a Glenaeon alumna. What fun it is to hear the recognition stories from Glenaeon Alumni as they attend our Playgroups, nurturing another generation growing up in the Glenaeon community. Our ‘Welcome Home’ format of Glenaeon Playgroups is uniquely open to all. As Term 3 and Term 4 Playgroup sessions were prohibited due to the lockdown, we activated our wellproven 2020 Playgroup outreach program. This entailed sharing supportive advice and parenting tips to support child development and navigating the tricky challenges that the pandemic had thrown us all. Zoom Playgroups were scheduled and appreciated by many families
too. The Zoom Playgroups offered a chance to ‘see’ each other, sing-asong together, have a story and share the ever popular ‘show and tell’. Our children loved to show their treasures to each other and to the adults. We managed to achieve a social bonding that mitigated the social isolation many families experienced in the long lockdown period. We look forward to being ‘face to face’ again soon, bringing the beloved rhythm, routine and ritual of our songs, stories and a chance for children to play with each other and adults of all ages to Glenaeon Playgroups in 2022. Sandra Frain Glenaeon Playgroup Leader
PAGE
9
