Gentle Mothering

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August 31, 2005

Starting a playgroup

by 4Cygnets

I am a firm, firm believer in the need of "mommy fellowship." When I had my first son I was very fortunate to have my husband home with me for three months. I had my son at the beginning of June and my dh is a teacher (very good, planned timing!) When my husband went back to work in September I was suddenly alone with a 3 month old, and not really sure what to do! A friend invited me to Mother's of Preschoolers (MOPS) and I've been attending ever since. I met a woman in the group who invited me to her playgroup, and I went for about a year. It was fun, and gave me a place to go once a week!

When my oldest son turned 2 years old, and I had my second baby, I decided to start a playgroup of my own. I found some women that I thought I'd like to get to know,and who had kids around my kids ages. I invited them over to play. We started meeting once a week at eachother's homes. It was a wonderful resource for me, and for my kids. It helped my kids learn to play with other children and also to play in places other than their own home. The moms I met through playgroup are still my closest friends. They had kids who ran away from them, they had kids who screamed at the top of their lungs when someone wouldn't share, they had kids who threw a tantrum and had to be carried out. It was great for me to have friends who knew what I was going through and understood where I was coming from. But, I had to take the intitative and start the group. I had to look for friends, not wait for them to find me. It was well, well worth it.

I think we could all honestly tell you that we made our playgroup a priority, and not just for our kids! We looked forward to seeing eachother and sitting around talking. We fixed fun lunches (and yummy desserts) for eachother. We were there for eachother when one had a baby who had to have surgery. Three of us were huddled around a cell phone in St.Louis, at a Mops convention, as the fourth one gave birth to her fourth baby (and first girl!) We were there for eachother when someone had a miscarriage, and I think we all called eachother about postive pregnancy tests before our husbands even knew! We brought meals for new babies, and for deaths in the family. Between the original four of us there are now 18 children! We are starting to go on different paths, but we still try to get together every few months. I can honestly say it has been as much a playgroup for my kids as it has been for me!

Posted by 4Cygnets at August 31, 2005 04:20 PM

Comments

Posted by: flowermama at August 31, 2005 09:05 PM

Posted by: hearttender4 at September 4, 2005 10:13 AM