What does a playgroup session look like?

This information will help you plan a fun and safe playgroup session.

A community playgroup session led by volunteer playgroup leaders is:

Fun!

Playing and having fun is one of the key parts of a playgroup session. Keep activities age appropriate and don’t be worried about changing how you do things to get families engaged. Keeping things simple is also important. After all, volunteers and playgroup leaders should enjoy themselves too!

Flexible

Always have another idea or two up your sleeve in case the Tassie weather doesn’t cooperate with outdoor plans or if families are especially energetic and prefer music or dancing to story time.

Welcoming

Playgroups are at their very best when they reflect their communities and welcome all families. Our differences and similarities are all worth celebrating as playgroup families share the experiences of supporting for each other and learning together.

What does a typical playgroup session look like?

A 1.5 hour playgroup session might run like this:

15-30 minutes before start

Playgroup leaders and volunteers arrive to set up activities and do a check to make sure the playgroup space is child safe.

The first 15 minutes

Families are welcomed at playgroup and told about any special activities you’ve got planned.

Next 45 minutes

Allow lots of time for enjoyment of free play and any planned activities.

15 minutes before the session ends

Check in with families to ask what they enjoyed at the day’s session.
Encourage everyone – adults and children – to help tidy and clean up the playgroup area, put toys away, clean hands, faces and dishes.

End time

Say good-bye to families as they leave and remind them of the next session.

When families have left, it’s a good time to collect the attendance sheet and pass onto Playgroup Tasmania. You might also take brief notes of anything that happened at the session that you think Playgroup Tasmania should know about (injuries, complaints and compliments).

The ‘Did something happen at playgroup’ document can help you do this or you can fill in a ‘Tell us what you think’ form. If you have something urgent to pass on or want to debrief about the session, call or text your Playgroup Tasmania contact to let them know.

To find out more, please contact Playgroup Tasmania on 1300 035 350 or email admin@playgrouptas.org.au.