February Schedule

Note the varying start times this month.

Friday, February 3 - Play date at Wood’s
Meet at Carrie Wood’s home (10815 N Fieldgrove Dr, Dunlap, 370-3933) at 9:30am to play.

Friday, February 10 - Valentine's Day Party at Powell’s
Meet at Melissa Powell’s home (3607 W Compton Ct, Peoria; 264-9280) at 9:30am. Bring a Valentine to put in each child's container (we will make the container as a craft). If you’d like, you may bring a treat to share too, but don’t feel obligated.

Friday, February 17: Wheels at the church
Meet in the cultural hall at 10am. Bring a ride-on toy or other wheeled-toy.

Friday, February 24 - Preschool Splash at Riverplex (600 NE Water St, Peoria)
Meet at 10am for Preschool Splash. End time is 11:30. $3 per child (under one is free). Parents must accompany children in the water.

January Schedule

Friday, January 6th: Totally Tots at the Riverplex (600 NE Water Street, Peoria)

Meet at 9:30am (end time at 11:30) at the Riverplex. Kids can play with our oversized foam equipment, balls, hoops, trikes, cars and scooters. No food or drink allowed in the play area. The cost is $3 per child; children under 1 and Riverplex members are free.

Friday, January 13th: North Branch Story Time (3001 West Grand Parkway, Peoria)

Meet at 10:15am (end time 10:45) at the new library (behind Menard’s off Allen Rd) for Fun Time Storytime. Enjoy fun stories and songs. Afterwards, you can read books with your child(ren), and let them play with the puzzles and blocks.

Friday, January 20th: Play date at the Christensen’s (2315 W Miners Dr, Dunlap)

Meet at 9:30am at Nikell Christensen’s house (801-361-1142) to play.

Friday, January 27th: Tunnels & Trains at Church

Meet at the Church in the cultural hall at 9:30am. Bring a train toy and/or tunnel to share.

December Schedule

December Schedule

Friday, December 2^nd: McDonald’s (7720 North University Street, Peoria)

Meet at 9:30am, and play on their indoor play-place. Don’t feel obligated to order food in order to play.

Friday, December 9^th: Toy Exchange at the Church

Meet at 9:30am at the church. Bring a USED toy that has been wrapped. Bring one toy per child that would like to receive a toy. We’ll meet in the nursery so the kids can play too.

Friday, December 16^th: Christmas Party (2107 West Winnebago Dr, Peoria)

Meet at 9:30am at Jacqie Lewis’ house. Bring a holiday treat to share if you’d like.

Friday, December 23^rd: No Playgroup

Merry Christmas!

Friday, December 30^th: No Playgroup

Happy New Year’s!

November Schedule

With winter approaching, it is time to compile the list of families willing to host playgroup at their home. If you volunteer, we would come to your house to play with your toys during the regularly-scheduled playgroup time (Fridays, 9:30-12noon). I would, of course, check the specific date with you prior to sending the schedule out to everyone.  Please email me directly - so as to avoid cluttering others’ inboxes - if you are willing to host sometime this winter, and I’ll get your name on the list. THANK YOU!


November Schedule

Friday, November 4^th: Chuck E. Cheese (2601 W. Lake, Peoria)
Meet at 9:30am. There is a slide and a climbing thing that are free, and there is no entrance fee. Just buy tokens if you want them. Check their website for coupons. https://www.chuckecheese.com/coupons/

Friday, November 11^th: Wheels!
Meet in the cultural hall at the church at 9:30am. Bring your toys with wheels: ride-on, toy cars, trains, etc.

Friday, November 18^th: Franciscan Complex Motor Mites (908 N Sterling Ave, West Peoria)
Meet at 9:15am (ends at 11:15). Cost is $2 per child ages 1-5. This winter open gym is a great way to let little ones with lots of energy enjoy the fun of playing freely with scooters, balls, hula hoops, tumbling equipment, and more. This place can be hard to find if you’ve never been there before; it is not directly on Sterling Ave. To get there, take University South and go Right on Main Street, Right on Heading and Left on Sterling.

Friday, November 25^th: No Playgroup
Happy Thanksgiving!

October Schedule

NOTE: New Time! Playgroup will now begin at 9:30am, but you are welcome to come and go anytime between 9:30 and 12noon.

Friday, October 7^th: Sommer Park North (6600 N. Basket Oak Drive, Edwards)
Meet at 9:30am (enter off Koerner Rd through Sommer Place neighborhood). Bring sand toys.

Friday, October 14^th: Tanner’s Orchard (740 State Route 40; Speer, IL)
Meet at Tanner’s Orchard at 9:30am. Bring your camera and some cash. There’s a country market, playground ($3 for ages 2-12), petting zoo (feed for 25 cents), and duck pond. For more information, http://www.tannersorchard.com/index.php

Friday, October 21^st: Bumper Bowling (4100 N Brandywine Dr, Peoria)  

Meet at the Christian Center Lanes at 9:30am.
(Bowling Prices - Adults: $2.50, Children: $1.50) (Shoe Rental - Adults: $2.00, Kids: $1.00)

Friday, October 28^th: Halloween Party

Meet in the nursery at 9:30am. Come in your costumes (kids and moms!) and bring a festive treat to share. We’ll do an easy Halloween craft with the kids and play with the toys.

September Schedule

Note: Back to Fridays - Playgroup will now be on Fridays for the school year.

Friday, September 2nd: No Playgroup
Happy long Labor Day weekend!

Friday, September 9th: Nursery Cleaning
Time for some service! Come help clean and organize toys in the nursery while the kids play. Meet at 10am at the church. Bring a bucket and rag.

Friday, September 16th: Ride-on Toys & Car Seat Safety Presentation
Meet at 10am in the church parking lot with ride-on toys for the kids. (If the weather isn’t nice, we’ll head into the cultural hall.) While the kids play, we will have a special presentation from OSF about car seat safety. Come prepared with any questions you may have. She’ll begin at 10:30, and afterwards will be available to check the installation of our car seats as well. (Thanks to Jacqie for organizing this!)

Friday, September 23rd: Charter Oak Park (5802 N Orange Prairie Road, Peoria)
Meet at 10am to play on the playground.

Friday, September 30th: Discovery Children's Museum (101 E Beaufort St, Normal)
Meet at the church at 9am to caravan/carpool to the museum. If you just want to meet us at the museum, we’ll arrive about 10am. We’ll plan on staying until about 12noon.
Admission is $6 per person ages 2 and over; under two are free.
Pack a lunch, and bring it inside. They have tables, and don’t mind having children eat there. The only food-for-purchase inside the museum is vending machines. There’s also a McDonald’s on the way back to the highway, if you’re interested.
Parking is recommended in the College Avenue Parking Deck, which has plenty of spaces and is only a block away. The first hour is free, and then parking is $1 an hour. There is also a small parking lot across the street from the Museum, directly to the north. This lot offers two hour parking. There is another small lot, located near the intersection of Beaufort and Broadway, to the west of the Museum, that also offers two hour parking.
For more museum information, visit their website: http://www.childrensdiscoverymuseum.net/index.asp
Questions? Contact Melanie Chambers (660-3220).

August Schedule

Note: This will be our last month with Wednesday playgroup. In September, we’ll return to Fridays. Also, please note the special instructions for August 17th's event.

Wednesday, August 3rd: Grand View Drive Park (3210 Grand View Drive)
Meet at 10am by the playground for some outdoor fun.

Wednesday, August 10th: Riverplex Playground Picnic (600 NE Water Street, Peoria)
Meet at 10am next door to the Riverplex at the playground. Bring a lunch and enjoy playing on Peoria’s riverfront. Then we’ll have lunch at the picnic tables in the shade.

Wednesday, August 17th: Fire Station Tour
Meet at Jacqie Lewis’ home (2107 West Winnebago Dr, Peoria) at 9:40am. We’ll walk about a block to the Northmoor Fire Station where we’ll have a short tour starting at 10am. If you plan on attending, email Jacqie (jacqie96@hotmail.com) each of your children’s names no later than the 11th to RSVP.

Wednesday, August 24th: Riverfront Walk (100 NE Water St, Peoria)
Meet at 10am by the Spirit of Peoria. Don’t forget strollers for the little ones. Maybe we’ll see a train or a barge!

Wednesday, August 31st: Chartwell Park (2828 Willow Lake Road, Peoria)
Meet at 10am by the playground. Please note that this park only has on-street parking in the neighborhood, and then there’s a short walk down a path to the play structure.