August Schedule

This is my last month in charge. Melanie Chambers has volunteered to head up Playgroup starting in September, so look for all future calendars to come from her. Thank you, Melanie!

 

Note: Playgroup has been on Wednesdays for the summer. Next month it will return to Fridays.

TUESDAY, August 6th: Stroll & Story Time (5809 Forest Park Drive; Peoria Heights)
Meet at the Forest Park Nature Center at 9:30am for a short stroll down the trail. At 10:30, we’ll meet back at the Nature Center for some nature-themed stories. Their program will last until 11:15.

 

Wednesday, August 14th: Northtrail Park (1621 W Meadowview Dr, Peoria)

Meet at 10am at Northtrail Park. We’ll play on the slides and swings. They also have a pond (with fish who love Cheerios) and a short path around it.

 

Wednesday, August 21nd: Charter Oak Park (5802 N Orange Prairie Road, Peoria)

Meet at 10am to play on the playground.

 

Wednesday, August 28th: Santa Fe Park & Splash Pad (1400 N Benedict St, Chillicothe)

Meet at 10am. Plan to get wet, and bring a towel. There is a splash pad, pavilion, restrooms, thirty-foot twisty slides and train engine playground.

July Schedule

The time has come for me to retire as playgroup leader. I will finish out this summer (through August), but with the start of the new school year, we will need a new leader. It is crazy easy, I promise. This blog dates back to 2007!

If you are new to the area and/or a new mom - both of which I was when I first started -  don’t shy away. This is the perfect opportunity!

Please email/call me if you are interested in taking over, and I’ll give you the run-down.

And now without further adieu...

July Playgroup Schedule

Note: Playgroup is on Wednesdays in the summer time. It will return to Fridays in September.

Wednesday, July 3rd: Sommer Park (6600 N Basket Oak Dr, Edwards)

Meet at 10am (enter off Koerner Rd through Sommer Place neighborhood). Bring sand toys.

Wednesday, July 10th: Water Fun (5816 W Brookmere St, Edwards)

Meet at 10am in Lindsey’s backyard for some splash pool fun. Bring a towel and sunscreen. I’ll provide popsicles too.

Wednesday, July 17th: Riverfront Walk (600 NE Water St, Peoria)

Bring your stroller and a sack lunch, and meet at 10am by the playground beside the Riverplex. We’ll walk, then return to play and eat at the end.

Wednesday, July 24th: Grand View Park (3210 Grand View Dr, Peoria)

Meet at 10am at this shaded park. You may want to bring sand toys, as the play structure is surrounded in gravel/sand.

Wednesday, July 31th: Movie at Willow Knolls (4100 W Willow Knolls Dr, Peoria)

Meet at the theater before 10am. This week's movie is Rio. Each ticket is $1 (all ages).

June Schedule

Note: Playgroup will be on Wednesdays for the summer months (June, July & August).

We’ll return to Fridays in September.

Wednesday, June 5th: Forest Park Nature Center (5809 N Forest Park Drive, Peoria Heights)

Meet at 10am. We will be hiking down the trail while the kids look for nature scavenger hunt items.

TUESDAY, June 11th: Fondulac Farm Park (305 Neumann Drive, East Peoria)

Meet at 10am inside the gates. Admission is free on Tuesdays! Feed is $0.50 per cone. Bring a sack lunch, and we can eat outside on the grass after touring the farm.

Wednesday, June 19th: Glen Oak Park (2218 North Prospect Road, Peoria)

Meet at the large wood play structure by the zoo at 10am to run and play. If it is too crowded, we’ll head around the loop to the smaller, plastic structure.

Wednesday, June 26th: 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. You may want sand toys, as the play structure is surrounded in gravel/sand.

May Schedule

Please note the varying start times.

Friday, May 3rd: Wheels O’ Time Museum (11923 N Knoxville Avenue, Peoria)

Meet at 12noon. Adults $6.50, Children 3+ $3.50, Under 3 are free. We may be able to get a group discount if enough people come. Please RSVP (ryanandlindsey1227@hotmail.com) by this Thursday so I can let the museum know how many people to expect. Print coupon for discounted admission: http://wheelsotime.org/print_this_coupon.htm

Friday, May 10th: Sommer Park (6600 N. Basket Oak Drive, Edwards)

Meet at 10am (enter off Koerner Rd through Sommer Place neighborhood). Bring sand toys and a picnic lunch. If it's raining/cold, we'll meet at the church nursery at 10am.

Friday, May 17th: Red Cross Car Seat Safety Presentation

Meet at the church at 9:30am in the nursery. As everyone arrives, the kids can play for a few minutes. A presenter from the American Red Cross will be coming to teach the children about car seat safety at 10am. It is called Buckle Bear and will last for 20 minutes, geared towards the kids. Then it'll be open for questions anyone may have. Please RSVP (jacqie96@hotmail.com) by Fri, May 10th so we can tell them how many handouts to prepare.  After the presentation, the kids can play some more.

Friday, May 24th: Bicycle Safety Town (6518 N. Sheridan Road, Peoria)

Meet at 10am with your bike / ride-on toy and helmet (required). If it's raining/cold, we'll meet in the church cultural hall and ride there.

Friday, May 31st: Detweiller Park - Dogwood/Pine Shelters (8327 North Galena Road, Peoria)

Meet at 10am at the “spider web” playground. If it is too crowded, we’ll move to the Moose Shelter playground. If it's raining/cold, we'll meet at the church nursery at 10am.

Note: Starting in June, Playgroup will be on Wednesdays for the summer (June, July & August). We’ll return to Fridays in September.

At Church Tomorrow

We'll meet in the church cultural hall in the morning (10am) with ride-on toys. Rain, rain, go away.

April Schedule

Designated Playgroup Leader: Lindsey

Friday, April 5th: Rock Island Trail

Meet at 10am (Alta Ln parking lot). We’ll be walking down the trail to enjoy the Spring sunshine (fingers crossed). If the weather doesn’t cooperate, we'll meet at the church nursery at 10am.

 

Friday, April 12th: Chuck E Cheese

(2601 W. Lake, Peoria)

Meet at 10am. Check their website for coupons. There’s a slide and a climbing thing that are free and no entrance fee. Just buy tokens if you want them. (Hopefully, it’ll be less crowded than last time!)

Friday, April 19th: Safety Town (6518 N. Sheridan Road, Peoria)

Meet at 10am. Bring bikes or ride-on toys and helmets (required). If the weather doesn’t cooperate, we’ll meet in the cultural hall at church and ride there.

 

Friday, April 26th: Poem in Your Pocket Day

Bring your favorite children’s poem (Need ideas? Jack Prelutsky or Shel Silverstein both write silly ones for preschoolers), and meet at the church nursery at 10am. We’ll have the moms take turns sharing in story time fashion, and then let the kids play.

Update: Easter Egg Hunt this Friday

The Easter Egg Hunt is this Friday at 10:00am. Because of the not-at-all-Spring-like weather, we are moving the hunt to the church. Sorry.

If you haven't already, please bring your egg-filling donations to Mirinda Chatfield before Friday - ten fillings for standard-sized Easter eggs per child that will be hunting.

In addition to the hunt, we will be decorating foam eggs and making Bunny Bag Baskets too. Treats will be provided, but feel free to bring something to share if you want.

Thanks and hope to see you all there!

March Schedule

March Playgroup Calendar
Designated Playgroup Leader this month: Emily Hardy

Friday, March 1st: Read Across America Party @ Williams’
Bring your favorite book to read to your child, and meet at Lindsey Williams’ home (5816 W Brookmere St, Edwards) at 9:30am. Enjoy time swapping titles with other moms and reading to your child/children. We’ll make a “Happy Birthday, Dr Seuss” craft and play with toys too.

Friday, March 8th: Play date @ Glassett’s
Meet at Tina Glassett’s home (2113 W Liams Way, Dunlap) at 9:30am. We’ll play until 11:15, but then we’ll need to be on our way.

Friday, March 15th: St Patrick’s Day Party
Meet in the nursery at 9:30am for a craft and then play time. Be sure to wear green, and bring a treat to share if you’d like.

Friday, March 22nd: Easter Egg Hunt @ Chatfield’s
Meet at Mirinda Chatfield’s home (6235 N Hamilton Rd, Peoria) at 10am. If you plan to attend, drop off or bring to church enough "fillings" for 10 eggs (candy, stickers, toys). We'll make a basket for a craft, play and hunt for eggs. If the weather is bad (less than 45 degrees, snow still on the ground, muddy, raining, etc), we’ll have the same activity, but meet at the church instead.

Friday, March 29th: No Playgroup
Happy Easter weekend!

UPDATE: This Friday

This Friday's playgroup is a little up in the air. Here's my thinking:

- If we get the snow (as predicted), we'll meet at 9:30am at Jacqie Lewis' home. Dress in snow stuff (snow pants, coats, gloves, hats, etc) and bring your sleds. They have a great hill for little ones, and it's been forever since the kids could do snowmen and such. We'll play til we all freeze. :-)
- If we don't get the snow in time or it's too cold, we'll still meet at Shanna Roper's home (as was originally scheduled) from 9:30-11:30. We'll play inside with their toys.
- If the roads are dangerous (who knows, right?), we'll have to cancel altogether. We'll see.

Anyway, make sure you check here before leaving for Playgroup Friday morning to hear whether we'll be meeting at the Lewis' or the Roper's or not at all. :-)

February Schedule

Designated leader for this month: Jacqie Lewis (text/call: 309-857-1477)

Note the changing start times this month.

Friday, February 1 – Chuck E. Cheese (2601 W Lake, Peoria)
Meet at 10am. There is a slide and climbing thing that are free (no entrance fee). Just buy tokens/lunch if you want them. Check their website for coupons. https://www.chuckecheese.com/coupons/

Friday, February 8 - Valentine's Day Party (at church)
Meet in the church nursery at 10am where Kara Maughan will be hosting a V-day Party. Bring a Valentine to put in each child's container (we’ll make the container as a craft). You can bring a treat to share too, if you want.

Friday, February 15 - Wheels (at church)
Meet in the cultural hall at 9:30am. Bring a ride-on toy or other wheeled-toy.

Friday, February 22 - Playdate at Roper’s (3505 N Marbleway Dr, Peoria)
Meet at Shanna Roper’s house at 9:30am. (She’s right by the church.) We’ll play until 11:30, but then we’ll need to be on our way.

January Schedule

I am looking to create a list of people willing to host playgroup when it is located at the church. Here’s what I am proposing: One person will be designated as the leader of the month. That person will arrive at the church (on the Fridays it will be held there) a few minutes before 10am, unlock the main door, arrange the cultural hall or nursery for minimal disruption to Sunday activities, make sure everything looks the same when we’re done, and re-lock the door at departure. If you have been assigned a particular month, it will be your responsibility to find a replacement if you have a sick kid, an errand to run, a vacation, or something else.

With that being said, here’s our calendar for January:

January Playgroup Schedule
Playgroup’s designated leader this month is: Lindsey Williams

Friday, January 4th: Trains
Meet in the Church cultural hall at 10am. Bring a train toy to share! (I know the school-aged kids will still be on break, so if you have a different idea for today’s playgroup that would help you to entertain all your children, please let me know.)

Friday, January 11th: Preschool Splash at the RiverPlex (600 NE Water Street, Peoria)
Meet at 10:00 (ends at 11:30). $3 per child over two; adults free. Parents must accompany child(ren) in the water.

Friday, January 18th: Motor Mites at the Franciscan Rec Center (908 N. Sterling Ave, West Peoria)
Meet at 9:15 (ends at 11:15). $2 per child. Kids can play with scooters, balls, hula hoops, and tumbling equipment. (This is not directly on Sterling Ave. You can take University south and go right on Main Street, then right on Heading and a left on Sterling.)

Friday, January 25th: Emily Hardy’s Home (11232 N Jason Dr, Dunlap)
Meet at 10am to play.

December Schedule

Friday, December 7th: Toy Exchange
Meet in the church nursery at 10am. Bring a USED toy (wrapped). Bring one toy per child that would like to receive a toy. We’ll do a craft, exchange gifts, and play toys.

Friday, December 14th:Christmas Party (Jacqie Lewis’ Home)
Meet at 10am at the Lewis’ house (2107 W Winnebago Dr, Peoria). We’ll be celebrating Christmas! Bring a festive treat to share if you'd like, and we'll have a craft or activity and holiday game.

Friday, December 21st: McDonald’s(4007 W Baring Trace, Peoria)
Meet at 10am, and play on their indoor play-place. Don’t feel obligated to order food in order to play.

Friday, December 28th: No Playgroup
Happy Holidays!

Change to this Friday's Playgroup

Friday, November 30th: Church Nursery

Meet at 9:30. The kids can play in the nursery with a few moms, while the rest of us head to the cultural hall to setup for the Ward Party. If you don't want to help, still feel free to come and enjoy some socializing and time for the kids to play together.

November Schedule

Friday, November 2nd: Motor Mites (908 N Sterling Ave, West Peoria)
Meet at Franciscan Rec Complex 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 9th: Wheels!
Meet in the cultural hall at the church at 10am. Bring your toys with wheels: ride-on, toy cars, bikes, trains, etc. While the kids play, willing moms can help with Christmas party decorations.

Friday, November 16th: Chuck E. Cheese (2601 W. Lake, Peoria)
Meet at 9:30am. There is a slide and a climbing thing that are free (no entrance fee). Just buy tokens/lunch if you want them. Check their website for coupons. https://www.chuckecheese.com/coupons/

Friday, November 23rd: No Playgroup
Happy Thanksgiving!

Friday, November 30th: Emily Hardy’s Home (11232 N Jason Dr, Dunlap)
Meet at 10am to play.

October Schedule

It is that time of the year again. As the weather turns colder, it is time to compile a list of people willing to host playgroup in their home.

If you volunteer, we would come to your house to play with your toys (and clean them up!) during the regularly-scheduled playgroup time (Fridays, 10-12noon). Prior to sending the schedule out to everyone, I would check the specific date with you.

I am also looking for people interested in hosting Playgroup “parties.” These would be themed-events where you’d provide a craft, book, movie, treat or game for the children to do. Themes we have done in the past or could do include: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Winter/Sledding, Valentine’s Day, St Patrick’s Day, Poem in Your Pocket Day, Read Across America, Easter. This would be a little more involved than just opening your toys up for the children to use, but really not too hard and super fun. If you have a holiday you are particularly excited about hosting, let me know that too.

Please email me directly (ryanandlindsey1227@hotmail.com) if you are willing to do either service sometime this winter, and I’ll get your name on the list. THANK YOU!

October Playgroup Schedule

Friday, October 5th: Preschool Splash (600 NE Water Street, Peoria)
Meet at the River Plex at 10am (ends at 11:30). Bring a towel and water toys (if you want). Parent must accompany child in the water. Ages 1-5: $3 per child; Adults: free.

Friday, October 12th: Tanner’s Orchard (740 State Route 40; Speer, IL)
Meet at Tanner’s Orchard at 10am. Join us and bring your camera, lunch and some cash (if you’d like). There’s a country market (apples, cider, donuts, pies, etc), play area ($3 for ages 2-12) and petting zoo (feed for 25 cents). For more information, http://www.tannersorchard.com/index.php

Friday, October 19th: Bumper Bowling (4100 N Brandywine Dr, Peoria)
Meet at the Christian Center Lanes at 10am. (Bowling Prices - Adults: $2.50, Children: $1.50) (Shoe Rental - Adults: $2.00, Kids: $1.00)

Friday, October 26th: Halloween Party
Meet in the church nursery at 10am. Wear your costume (moms too!), and bring a festive treat to share. We’ll do an easy craft, eat our snacks and play with the toys.

CHANGE: Playgroup at Church today

Due to the weather this morning, Playgroup will be in the church nursery at 10am. Bring play-dough toys. See you there!

September Schedule

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

Friday, September 7th: Northtrail Park (1621 W. Meadowview Drive, Peoria)
Meet at 10am to play on the playground.

Friday, September 14th: Riverfront Walk (600 Northeast Water Street, Peoria)
Bring your stroller and a sack lunch, and meet at 10am by the playground beside the Riverplex. We’ll walk, then return to play and eat at the end.

Friday, September 21st: Charter Oak Park (5802 N Orange Prairie Road, Peoria)
Meet at 10am to play on the playground.

Friday, September 28th: Discovery Children's Museum (101 E Beaufort St, Normal)
Meet at the museum on the first floor at 10am. We’ll plan on staying until about 12 noon.
Admission is $6 per person ages 2 and over; under two are free.
Pack a lunch, and bring it inside. They have tables. The only food-for-purchase inside the museum is vending machines.
Parking is usually available in a small parking lot across the street from the Museum, directly to the north. This lot offers free 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 free two-hour parking.
For more museum information, visit their website: http://www.childrensdiscoverymuseum.net/index.asp

August Schedule

Note: Playgroup is on Wednesdays in the summer time. Next month it will return to Fridays.

Wednesday, August 1st: 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.You may want sand toys, as the play structure is surrounded in gravel/sand.

Wednesday, August 8th: Movie at Willow Knolls (4100 West Willow Knolls Dr, Peoria)
Get out of the heat and enjoy the movie The Pirates! for $1 per ticket (all ages). Movie starts at 10am, but you’ll want to get there a little early.

Wednesday, August 15th: Sommer Park (6600 N. Basket Oak Drive, Edwards)
Meet at 10am (enter off Koerner Rd through Sommer Place neighborhood; left at dead end – Basket Oak Dr). Bring sand toys and a picnic lunch.

Wednesday, August 22nd: Bicycle Safety Town (6518 N. Sheridan Road, Peoria)
It’s been recently remodeled! Meet at 10am and bring your bike / ride-on toy and helmet (required).

Wednesday, August 29th: Linden Hills Dairy Farm (8412 W. Middle Road, Peoria)
Meet there at 9:30, and take a guided tour and see cows, calves, chickens and sheep all while taking a walk around a farm! Expect it to last about an hour and a half. Wear appropriate clothing and shoes for a farm. Bring a sack lunch to eat outside under the trees after our tour. If we have at least ten people, the cost will be $3 each. (Pay it to me that day, and I’ll pay them.) You must RSVP to Lindsey (ryanandlindsey1227@hotmail.com) no later than Monday, August 20th if you’d like to attend. For more information, you can check out their site: http://www.lindenhillfarms.com/