I am looking for a new Mom's group, or Playgroup for my daughter. She's getting old enought to interact with other children now but she's not in daycare. I want her to be able to play with other kids sometimes or at least be around other people to help with her stranger fears. Of course I know it's good to let her be wary of strangers, but I want her to be a little more comfortable in surroundings she may not be familiar with. I also have my own personal reasons as well. I want a life! I know that my life will never be the same as it was before Brea, and i would never want it to be. But i'd like to find a happy medium that incorporates both her feelings and mine. The Mom's group I was in before, was so great when Brea was smaller. It really helped me to be able to talk to and hang out with Mom's who were dealing wiht the same problems and even the same wonderful moments, as i was. My old group disbanned when the president stepped down. I became the new president, but I quickly found out why she stepped down. It was a pain organizing activities that people didn't show up for. I'm looking for an active group, that meets at least once a month, preferably more. Brea is 15 months, so i'd like to stay in a 1 or 2 maybe even 3 yr range. I know kids dont play together much at her age, but shes very ambitous and not afraid of a lot. I dont want her to get trampled by bigger kids that may not realize she still small even though she plays like them! :) I also would like to find Mom's who are friendly, caring, and not dramatic. I am looking for new friends, who dont mind getting together outside the group sometimes to go to lunch, or walk the mall, go to the park, whatever. Just have a nice time with the kiddos. I don't want a group that is too focused. I dont mind trips to the aquarium or zoo. But i dont want a group thats so focused that it becomes stressful. Also, I am looking for a nice park. The closest intersection to my house is Hwy 114 and Oconnor. I know theres a park on Macarthur by Jefferson Park Apts. I went there and was not welcome at all.
I dont mind driving a little ways to reach the group, or the park so long as they're both nice. I realize my request is somewhat reminicent of Mary Poppins, when the kids tell their parents what kind of nanny they want. I didnt realize it until now! :) Anyway, if anyone knows of anything, I would be very grateful. My daughter and I are both very sweet, so please dont hesitate to invite us to your group. Thanks
P.S.S.
I would also like to add, since some of you have recommended it, that the group I belonged to, and was president of, before was through Meetup.com. I have nothing against the site, but I don't like paying 20.00 a month to host meetings when I can do that without the site. Additionally, the groups are somewhat large (15-30 ppl) and I'm looking for something a little smaller than that. Thanks anyway though!
Well, I've received lots of great tips and advice from everyone. Thanks so much. There isn't, as far as I can tell, a Mom's group in my area. SO, I've decided to start one myself. I know a few of you have expressed interest in joining a group in the Irving/Las Colinas area, so I'm trying to figure out just how many of you are serious about it. We would meet up at a park, or in a mall with a play place, for maybe an hour or two. I work until 2pm mon-fri so we would meet after that, maybe at 3pm or on weekends depending on what more people are interested in. If you're interested, please respond so that I know if this will be successful or not. Thanks Moms! I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone!
Ps.
I'm going to re-post this in the Mom's group section, under questions, so that I can make sure other Moms have a chance to join if they are interested, but didn't see this post. Thanks!
Rock
I know what you mean. sometimes it's harder to arrange something than it is to just show up.
why don't we just come up with a date and meet up, then decide what days and time we should meet up again. we can meet around 3:00?
I have a 22 month old son, and we're available next week except wednesday. we can meet anywhere, I don't mind driving. I'm ready to start meeting fun, nice moms and kids!
~ t
Try an Early Childhood PTA for a great way to meet moms with kids the age of your little one. There is a Coppell/Valley Ranch ECPTA (www.cvrecpta.com) but I'm not familiar with the way their playgroups are set up. I belong to the Carrollton ECPTA (www.cecpta.org) and we have moms from all over including Irving, Plano, Lewisville, Flower Mound, etc. Our playgroups are set up by age (usually Sept of one year to Aug of the next -- like a school year) and meet on a weekly basis. I'm not sure our playgroup times would fit your hours but we do sometimes have family activities on weekend and I recall someone looking to start a playgroup for Saturday meetings.
As far the park question, there is a great park in Coppell called Kid Kountry. It's an all wooden structure and is completely (except for the entrance) surrounded by a fence. It also has a sand box so you can bring shovels, pails, sand toys to play, too. My kiddo loves this park! The address is 260 East Parkway Blvd, Coppell, TX 75019.
Good Luck!
Hi R., I live in Las Colinas (hackberry creek) and I go every week to the storytime in the Valley Ranch library. The lady is faboulus, singing songs, reading story's, once a month a puppet show... Very interactive, I love it. You work in the mornings, so you can go on Tue and Wedn. at 4 pm.
We often go to the playground opposite Las Colinas Elementery school, next to the rec. centre. It has different corners for different ages. It is big, and it is really nice. You can also use the playground from the elementery school itself.
Next to that is a church "Irving Bible Church". They have a free big indoor playground with tubes and slides etc. The door is always open, and you don't have to be a member. Perfect for summer, it has aircon!
I know this are not "moms groups", but maybe it helps...
I.
Try checking out moms group via Meetup.com
I know they have some in your area but don't know how active they are. Check them out.
We live in Valley Ranch, and I've been keeping my eye open for the same kind of thing. I do know one or two moms in the area and we get together occasionally. Maybe we should put something casual together. My son is 21 months.. and I nanny for a 3 month old. Let me know what you think!
-Ash
R.,
I don't know of any playgroups, but I used to live at MacArthur/114 (in the houses behind Jefferson Park - I know, you're thinking what houses... but there is a small community called Mandalay Place right behind the apartments... it was nice because I could walk to the park)... that park has changed a great deal in the past few years. We moved last year to Carrollton (Bush & 35)... not too far away, but not in Irving any more. I lived in Irving for 10 years, so it's strange to be somewhere else now. But we live next to a great park and greenbelt, so that's nice.
However, there is a great park up MacArthur in Coppell at Starleaf, next to a church/school... I think it's the Apostle Day School. I've taken my daughter there a few times and it seemed really nice.
I do watch posts for Las Colinas, though, since it's just a 7-8 min drive to get there (all my docs are still there and my vet!). So, I'll be watching to see what responses you get for playgroup. My daughter is 18mo and stays at home, but she loves her Sing & Sign class and her Spanish class for the interaction.
Hope you find a group!
P.
