Want to be connected with other young families in the community and make friends? We can support you!
The changes and commitments that come with growing your family can often mean that making new and meaningful connections with others who share the same experiences is difficult, but by no means less important to overall well-being – in fact, it’s quite the opposite.
Lots of parents and families experience feelings of social isolation and can struggle to find ways to get better connected with other families in the community at a time when making connections and forming strong support networks is incredibly important.
That’s where our supported playgroups come in
Taking place in Salisbury North at Bagster Road Community Centre and in Parafield Gardens at Parafield Gardens Community Centre, Novita’s supported playgroups offer families with kids between 0-5 years the opportunity to have fun, play, and make lasting connections with other like-minded families.
Families who participate in the program have found the service a great stepping stone or soft entry into childcare or kindy. It’s also an inexpensive activity for adults and kids alike to engage in, where all resources and materials are provided along with the added support of an experienced Novita staff member providing direction and education about learning through play.
So, what exactly does one of our supported playgroups look like?
Our supported playgroups take place once a week for 1.5-2 hours and can cater to 20 clients per session as we work to comply with the current COVID-19 restrictions.
During the sessions, the family will take part in a range of different, hands-on activities such as:
- Arts and crafts
- Sensory experiences such as gloop, shaving cream, playdough, and water play
- Science experiments
- Dress up days
- Puzzles and games
- Outdoor play; climbing, sand play, bike riding, and ball play
- Group time; stories and songs
Not only are these activities an excellent part of the session, but they are also great for replicating in the home environment between supported playgroup sessions. This will give you the opportunity to keep your kids engaged, occupied, and learning new things in a variety of engaging ways.
There are even some great long-term benefits to our supported playgroups…
When you leave the group after each session, we want the benefits of the program to positively impact your life in the future and so you and your kids feel geared up to tackle life together in the best way possible.
There’s plenty of ways that this program will support you and your family well into the future, some of these are:
- Building great connections with other families that become established friendships.
- As parents, you will be able to build stronger and more meaningful connections with your kids.
- Things like language skills, communication abilities, and social interactions will improve in kids as they have the opportunity to meet new peers and form friendships.
- Kids will develop the ability to problem-solve, decision make, and think things through effectively.
- You and your family will feel confident and well-established within the community after getting to know so many like-minded families in similar situations.
What’s next?
During the program, our Novita staff will have the opportunity to get to know you and your family and see if there are opportunities to be linked with other programs that can best support you’re the things that you and your family would like to achieve.
Okay, you want to get involved in our supported playgroups – here’s how!
It’s simple – you can register your interest to become part of our supported playgroups by calling us on 1300 668 482, emailing us on [email protected] or you can complete an enquiry form for COPE programs online and we will be in touch with further information.
We often receive referrals to our supported playgroups from various other organisations that clients are already working with. If you are working with a social worker, community-based or governmental organisation and are wondering if this group is right for you, get in touch with them and ask them about Novita’s supported playgroups!