Playgroup-aged children are going through a stage of rapid brain and skill development, and play is vital to healthy growth. Playgroup Australia recognises parents as a child’s first educator, and values all families with small children aged birth to five years learning and developing together through play. The following activities have been designed to give parents ideas of how to help their children learn through age-appropriate activities – and to have fun!

Playgroup is an informal session where mums, dads, grandparents, caregivers, children and babies meet together in a relaxed environment.

We have two fish in our family, and they couldn’t be more different. My Starfish, aged 3, approaches swimming lessons with protests, negotiations, and finally when the inevitable moment approaches, a headlock grip on me, his mother.

Most young children enjoy music and they respond positively and naturally to it. They like to dance and bob around to CDs and tapes, make sounds with instruments and toys, laugh and giggle at finger plays and knee bounces and join in with songs they know well. Besides being enjoyable, music activities are also good for children: they can stimulate their learning and development in language, memory and listening, as well as physical and social skills. Music can be a regular part of young children’s daily family routines, play and group activities.

In a busy modern world obsessed with consumerism and a mentality that pre-packaged anything is the best and easiest option, isn’t it time that we literally stop and smell the roses? It’s a sad reality that the kids of the millennium and beyond are destined to miss out on some of life’s simple pleasures unless we take our children by the hand and guide them down the garden path to explore our own backyards. Recent research suggests that gardening actually reduces stress levels. I am yet to meet a mother who has not been stressed at one time or another, and of course a less stressed mother makes for better parenting.

It’s wonderful to sit down to a meal that has involved the whole family, and children pride themselves on helping others. There are so many advantages to involving children in food and meal preparation ...

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Here are a few nursery rhymes to get you back up to speed on the words (so that when the repetitive rhyme recitals begin in your house you don’t look blank!)