Community Playgroup

We had a lovely end-of-summer Playgroup at the County Park this week. The skies cleared up and much fun was had at the playground, making boats that float, and taking a wagon ride around the whole campground.
*Reminder - we will start meeting on Tuesdays & Fridays beginning 9/5/23, from 9:30-11:30 at the Community Center. Geared towards ages 0-5, older siblings are always welcome! Spread the word, tell your friends & neighbors! 😀

Lots of fun happening at the Fair next week!

LAST SUMMER PLAYGROUP!
Tuesday 8/15/23
10am-noon
Otsego Lake County Park
(1816 County Park Rd, Ga***rd)
Free admission! Bring a picnic/stay all day!
Crafts & toys & snacks & a wagon ride,
playground & beach....
Lots of fun geared towards kiddos aged 0-5 & their caring adult (older siblings welcome!)
Bring a friend or come & meet some new friends!
Always free!

Community Playgroup was at the Memorial Park/Splashpad Park in Waters this week - we had a great turnout with lots of friends! :-) Special hellos to our "Grandma & Grandpa friends" from Aspen Ridge Retirement Home that joined us. They are the ones who make us fresh playdough during the school year!
Our LAST summer Playgroup will be Tuesday, August 15th from 10 a.m. - noon at the County Park. Let them know at the gate that you are with Playgroup & they will waive the entrance fee for you. I'll have some toys & crafts under the Pavillion, the playground & beach are available to use as well. About 11 a.m. we will go on a wagon ride around the whole campground & finish up with Popsicles for snack. You are more than welcome to pack a lunch & make a whole day out of it!

Community Playgroup was at the Memorial Park/Splashpad Park in Waters this week - we had a great turnout with lots of friends! :-) Special hellos to our "Grandma & Grandpa friends" from Aspen Ridge Retirement Home that joined us. They are the ones who make us fresh playdough during the school year!

Our LAST summer Playgroup will be Tuesday, August 15th from 10 a.m. - noon at the County Park. Let them know at the gate that you are with Playgroup & they will waive the entrance fee for you. I'll have some toys & crafts under the Pavillion, the playground & beach are available to use as well. About 11 a.m. we will go on a wagon ride around the whole campground & finish up with Popsicles for snack. You are more than welcome to pack a lunch & make a whole day out of it!

Early Head start is a wonderful program - not sure if you qualify? Call them for more information! A great way to bridge home & school for our little learners!

Now enrolling for our 23/24 program year! Call 989 464 0051 today for more information!

We had a GREAT day at Doumas Park today - so nice to see our friends & lots of new faces too - EVERYONE is invited, so if we're at a park & you were already there - of COURSE your kiddos can join in the fun!

The frozen & Fizzy dinosaur eggs were a WINNER today!
BIG shout out to Call of the Wild- Ga***rd, MI for donating the little dinosaurs in all the eggs - (psst, did you know they do free gift wrapping? Made my life so much easier when I was running late to birthday parties over the years....)

LASTLY, I announced all the WRONG DATES (very sorry!)..... we are meeting NEXT WEEK & then 2 weeks after that...
8/1/23 - Splashpad Park/Memorial Park in Waters
8/15/23 - Otsego Lake COUNTY Park
All from 10 a.m. - noon
All FREE!

Hope to see you then! Let's enjoy the last few weeks of our beautiful summer! ☀️ 😎 ⛱️

I know LOTS of kiddos who would like to check this out.... mark your calendars now!

Playgroup will be Tuesday (tomorrow!) at Dumas Park on 4th Street in Ga***rd from 10 a.m. - noon. We'll be hatching Fizzy & Frozen Dinosaur eggs (BIG thank you to Call of the Wild for the Dino donations!!), we'll have the water table & bubbles (dress for getting wet!), toys & friends & a snack... geared towards kiddos ages 0-5 & their caring adult - older siblings welcome & visiting family/friends welcome! No charge!

*After Playgroup head down the block to the Intermediate School cafeteria, all kids get free lunch, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Mark your calendar for this Saturday!
😋

If you're looking to add to your home library, you can't beat the deals at the Used Book Sale!

Mark your calendars!

Starting at 3 years old & up. ⛸️

In case you were wondering what's on the menu at the summer lunch, "Meet up & eat up" at GIS. FREE for all kiddos ages 0-18. They always have a salad bar set up with at least 5 different fruits/veggies/other choices, so even kids with very particular likes/dislikes can usually find something they like. 😀

We had a great Playgroup last week in Elmira, thanks to all the families who came to play!
*Note, if you make a trek there, be advised there was a mama bird sitting on her eggs in a ground nest near the swings. There are some sticks in the ground to prevent people from accidentally walking on them (very well camouflaged!)
We'll be at Dumas Park on Tuesday July 25th, hatching some Fizzy & frozen dinosaur eggs.
🌞

Looking for something fun to do today? Raven Hill is great for all ages & TODAY is their FREE afternoon....

FREE (Families Reaching for Educational Excellence) Second Saturday, July 8, from noon to 4pm. Come check us out! Families only please—no groups.

The fireworks over Otsego Lake at the Otsego Lake County Park are TONIGHT July 1st, 2023 at dusk! Here are the events for the weekend!

Looking for someplace new to explore with your kiddo? I spent 3+ hours at Ironton Springs park with 4 boys aged 4-9. Packed a picnic lunch, stories to read, snacks...when we pulled in they were initially disappointed not to see a playground....
but Nature's Playground did not disappoint!

** Muddy & wet afterward.... but full of smiles! **

It was an impromptu change to be inside due to the air quality alerts on Tuesday, but the kiddos all seemed to not mind!
Have a Happy 4th of July! 🇺🇲 🎆 🎇 🇺🇸
See you in 2 weeks in Elmira!

A fun way to enjoy local music. Bring a blanket & a snack, your kids can have a picnic on the courthouse lawn. 🎻🎺🎷🎸📯

We'll see you downtown for our outdoor pops concert on July 29! Feel free to share our concert poster to help get the word out 🎼🎻🎺

PLEASE NOTE, CHANGE OF LOCATION!!
Due to the air quality today, 6/27/23 Playgroup will be held at the COMMUNITY CENTER from 10am-noon.

It's a cool, hazy day.... but no rain! Meet me @ the park in Vanderbilt from 10am-noon. There will be some painting, playground time, & we can walk the storywalk.
Invite a friend!

Kids don't get to have all the fun - summer reading for adults is starting tomorrow! Pick up your game boards inside the library or at summer reading kickoff. Our first take and make, macramé daisy keychains, will be available starting Monday!

The detailed schedule for Art in the Garden tomorrow. Scavenger hunts & making butterfly wings & rock painting, just to name a few things your kiddos might like. Live music, plenty of space to bring a picnic lunch, & though it will be warm out, the shady areas will be cooler. Last year there was even a sprinkler to run through..... 😉

Another great giveaway for families in our area!

The Otsego County Public Library summer reading program is off to a great start! Playgroup participated in the Saturday kick off event - so much fun! - thanks to all my friends who stopped by the Playgroup booth to say hi & play a bit! Kids (and parents!) can sign up, there are levels from tiny kiddos - adults. Did I mention prizes? And kids who see their favorite adults reading for pleasure are more likely to grow up & reading for pleasure themselves..... goes back to the whole "let them see you eat your veggies" idea.... 😉😁 📚
Don't forget they have Preschool storytimes
all summer long (and it's air conditioned!)

Looking to try music classes? Now is the perfect time! SO many studies on how music education - even with our tiniest tots - can help future learning. Check it out!

Time for Music - Class Registration Form, Summer 2023 Hello, Carly here! It's Time for Music this summer! Please complete one form per family and let me know if you have any questions at [email protected] or via the Time For Music page messenger. Early Childhood Music Class Information Schedule: Mondays (June 19th - August 14th, off...

If you live nearby or are passing through the area this summer, the Boyne Falls Chef has quite a reputation for serving up very fresh (salad picked in the morning from the school garden) and very delicious meals.... one of many districts offering free meals to ALL students this summer (you don't have to be attending that particular school to stop in for lunch).

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=6469747039750934&id=100001471059640&mibextid=CDWPTG

Boyne Falls Public School Meet Up & Eat Up Menu for June 12-June 15

Fresh fruit, local veggies, milk, water, and salad will be available every day.

Breakfast:
Monday, 6/12: Fruit Parfait
Tuesday, 6/13: Banana Bread
Wedensday, 6/14: Bagels and Cream Cheese
Thursday, 6/15: Blueberry Muffins

Lunch:
Monday, 6/12: Fried Chicken with Biscuits and Slaw
Tuesday, 6/13: Meatball Sliders with Caprese Salad
Wednesday, 6/14: Grilled Brats with Waffle Fries
Thursday, 6/15: Pepperoni or Veggie Pizza

We had a lovely Playgroup at the Community Garden today - most families who came had not been there before. It really is a hidden gem. Invite a few friends & let the kids run & play in the maze, have a picnic, look for fairies in the fairy garden.... so many little paths to explore....it really is great for kiddos! You can go anytime, but I also highly recommend Art in the Garden on Saturday, 6/24/23.

Hooray, no rain today!
Bring a sweatshirt & meet me at the Community Garden from 10 am - noon today for our first summer Playgroup!

Starting on Monday.....

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=739484134844846&id=100063497983158&mibextid=ZbWKwL

2023 Summer Feeding Program

June 12 - August 16 at Ga***rd Intermediate School

Looking for something to do?
These are all great family friendly options!

Water Safety is a BIG DEAL for our LITTLE ONES.... this week we painted pictures of kids wearing lifejackets, made small books about rules when we're by water, tried on lots of different life jackets and pretended in our little pool at Playgroup, & wrapped up the week with a field trip to the Sportsplex Pool- hooray!
*Don't forget the FREE life jacket give away tomorrow! (Info posted earlier this week.)
NEXT TUESDAY, 6/13/23 we will meet from 10:00-noon at the Community Garden. I will have some toys & a craft & snacks. It is stroller friendly & the path through the woods to the storywalk is so much fun! Hope to see you then!

Whoo-hoo, FREE SECOND SATURDAY is this week at Raven Hill! Located kind of between East Jordan & Boyne City, it's a great science/history museum with lots to see & touch & explore, and don't let the small size of the building fool you.... they have a LOT! The outside area is very cool as well - take your stroller or wagon as the trails to get to different exhibits are a little walk, but worth it! Where else can you visit & climb a "great pyramid" in Northern Michigan?

Spike, the bearded dragon, is looking forward to seeing you tomorrow at FREE Second Saturday! Free for families. No groups, please.

Fun at the library! If you can make it to the kick off party on Saturday June 17th, I'll see you there! If you can't make it then, stop in anytime after that day to sign up & get a summer calendar. They have storytimes and lots of special events all summer long, from ages 0-100! (and beyond. 😉)

Summer Reading kicks off Saturday, June 17th at the Otsego County Library, From 11 am to 3 pm at the Main Library in Ga***rd. We are offering tents and tables of activities, food and free stuff! All ages are welcome, and no registration is required. A link to our complete calendar of events can be found at:
http://www.otsego.lib.mi.us/2023SRPcalendar-bothpages%202.pdf