Playgroups

UCPlayGroup_logo_small

What is a playgroup?

A playgroup is a group of children, who are not in school yet and their carers who meet together on a regular basis. This group may consist of mums, dads, carers, grandparents, relatives or anyone who regularly cares for children. In this time children interact and play with other children of similar ages as well as spend positive time with their carers. In this time parents and carers spend quality time with their child as well as interact with other parents and carers. This can assist carers in developing relationships with other parents and carers in similar circumstances.

Why does the Uniting Church have so many playgroups?

The Uniting Church connects with families through camps, events, festivals, small groups, services and so on. We meet lots of families so when we tell them that we have a playgroup running, lots of families want to join! Our playgroups are so much fun that word of mouth spreads and we find that we need to run more and more playgroups.

The Uniting Church loves to serve the community. Hosting playgroups is one way that the Uniting Church can serve families by providing a great place to catch up with other families from the community, get support through the tough times, build on skills, make friends and most of all have a great time.

Uniting Church SA Playgroup Manual

The manual is a comprehensive resource that includes information for Churches about playgroups. Below is an outline of the topics covered:

About playgroups
MR SA playgroup resources
Starting a playgroup
Administration
Safety and property
Leaders and volunteers
Finances
Getting the church involved
Promotion
Frequently asked questions
Useful contacts

Download UC-SA Playgroup Manual 2013 (898 kb PDF)

In addition to the manual we have created some Uniting Church SA Playgroup specific templates:

Logo (as above), for use on your own promotional material: Playgroup Logos (179 kb Zip archive)
Playgroup Enrolment, Permission & Medical Form (61 kb Word document)
Playgroup Sign In Sheets: Playgroup sign in sheet (26 kb ), Playgroup sign in sheet (3 kb PDF)

Playgroup Creating a Safe Space Checklist (117 kb PDF)

Playgroup Program Ideas

(revised 2013)
This free resource is designed to help leaders of Christian playgroups in planning their programs.

Here you will find program ideas built around 132 different themes.

For convenience the themes have been grouped into packs for three years with four terms each. The terms relate to school year term and allow you to locate holiday themes, eg Mothers Day in Term 2 and Christmas in Term 4. Otherwise the years and terms are interchangeable.

Each pack includes:

One page of activity ideas for each theme, including games, crafts, guests, songs and stories plus Faith Enrichment ideas.
One page about Faith Enrichment at playgroup
One page of Professional Development notes for playgroup leaders and volunteers.
A chart of all 132 themes

This resource is not a set curriculum; it provides ideas that you may pick and choose from or adapt to your own situation. The activity ideas can fit into whatever format you have established for your playgroup.

The listing lists by year A, B, or C and Term 1, 2, 3, or 4.

FAQ - Cash Handling - Collections, Counting & Banking (77 kb PDF)

FAQ - Cash Handling - Petty Cash (112 kb PDF)

Payroll Officer (182 kb PDF)

2023 Mission and Service Fund & Presbytery Contributions (528 kb PDF)

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