Playgroup at St. Ann's in Parsippany

Today was my first foray into playgroups. My daughter is a veteran of group activities - at almost 2 and a half, she's been enrolled in daycare since she was 3 months old.

My daughter was baptized at St. Ann's Church in Parsippany and we really haven't been to church since. Anyway, they had called me several times about a playgroup, while I was working, so I looked up their website.

They meet Tuesdays from 10 AM - 11 AM. The room was large - chairs for both adults and small children. There were maybe 6 kids playing with a chest of toys that included a dollhouse, trucks - the basics and there was a small carpet rolled out for them. It was low-key, nothing rowdy and my daughter was not intimidated and jumped right in. I was asked to sign a liability form and given info about upcoming playdates. There was no religious talk or push to join or attend the church (I personally do not attend, so I was definitely a newcomer).

We arrived late, so at around 11:35 or so a parent initiated cleanup, which surprised me, since I thought playgroup was ending early. The kids were rounded up and there was a nice storytime at a kid-sized table, with kid-sized chairs. After that, the mom/story reader supplied juice and cake (they rotate responsibility for snacks). This was followed by supervised coloring at a separate table, with photocopied images that followed the theme of the storytime, which was about how Mexicans typically celebrate Christmas.

The moms I met were very nice and very welcoming. I met two who live within a half mile of me, which was great! I will definitely attend this playgroup again.

Mom2Mom: Low key, somewhat structured play, engaged parents (no wild kids), birth to age 5, low key moms in sweats/jeans, very welcoming to newcomers