The Somerville Family Learning Collaborative Offers Outdoor Playgroups at the Growing Center

Bundled up in jackets, snow pants, gloves, boots, and of course masks, young children and their grown-ups enter through the Growing Center gate ready for the week’s SFLC Playgroup. Children find the bag with their name on it, which contains their own shovel and pail for our time together (with more materials added each week), plus a maraca and dance scarf for circle time. Then they’re off to explore the garden and play safely with their grown-ups and their new or old friends, before coming together as a (socially distanced) group for music and movement.

Through the Somerville Family Learning Collaborative (SFLC), the family and community engagement department of Somerville Public Schools, these weekly winter playgroups bring together a small group safely outside at the Growing Center to play and explore the beautiful space––all in addition to SFLC Playgroups’ continued virtual offerings.

As we greet our friends and play together, we may not be able to see each other’s smiles behind our masks, but we can sense them––the smiles that come from spending time in nature and connecting with one another. We are so grateful to the Growing Center for bringing joy to a difficult time by allowing us to use their space for our Outdoor Playgroups this winter!

For more information about SFLC Playgroups virtual and in-person programs, please visit our Facebook page or our webpage.