Children’s Council Playgroups

Danielle Jolly, Child Care Resource and Referral Counselor for Children’s Council of San Francisco, says Tuesday morning playgroups are the highlight of her week. As a former preschool instructor, she relishes the opportunity to interact with young children- something she no longer gets to do in her day-to-day work.

Families and child care Providers from across San Francisco come to Children’s Council on Tuesdays from 10:00 to 11:00 to sing, dance, play and read. These weekly workshops are held in partnership with Early Education organizations, including Raising a Reader and JAMaROO. Expert staff ensure that each playgroup furthers children’s social emotional skills and early development.

It’s not uncommon to see parents just as involved as the kids, explains Danielle. In fact, workshop leaders encourage the adults to sing along and dance with their kids. This kind of collaborative play builds bonds between parents or providers and children.

In the story time groups with Raising a Reader, young children stay completely enthralled with the story for the whole hour. Danielle admits their focus is mystifying, but she explains the trick to the workshop leader’s reading style: The best way to involve children in the story is to ask them questions along the way. Children love guessing what will happen next and taking part in telling the story. Plus, the answers they come up with keep everyone entertained!

This series of workshops features a brand new session adapted by Children’s Council staff: Exploring Feelings with Elmo. The curriculum is based on Children’s Council’srecent pilot workshop created in partnership with Sesame Street. The playgroup uses Sesame Street’s lovable characters to help children build resilience, understand their emotions, and develop the skills they need to solve problems.

Don’t miss out on these fun, educational playgroups with Danielle and all of us here at Children’s Council!