Form your own Circle with Family Circle Playgroup
If you are looking to form a social network in real life be sure to join Family Circle Playgroup. It is a comfortable way for kids and parents to hang out with each other every week.
What is Family Circle Playgroup?
It is a structured playgroup for one to 5 year olds that is held weekly throughout the school year.
For our family this was a great way to do some of our homeschooling outside of the house. The day is similar to a half day preschool except that in lieu of a teacher the parents take turns teaching the classes. The kids love helping their parents lead different classes and that their parents go to class with them.
Firefighter Week
Where is Family Circle Playgroup?
Family Circle Playgroup is held at the Saint Matthew Lutheran Church in Moorestown, NJ.
What is a typical day at Family Circle Playgroup?
Groups attend for a 2.5 hour session either in the morning or the afternoon. There is usually free play time, circle time, gym time, craft time, story time and snack time. The order of your schedule may vary for your playgroup. You have some freedom when you are teaching so sometimes we have done different things like science experiments or outdoor activities. There is a sample schedule below to give you an idea of what your day might look like.
My son loved gym and art time the most each week. The gym is filled with lots of toys that kids can ride on, slide on and more. FCP keeps a fully stocked closet of art supplies so it is easy for parents to come up with craft ideas each week.
Read Across America Week Class
Do parents need to participate?
Yes. This is a co-op so parental involvement is a must. Parents in class take turns teaching each week. During the week you are teaching you are also the class leader and responsible for clean-up. Often this is a joint effort with multiple parents at the end of class. Parties are also usually joint efforts with everyone in your group.
There is a mandatory orientation at the beginning of the year for parents or caregivers. Each parent must also join a committee and do a certain number of volunteer hours. There are plenty of opportunities for everyone to volunteer throughout the year with toy clean-up, event help and more. Last year I was the Class Coordinator and in the Property Committee. This year I was on the Field Trip Committee.
How can I join?
Register yourself for a spot soon before they are all filled here: https://www.familycircleplaygroup.com/.
Registration for the 2024 to 2025 year closes on June 20th and there will be a wait-list released on June 21st.
If you want to join for the following year keep an eye out for an Open House Event so you can come check out the FCP location and meet some parents yourself.
Are there field trips?
Yes! There are lots of trips throughout the year. This is a great way to meet people in other FCP classes as well. Some places we have gone to in the past two years included Morning Glori Farmette to see alpacas, Johnson’s Corner Farm for pumpkin picking, the Please Touch Museum and Muddy Paws Farm. Field trip costs are usually at discounted group rates.
Johnson’s Corner Farm
Please Touch Museum
Morning Glori Farmette
The biggest field trip in the year for the past two years was to Storybook Land. This is a great spot for kids in this age range as parents can go on most of the rides with their kids. There is also a lot of shade there so it is easy an easy place to spend the whole day.
Aside from field trips there are also meet-ups that are organized at playgrounds and various spots. These can be a good way to meet people at FCP who live closer to where you live.
Are there events?
Yes! There are events throughout the year. Some are for caregivers with FCP caregivers and kids attending and others are for the whole family. At the start of this year there was a big event that was at Laurel Acres Park. During this the kids played on playgrounds, met Minnie Mouse and did crafts while the adults conversed over breakfast foods.
I love Halloween so my favorite event both years was the Halloween Trunk or Treat. This year we even participated as a Trunk and made a Super Mario Brothers movie themed trunk with a matching family costume. It was also really cute to see the kids doing the Halloween parade around the parking lot at the end each year.
My kids’ favorite event activities were drinking hot cocoa, doing crafts and meeting Santa at the Holiday Party. We also did the Mommy and Me Tea and the Valentine’s Day Daddy Dance which were both a super cute way to have some special moments with your child.
Last year we also were able to attend the Family Fun Day at XL Sports World where the kids loved playing in the bounce house and the play structure, playing basketball and eating pizza.
Are there class parties?
Yes! We had lots of class parties this year including a Halloween Party, Holiday Party, Valentine’s Day Party, Spring Party and more. For class parties we would usually create a signup genius for each one and different class members could then put down what they were bringing so that there was no overlap. My son was excited that our class even let us add in a party for Holi as well.
Will there be a Picture Day?
Yes! We participated in Picture Day both years and got some cute pictures. If siblings are in a class you can get a picture taken with both of them as well.
Can I bring in something for my kid's birthday?
Yes, people can bring in small treats. Some that we have had over the past couple years were cupcakes, donuts and muffins.
My child is older than 5. Is there anything they can join?
There is a new Homeschool Co-op starting for the 2024-2025 year for 5 to 8 year olds. Currently the spots are almost all filled up.
What things did you like best about Family Circle Playgroup?
It is not in your house.
Often our house feels like a tornado has gone through it after we spend a day at home so this is a huge advantage.
Tagalongs are allowed.
This just needs to be noted when you are registering. This is great if you have multiple kids and it is so cute to see the babies in class. My daughter was also allowed to attend sporadically so she came to class a few times when she had a half day at school. Older kids in class always love to help the younger ones
to do things.
FCP is a great place to make friends.
We have made friends with multiple kids and parents from our two year journey.
It is a great place for parents to socialize.
Usually in the beginning of class the kids are absorbed with playing with toys and excited to see each other. During this time and during snack time are bot
great times to be able to talk to the other parents in your class.
Different people can bring kids to class.
This needs to be noted when registering. This was a fun opportunity to occasionally meet a dad or a grandparent in class. The kids were very excited about showing their class to someone else.
When will I find out who is in my class?
Class rosters are usually finalized in late August. They are usually able to accommodate your family’s availability.
What was your experience at Family Circle Playgroup?
When I started homeschooling my younger son at first my older daughter was also homeschooling with us. Once she went to public school I missed teaching both of them at the same time. I wanted to get more motivated to come up with cool lesson ideas by teaching multiple kids. Then I was at a Moorestown Library event and a mom gave me a piece of paper telling me about Family Circle Co-op Playgroup! This was the answer I had been looking for.
I was in Family Circle Playgroup with my younger son in an afternoon class for the past two years. It was a great way for him to socialize with the same friends each week. We had done playdates in the past but often they ended up getting postponed due to someone being sick. This was great since classes have at least five people so there is always still someone who will be at playgroup each week.
Going to FCP also gave me ideas for homeschooling at home. Each week had a different topic so we would often coincide lessons at home with the topic to continue the learning. The playgroup also kept us busy with lots of fun field trips and activities throughout the year. These were also great to meet more friendly parents from different classes.
My son loved going to FCP each week and looked forward to telling my husband about what he did there after he got home. He especially loved the weeks we were teaching since he liked to sit up front and pass out pictures at circle time, help pick out the books we were reading and help set up any crafts or activities. He was always very excited to go to any upcoming event and love talking about the food he ate there. We had an amazing experience both of our years attending.
Family Circle Playgroup is an awesome place for you and your child to find your own circle of friends. It is also a great way to fill your calendar with fun family friendly events and activities.