Lakewood kindergartners and their parents connect at neighborhood park
On a recent Saturday morning at Lakewood Park, 10 kids played in a stream, if it can even be called a stream. One mother described it as a “cesspool of muck,” but if nine other kids were playing in it, wouldn’t you want to join in on the fun, too?
That’s what these Saturday mornings are all about. They’re an opportunity for future classmates to meet and greet, maybe even make a friend before taking the leap into kindergarten at Lakewood Elementary.
In May, four Lakewood mothers — Jody Cargill, Tami Darlington, Kirsten Douglass and Kelly Yee — started a playgroup for pre-kindergarten children who will be attending Lakewood in the fall.
“The whole goal was familiar faces for the kids,” says Amy Schahan, whose daughter, Neely, attends the group. “Our thought was the more times the children saw each other, they would be more comfortable on the first day of school.
Cargill and some of the other mothers belonged to a smaller playgroup. They received an e-mail from Ann King asking if any parents of soon-to-be Lakewood kindergarteners wanted to meet up, and the idea blossomed from there. A list of parents’ names was put together after contacting the Lakewood Early Childhood PTA. Schahan, like other parents, became involved with the program after receiving an e-mail invitation from Cargill.
“They expanded it and included all of these people,” King says. “Everyone’s been so excited to have some sort of group.”
Wanting to pick a meeting place that everyone would be accustomed to, the mothers decided on Lakewood Park. The playgroup starts around 9 a.m. and lasts until whenever the kids or parents are ready to take it inside. In May the group grew from around eight children to roughly 30. Now, with summer vacations underway, every Saturday the group’s size varies. But one thing tends to remain constant: there are usually more girls than boys.
This isn’t a group just for mothers either. There are fathers and husband/wife teams who show up on Saturdays for the learning experience. King says sometimes she brings her daughter, Katherine, but often her husband, Chris, totes Katherine to the park.
John Bull and his son, Quinn, visited for the first time in July. He and his wife heard about the group through some friends and were excited to check it out.
“Even if they’re not classmates, my big thing is, they get there in the morning before school starts and they play out in the playground before the bell rings,” Douglass says. “So, even if they’re not in class together, at least they can play on the playground together.”
This playgroup is about the children, but it’s also a helpful tool for the parents. It’s a way for them to connect, one of the initial purposes in starting the playgroup.
The organizers aren’t sure whether the playgroup will continue after school starts August 14, but this summer, under the hot Texas sun, they’re forming bonds that won’t be easily broken.
