Fair warning, this a bit of a longer post, however, felt a bit of an update on what is happening here at the AAFRC is long overdue.
Over the past year and a half the way the AAFRC has conducted its programming has looked totally different. We are trying our best to support ALL families in the communities we serve. I am not saying it has been easy, however I believe we have come up with some great ideas to keep families engaged in this pandemic time.
Our take home kits have been a huge hit and we will continue to offer those on a bi-weekly basis, watch for the new themes coming out and be sure to email us so we can have enough kits made for everyone. Generally the take home kit announcements are posted on our social media pages as well as in an announcement email.
We have also been offering two in-person outdoor programs:
1) Outdoor Playgroup in the Altona Park which takes place every Tuesday morning from 10:30-11:30am. Here Lisa HP brings activities, stories and her song bag to entertain you for the hour. Our plan is to offer this program for as long as families continue to show up. So dress warm and see what Lisa has in store for you!
2) Outdoor Family Gym Nights in the Altona Park which takes place every Thursday evening in October from 6-7pm. Larissa keeps you moving and ends the session with a story sure to keep your littles engaged. We would love to run this program longer, however it gets dark so soon!
The next program we have starting this week (Thursday, October 21 from 10:30-11am) is our Virtual Playgroup. This program is designed for those families who do not want to venture outside now that the weather is getting colder
or who just are not comfortable in larger groups. Dolores Deppe is facilitating this program and will keep you and your children entertained for the half hour. She will also give you some tips on how to keep your littles busy at home with the things you have at home. She will share stories, songs & rhymes as well as perhaps give a few crafty type suggestions. Since this program is virtual, you will need to register via email so I can forward you the zoom link. We do not have an end date for this program, as long as we have families requesting the link, the program will run.
Regarding in-person indoor programming: While the province is in code orange the AAFRC board has decided we will not host any indoor programming and will continue to focus on the take home and virtual programming. Be sure to keep an eye on the calendar on the HOME page as we will be updating this calendar as programs are developed.
Since we will not be hosting any indoor programs at this time, be sure to watch our social media posts as we have some fun new stuff coming your way!
Be sure to pass this information on to any people you know with preschoolers in their lives as we would love to have them on our email list so they are informed about who we are and what we offer. We also try to spread the word if there are interesting events happening near Altona that could possibly interest young families so it is a good list to be on! (For instance the BooHoo Party the Altona Elks are hosting on October 30 at the MEC).
As mentioned, we are doing our best to support young families and we welcome any feedback you may have regarding how to improve. Please feel free to email or call with your suggestions.