Since having my girls I’ve discovered a wealth of stay and play groups in the area. These are great for parents or carers with children of any age, right from tiny babies to energetic toddlers. They offer adults the chance to have a cup of tea and a friendly chat with other adults (which, let’s face it, we ALL need sometimes) and kids the chance to play with a bunch of exciting new toys and socialise with other children of all ages. What’s more, you will almost always see someone you recognise! They tend to be run by volunteers, often mums themselves; hosted in village halls or community centres; and best of all, they are cheap to attend, costing anything from a couple of pounds to absolutely nothing!

As I said before, we’re pretty spoilt around here, with plenty of groups to choose from – and if you really want to, you could go to one every day of the week. Here’s my pick of the bunch:

MONDAY

Little Woottoners | North Wootton village hall | 10-11:30am | £3 per family| Term time only | Visit their Facebook page
Smaller and more relaxed than a lot of other playgroups, Little Woottoners is well worth the 10 minute drive out of Wells (and the extra money). Run by a group of North Wootton mums, it’s super friendly and small enough that you can happily approach anyone for a chat. The format usually involves free play – they have a slide, a kitchen and a bunch of other toys – and an optional craft activity (we’ve had a go at making our own Stick Man – said Stick Man is still a favourite play thing in our house – and cardboard tube animals, amongst other things). Having this additional element means this group works perfectly for my two girls, as the Little Big One can focus on crafting while the Not So Tiny One can enjoy playing with the toys. Snacks are provided and the group always finishes with a story and a song. Around once a month they run a themed session. The last one was We’re Going on a Bear Hunt and involved creating a 3D map (pictured below), some sensory play stations based on elements of the story (think squelchy squerchy “mud” and swishy swashy “grass”) and a real live bear hunt on the village green followed by parachute games.

Other Monday groups: Vineyard Tots at The Vineyard Church, Wells, 10-11:30am (term time only)

TUESDAY

Connect Tots | Elim Connect Centre | 10-11:30am |£1.50 per family | Term time only
This is a more established group – it’s been running for a long time and there appears to be a core group of mums that attend regularly with a mix of babies and pre-schoolers. Plenty of toys and crafting materials laid out to entertain little ones and a good spread of tea and cake for the adults too! Again, snacks are provided for the kiddies and there’s always a group sing song at the end. This isn’t one of our regular groups but it’s a good fallback if you need to get out on a Tuesday morning.

WEDNESDAY

Rainbow Tots | ST Thomas’ Church Hall, Wells | 10-11:30am | £1 per family | Term time only
One of mine and the Not So Tiny One’s favourite weekly ventures (while the Little Big One is at nursery). It’s loud and busy but the hall is relatively small so you can pretty much let the little ones loose to explore the many many toys that are laid out while you enjoy a cuppa provided by some very sweet and chatty church volunteers. There’s always a handful of parents you’ll recognise from around and about so it feels nice and sociable. Snacks are provided here too and the children all sit down together at a long table to eat. After snack time, its circle time where everyone joins together to sing a few favourites including Hop Little Bunnies and Wind the Bobbin Up to name a few.

Other Wednesday groups: Strawberry Tots, Draycott Memorial Hall, 10-12pm (all year round)

THURSDAY

Stay, Play and Learn | Glastonbury Children’s Centre | 10:30-12pm | FREE | All year round
This playgroup is unique among the list as it is council funded, so as well as being FREE to attend, the emphasis is on education rather than simply free play. The activities and toys on offer are designed more for parents and children to interact, play and learn together which is really nice, particularly if you just have the one child with you (it reminds me of some of the paid classes I did with the Little Big One in the early days – the ones that the Not So Tiny One has rather missed out on due to the now dwindling budget!) It’s one of few playgroups with a great outdoor space, filled with slides, tunnels and a multitude of ride-on toys. It’s more structured too with a variety of play stations including water play, messy play and painting. And to top it all, they put on a gardening and/or cooking activity each week, so there’s plenty to keep you and your little one/s busy. It’s open to 0-5 year olds and runs throughout the holidays. Unfortunately, due to funding cuts, it’s likely that this group will only run until March 2020 so I’d suggest going along to it sooner rather than later so you don’t miss out. There’s no parking at the library but the Butt Close car park is just round the corner and costs £1.50 for 2 hours – given the group is free, it won’t leave you out of pocket!

FRIDAY

Little Angels| St. Joseph & St. Teresa’s Catholic Church | 9-11am | £1.50 per family | Term time only
A lovely friendly playgroup run by parents of children who attend St. Joseph & St. Teresa Catholic Primary School. It’s in a small hall and feels more intimate than many of the other groups, but the parents are a super friendly bunch and it has an almost family like feel to it. As well as the usual spread of toys, there’s a craft table and a table for “messy play”; each week they alternate between a sand pit and Playdoh. The Big Little One was delighted when a box of chocolate fingers were passed around to the children and adults are all offered a cuppa. The best thing about this group is the 20 or so minutes of singing at the end, which all of the children joined in with, at one point throwing some instruments into the mix too. To finish it all off, there was a quick parachute game while we sang The Grand Old Duke of York. A massive thumbs up from my two.