Monday Nature Play Group

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Atlanta area friends: join us at The Lake Claire Community Land Trust for nature, play, learning, and community. We hope you'll join us for good old fashioned play and connection to nature. For ages 6 & under but all ages are welcome.

Reminder: our community is committed to supporting kindness, safety, and respect for one another other, for ourselves, to the land, to the chickens, the flowers, and turtles. Parents, guardians, and children are invited to join us in these commitments. Let’s be good stewards of the space and our time together as we are guests of the Land Trust. 

Play Group Rhythm
We try to follow the organic structure below. Families are welcome to come and go as they need. Some families bring a lunch and stay beyond 1:00 to play, socialize, and connect with one another. Join us for however long you're able! 

10:30-11:00: Arrival. Free Play. Connection and community. Make a community snack in an Instapot (planning: oatmeal, quinoa, rice, or barley)

11:00-11:15:  Opening song, announcements, and overview for the day. Gather in the drum circle or amphitheater pavilion. Bring a picnic blanket to sit upon. 

11:15-12:00: Activity time. *Invitation to participate in hands on learning for grown ups and children. Children can come in and out of these activities while they play. Older children may attend to the activities longer and they can be helpers for younger children.

12:00-12:30: Shared snack. Bring your own allergy safe snack as some in our community have serious nut allergies. 

12:30-1:00: Nature walk. Garden gathering. Care for the chickens. (bring veggie/garden scraps from home. List of approved and banned foods for hens. Walk to the turtle pond to feed them dried meal worms (can be found in the pet/bird food aisle at the grocery or pet food store). 

1:00: Closing Circle. 

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FAQ: 

📌 We usually have a planned activity where we make, create, and work with our hands. Some activities may be messy. Other activities may need the help of a parent. 

🍎 Bring bottled water. Bring snacks and a bagged lunch. Stay later for community and play. Bug spray as needed during the warmer months. 

 Most every Monday 10:30-12:30 but check Facebook or Our Calendar for updates. Send an email or message to make sure we're having it. Weather permitting. Drop in and head out whenever you need. Bring snacks or lunch and stay a while longer. 

🥾 Please note that we do a Group Hike the first Monday of every month. We don’t meet for play group at Lake Claire on those dates. 

🚗 Land Trust Parking tip: limited on street parking on Arizona Ave, Indiana Ave, or New York Ave. TYSM! Please be mindful of local residents and careful to not block a driveway or mailbox. 

🤎 Help us keep this going with either a $15 monthly contribution payable to NPS or a $5 weekly drop-in contribution. Venmo or cash. Contributions help cover the cost of supplies and shared snack each week. Or, join us by chipping in to help lighten the load by tidying the play area, making sure the restroom is clean/swept, or washing the snack dishes. Ask a leader how you can help. 

 
🤎 Show our immense gratitude to the Land Trust by sending a tax deductible monetary donation in any amount. Venmo, PayPal, or check. Add “on behalf of the Nature Play Studio community and my family” in the memo. Our collective support helps their organization maintain the Land and offer programs. 

📭 Please be mindful when parking on the street. Keep driveways and mailboxes clear to the best of your ability.

Community Guidelines:

• Parents and guardians: please supervise and observe children. Gently guide children to make safe choices, to respect others, and take care of the Land Trust space.
  
• Organize toys, tidy the sand area, restroom, and pavilion space before departing. Invite children to help with these jobs. Leave no trace. Please leave the space better than we found it. 🤎
• Be mindful of risky play. Risky play is important for childhood development but it is important to watch ALL children and prevent any potentially unsafe situations. Children do play at their own risk with the understanding that all parents and guardians are keeping a watchful eye on them. 
• Please clean up your food and trash. You're welcome to use the green trash bins and blue recycle bins.
• We can feed the resident chickens!  Bring the chickens kale, watermelon rind, cantaloupe seeds, veggie leafy scraps, lettuce, blueberries, and peas. No spoiled or moldy food. No potatoes or avocados. The turtles love dried mealworms.
• Kindness goes a long way: bring a roll of toilet paper, hand soap, and paper towels to replenish the supplies in the Land Trust restroom. 

☀️ We believe that diversity and inclusivity are essential to any community. We are committed to being an inclusive community where everyone is respected and valued, regardless of race, age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or any other identity. 

☀️ We are grateful for all of the indigenous people groups who so beautifully cared for the land we enjoy today. Their care and stewardship is something we should recognize and honor. Let’s continue to be good stewards of the land, trees, wildlife, ponds, lakes, creeks, and rivers. This area was inhabited largely by the Muskogee Cherokee Indians tribes.