Well, what a find! Little Things Garden Club is run by the Balga Salvation Army. It is a fantastic family activity that includes nature play, cooking, gardening, story time, music and games.
We had such a great time joining in on their music and free play activity this morning. Carey is such a lovely host and is fantastic with the children. The music part of the activity was held over the road at the church building (as the weather was a bit unpredictable), but usually, the activities are all held in the ‘little things’ community garden.
The community garden area is such a lovely space. It is filled with huge fig trees, board walks, garden beds and lots of other nooks and crannies that the kids can explore.
A favourite for miss 3 was the worm farm, where she got to pick up and examine the worms as they wiggled around in her hands.
One of the areas in the garden is a ‘protective behaviours’ stepping stone display. Each colour stepping stone represents personal space boundaries. My daughter loved making up her own games in this area, jumping from stone to stone, depending on what colour was called out.
In another corner of the garden is the pit stop playground. This area was designed to be used for toy cars and trucks. They have plans of changing this corner around and adding a cubby house (or an Arc, if Carey gets her way)
They also have a few garden beds available, that you can actually plant your own seedlings in if you wish. Some of the garden beds are reserved, but there were still a few empty ones available. To reserve a garden bed, all you need to do is contact Carey who will advise you which ones are left.
During the week, the garden is open to the public anytime between 9am and 4pm, so you can pop in whenever you wish and let your children have a play. On the weekends, you can actually ‘hire’ out the garden area for a private event such as a child’s birthday party. They even have a gazebo that you can put up to provide extra shade and a bbq!
My main question to Carey was “how much does all of this cost”? Her response was “oh, a donation to be able to keep the gas bottle refilled maybe” WOW!
The organised activities run on Mondays and Wednesdays during school term.
Monday sessions are:
10am – 11:30 – Happy Box Music (which is what we attended this morning) This was great fun, Miss 3 loved dancing around and using all the fun props provided. Music is on from 10am till 10:30am followed by morning tea and free play.
1pm – 2:30 – This is a free play session, they usually bring out a different craft activity and toys for the kids to enjoy also.
4pm – 5:30pm is the after school free play session. This also includes different activities each week.
Wednesday sessions are:
9:30 – 11:00 – Story and craft time followed by morning tea and free play in the garden.
11:30 – 1pm – Free play
4pm – 5:30 – also another after school free play session.
Want to know how much all of these activities cost? A gold coin donation and a piece of fruit for morning tea is all they ask. Tea, coffee and water is also provided.
Please make sure that your children have shoes, hat, suncream and a drink bottle.
Bookings are recommended for any of the organised sessions, you can contact Carey on 93497488 or 0419936187 for further information or to book in.
For more information visit https://www.salvationarmy.org.au/balga/what-we-offer/childrens-activities/
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Penny is a stay at home mum and photographer who homeschools her 2 children. She is a self confessed stationary nerd and a bit of a journal junkie. She also enjoys blogging about her homeschooling journey on www.learningthroughlife.com.au
My daughter is 14month old and I would like to join in the play group on wed session.
Also one of my friend’s son(15month old) would like to join together.
Please let us know whether there is space for us.