Crows Nest TAFE Playgroup

Crows Nest TAFE Playgroup is THE playgroup to take your child to – Monday’s to Thursday’s. It’s so good it’s almost impossible to find information on because it doesn’t need to be publicized at all for it to have tremendous support. I heard about it by way of mouth and then tried to track down info, tried to phone a number I found and got zilch so this is for all of you who have heard about this place over the rainbow that has pots of gold (just kidding, no gold, just tons of stuff you don’t have to think up and then clean up).

The payoff for the playgroup is that you have to consent to your child being observed by the teachers in training. You may get asked a question or two or you may have a future teacher sit and play with your child, which in my case meant I had five minutes to think.
The playgroup starts at 10am and finishes at noon but it is very relaxed and you can come and go as you please. You pre-purchase attendances but it’ll be worth your while, just look at the pictures below.

The playgroup is situated at the TAFE Crows Nest Campus, 149 West Street. You enter through the main building where there are posters to the place to buy your pre-purchased tickets.
The facility is awesome – it has an inside and outside area with different play stations set up. It has almost everything you can imagine, just a few examples:

– painting

– musical instruments

– reading area

– puzzle table

– swing set

– sandpits with a water pump

  
Inside there are also areas which are set up for babies with soft toys and couches for moms.

There are students on hand to watch over your kids if you are darting between two play areas or running with a child to the bathroom. Speaking of which, there is a big bathroom inside which has changing mats for babies and there are little toilets for the toddlers.
Parking in the streets surrounding TAFE is a nightmare so we park in the Holtermann Street Car Park on the corner of Holtermann and Zig Zag lane. The car park is free for 2 hours and then approximately $5 for every hour thereafter. The car park I’m talking about is the one that backs onto the Crows Nest Community Centre. But, even with this parking it gets full quickly – come 9:40 you have to park a number of levels up. The walk from Holtermann Car Park to TAFE is about 5 minutes so not so bad and it’s pram friendly the whole way.

[QUICK SIDEBAR: If you’re parking here note that the only meter is on the 2nd floor so pay there before going to get your car otherwise you’ll be stuck with nowhere to stop to pay. ]

There are some restrictions on food and drink – no hot beverages allowed inside the playgroup grounds (inside or outside) and we were prevented from the children eating inside but on this last visit I couldn’t wrestle the biscuit out of my baby’s hand and that didn’t seem to be a problem.

While it is well shaded, it is still hot and there are plenty of sunny spots so make sure to pack a hat.