Playdates

Great Start Livingston Playdates

At our playdates we focus on social connections to keep families strong.

About Our Playdates

The Great Start Family Coalition hosts two sets of playdates per year. One set in the winter months and another set during the summer months.

Our playdates are open to the public and intended for young children 0-5. During the summer we expand our reach to include school-aged children and focus on children 0-8 years old. The playdates are a great way for parents & families in Livingston County to meet other parents & families with young children in the same stage of life. It also helps young children burn off some energy, meet and interact with other young children. The playdates are not structured and allow for organic conversations and connections to occur between families. Sometimes we enjoy doing group read-alouds or activities when the space allows.

Many community partners like to join us for our playdates! Join us at our next playdate and say hello!

What Happens At Our Playdates?

At each playdate we have a table with our books, snacks, and community resources. We ask that you check-in so we can continue to connect you with resources, and you know when our next event is! Tracking how many books we give away makes it easier to continue to secure funding for these free books.

At our resource/check-in table, we provide local community resources for families about FREE or low-cost supports. If you don’t see something you need, please ask us!

We connect parents & families to our email groups where we regularly share information about raising young children in Livingston County.

Great Start Livingston also gives out a FREE children’s book to each Livingston County family while supplies last to support literacy and learning. There are over 2,000 days before children even reach school, Great Start Livingston wants to support parents & families during those crucial first years.

We also provide a snack for everyone! Sometimes even a popsicle!

Thank you to our Community Partners!

Thank you to our community partners who joined us this summer!

Join Us!

Playdates began from parents & families asking for social opportunities for themselves and their children. They started with just a few families and have now grown to average about 30 families at each event!

Winter playdates have recently been held at 2|42 Community Church in Brighton as well as at the Oceola Community Center in Howell for Tot Time. There we provide many fun activities for children and their parents/caregiver to play with and choose from. We are always happy to make new partnerships and try new places in the community

In the summer Great Start Livingston enjoys utilizing all the amazing parks around the county. In the future, we would like to try visiting other fun locations within our county in a field trip format.

Make sure to watch our Facebook Page for any changes due to weather or unforeseen circumstances. We hope you can join us soon. We look forward to meeting you!

If you have any suggestions or ideas for future playdates, or if you are interested in helping host a playdate either as a parent or as a community partner, please reach out to us.

GSL Playdates Winter 2024-2025 Flyer by Account, GSL