Outdoor story time or toddler group activities?
Hi, I was wondering if anyone knows of outdoor storytime or similar activities for toddlers in the east bay? My daughter is 14 months old and doesn’t get a chance to be around kids much. I’d love to have her do an outdoor activity that is socially distanced and safe during Covid but will still let her see / be around other kids. Any tips / ideas would be appreciated!
Oct 9, 2020
Parent Replies
Following! I'm also looking for something like this.
Speaking as a volunteer storytime reader: me and some of my colleagues have discussed this a lot over the past several months, and nobody I know of has found a way to do it safely. When family groups all have to sit six feet away from each other, you quickly reach a point in terms of crowd layout where the storytime reader simply can't be loud enough to reach the back row, or the book isn't visible. That, and the epidemiological x-factor of a bunch of wiggly kids in one place, masks halfway on, all being encouraged to yell and wave their bodies around (plus the bigger problem at every storytime, misbehaving parents).
Doesn't mean nobody's doing it! But I haven't heard of anyone doing it and I'd personally hesitate to bring my own kid to one, as much as I love storytime. That said, Alameda County just loosened their restrictions on playgrounds, so that may be a better option for now.
I suggest you form a pod with one or two other families with similarly aged kids, and do regular storytimes with them in someone's backyard or at a park.