Running a household while raising kids is more than a full-time job, leaving many parents and grandparents exhausted. Some caregivers cope by putting their hobbies and social lives on the back burner. But you don't have to give up your hobbies to be a loving family member. Find places where you can watch over your kids while pursuing activities you love, such as arts and crafts like knitting, or meeting your friends. Doing so lets your kids reap the benefits of independent, supervised play while allowing you to grow your world and replenish your self-love tank.

3 Steps to Starting a Knitting Club

1. Select a Venue for Weekly Meetings

Hold your knitting club meetings in venues that are accessible to all members and have designated play areas that will keep your kids busy for hours. Finding establishments that serve meals and drinks, like arts and crafts cafes, is another crucial consideration so you need not worry about food in the middle of your meeting.  

To help build momentum and strengthen rapport among members, hold regular meetings. It can be an agenda-free meet-up where members knit anything they want, or you can take turns sharing tips and techniques. 

2. Enlist Your Friends

Forming a knitting group with your friends is an excellent multi-tasking strategy. It helps strengthen your bond and lets you catch up with each other while knitting clothes, caps, socks, dolls, and other items you can use at home. 

Enlisting your friends also helps guarantee that you'll be spending time with people whose company you enjoy. The last thing you want in your group is to have conflicts or clashing personalities that will add to your stress and tear your club apart.  

Ask your friends to help you create a club name, design activities, invite others, and draw up some ground rules. These guidelines will remind current and future group members to treat each other with respect and keep communication lines open.

3. Plan Activities

Start thinking of arts and crafts projects you can do together. You can schedule a mom's day out and visit a yarn store, host free and paid knitting classes that are open to the public, initiate charity fundraisers, and join craft bazaars. Having a variety of projects can help keep members interested and active in the knitting club. It will also allow you to grow your network and expand your skills.

Do more arts and crafts activities while your kids benefit from supervised play at Learning Through Play Cafe, Inc. in West Chester, OH. This unique coffee shop allows parents and guardians to savor a cup of espresso or tea while watching their kids in the cafe's indoor playground. They also offer other services like venues for children's parties and mobile party decorations. For inquiries, call (513) 847-8133, or visit their website to check out their menu and calendar of activities.