Kids and coffee cake: Kindergroup is open for new members

Above: Enjoying the apples at a Kindergroup outing to Tougas Farm in Northborough last fall

All mothers need a support system. A place where they can commiserate and vent. Where they can get advice and ask questions. A place they can laugh and share the absurdities that are part and parcel of motherhood. A place where they can eat really good coffee cake.

For many in Southborough — myself included — that place is Kindergroup.

Kindergroup is a weekly playgroup for the younger set (babies on up through preschool), but it’s more than that. It’s a place where moms and kids alike meet lifelong friends.

“I joined Kindergroup when my daughter was just about a year old, and I can trace almost every single friendship I have made here in Southborough back to Kindergroup,” Nancy Gould said. “Almost everyone I see in the grocery store, at the library, and at the pool I have met either through Kindergroup, or through someone I met there.”

Kindergroup is a cooperative, meaning every mom plays an active role in the Kindergroup community, from planning crafts for the kids to bringing coffee and treats for the moms.

“Kindergroup is a great mix of fun, friends, and a cooperative spirit,” member Holly Salvi said. “It provides my family with a connection to the community we live in.”

Kindergroup doesn’t stop at a weekly playgroup. There are evening events for moms and their spouses. Southborough traditions like Santa Day and the Easter Egg Hunt are made possible by Kindergroup.

The biggest thing for me personally is that Kindergroup is full of people looking to make friends. I became a mom shortly after moving back to Southborough a few years ago, but I didn’t know any other moms of young children. For me, Kindergroup was the answer.

Mom Susan Dillon had a similar experience. “When I moved to Southborough six years ago, I didn’t know a single person in town and felt a bit isolated. When my daughter Rebecca was just 1-1/2, I started Kindergroup, and I finally started feeling like a part of the community. My husband and I have made friends that I really don’t think we would have met without Kindergroup.”

On September 16, Kindergroup will kickoff the school year with its annual cocktail party. The playgroup will begin meeting the week of September 21. You can learn more about Kindergroup on their website, www.kindergroup.com. If you’re interested in joining, contact membership coordinator Kathryn Marous at kmarous@kindergroup.com.