Hello friends and Playful Acorns pals,

The past few weeks with Z’s third birthday (how is that possible?!), the holiday season, and another round of sickness have felt like a blur. I haven’t yet had a moment to fully reflect on all of the changes, challenges, and gratitude I’ve experienced over the past year.

So, until I have time to collect my thoughts and share with you, I am sending you a passion project I’ve been working on over the last few months: resources galore!

Please keep reading below for a glimpse of what I’ve been curating, including a Family Activity Map, nature play guides, and winter 2025 indoor and outdoor family-friendly events.

Thank you for continuing to be part of this community of caregivers who share this common thread:

At Playful Acorns, we value the following be(leafs):

• Nature benefits from diversity, and so does humanity.
• Children learn best through play.
• Everyone deserves to have fun and be respected.
• Life is a journey, and we are always growing.
• The world is a better place with you in it.

I’m sending this reminder to myself and to all of you: Let’s be gentle with ourselves as we enter this new year. Before we can extend compassion to others, we must start with ourselves.

In gratitude,

- Sam

Are you new to Playful Acorns? Welcome! You can read our story here and most recent posts here.

Family Activity Map, Guides & Resources

I am so excited to share the release of the Family Activity Map (view Google map) and corresponding Family Activity Guides (view Canva pdfs - an email subscriber exclusive)! These resources and many more are also featured on the new webpage I’ve created:

Playful Acorns has curated these resources featuring activities mostly for kids ages 0-5 with their caregivers and sometimes older siblings/whole family in Dane County and the Madison area that focus on outdoor exploration, child-led play and art, music, movement, and yoga. A map layer with all of the local libraries is also included, because they are a great place to read, play, and experience may of these offerings, for free!

You can toggle the layers on and off to search for events according to your schedule and interests and see what appears on the map close to your home or wherever you happen to be at the time. Letters in parentheses correspond to days of the week that programs might be happening on, but keep in mind not all featured happen weekly.

Please note that this map and corresponding guides are a work in progress, and you should always check with the event organizer on the linked websites or emails to make sure the details are accurate. I will continue to add information and photos, and new guides/layers when we change seasons (for example, I’m working on compiling kid-friendly cafe and eateries), but I can’t do it alone.

If you know of another resource, class, event, or update that we should consider featuring here, or you have feedback to share, please respond to this email or contact me at sam@playfulacorns.com. Hope you enjoy!

Upcoming Community Events

With the release of the Family Activity Map and Activity Guides, these events will likely only show one-time events, weekly start dates for ongoing programs, or registration deadlines for other programs. Playful Acorns programs/those that Sam are involved in are bolded. Please confirm registration details, costs, and age ranges at the links below. Stay tuned for more events in the next email!

• Friday, Jan. 3: Our Backyard Playgroup, 9-11 a.m. two Fridays per month (email taneilb2@gmail.com for information), 6705 Wesner Ln, Verona
• Friday, Jan. 3 - May 2: Birth-to-Three Playgroup with CI Therapies (first Fridays), Middleton Public Library
• Friday, Jan. 3: Parent Child Happy Hour Winter Break Event Series, Garver Events, Madison
• Friday, Jan. 3 - April 4: StoryTime with Ms. Heather (first Fridays), Lake Ridge Bank, Cottage Grove
• Sunday, Jan. 5: Family Nature Walk, UW Arboretum, 2880 Longnecker Dr, Madison
• Monday, Jan. 6 and beyond: Storytime Yoga (Mondays), Haumea, 908 Windsor St, Sun Prairie
• Tuesday, Jan. 7 and beyond: Busy Town (Tuesdays), Neighborhood House Community Center, 29 S. Mills St, Madison
• Tuesday, Jan. 7-21: Nature Playgroup (Tuesdays), Monona Public Library, 1000 Nichols Rd, Madison
• Tuesday, Jan. 7 - March 20: Wonder Bugs (weekly series starts, space limited for T, W, Th sessions, possible waitlist for F and 1st/3rd Sat sessions, register in advance), Aldo Leopold Nature Center, Monona
• Wednesday, Jan. 8: MOMS Club Open House & Playdate, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 5701 Raymond Rd, Madison
• Wednesday, Jan. 8: Winter Movement Storytime and Open Swim (register in advance), Dolphin Swim Academy, Cottage Grove
• Wednesday, Jan. 8 - Feb. 26: Reading in the Rainforest (Wednesdays), Olbrich Botanical Gardens, 3330 Atwood Ave, Madison
• Wednesday, Jan. 8 - March 19: Baby Bugs (weekly, drop-in rate, register in advance), Aldo Leopold Nature Center, Monona
• Thursday, Jan. 9 - Feb. 6: Root to Raise Parent Baby Groups (register by 1/6), BalletU, Verona
• Thursday, Jan. 9 and beyond: True Play (Thursdays), Neighborhood House Community Center, 29 S. Mills St, Madison
• Thursday, Jan. 9 - March 20: Indoor Playground, MSCR East, 4620 Cottage Grove Rd, Madison
• Friday, Jan. 10 - March 21: Indoor Playground, MSCR West, 7333 W Towne Way, Madison
• Saturday, Jan. 11: Playgroup, University Houses Preschool, 6033 Odana Rd, Madison
• Saturday, Jan. 11 - March 10: Lil’ Explorer Adventure every other week series starts (register in advance), Lussier Family Heritage Center, Madison
• Monday, Jan. 13 - March 10: Lil’ Explorer Adventure every other week series starts (register in advance), Lussier Family Heritage Center, Madison
• Monday, Jan. 13 - March 10: Music with Julie Mazer: Wintery Classics (register in advance per class or weekly series), Orchard Ridge UCC, 1501 Gilbert Rd, Madison
• Monday, Jan. 13: Toddler Yoga with little om BIG OM, Oregon and Middleton libraries
• Wednesday, Jan. 15: Play and Learn (register in advance), 4-C, 5 Odana Ct, Madison
• Wednesday, Jan. 15: Nice Age Tales (weekly), Madison Children’s Museum
• Friday, Jan. 17: Madison Area Nature Playgroup, Oregon Public Library
• Friday, Jan. 17 - April 18: Zumbini with Ms. Heather (third Fridays), Lake Ridge Bank, Cottage Grove
• Saturday, Jan. 18: Candlelight Hike, Aldo Leopold Nature Center
• Saturday, Jan. 18 and beyond: Storytime Yoga (Saturdays), Haumea, 908 Windsor St, Sun Prairie
• Saturday, Jan. 18 - Feb. 8: Wintering in the Park weekly series with Naturing in Madison starts (register in advance), Westmorland Park, Madison
• Sunday, Jan. 19: Family Nature Walk and Program: Winter Water, UW Arboretum, 2880 Longnecker Dr, Madison
• Friday, Jan. 24: Our Backyard Playgroup, 9-11 a.m. two Fridays per month (email taneilb2@gmail.com for information), 6705 Wesner Ln, Verona
• Friday, Jan. 24: Winter Luminary Snowshoe & Ski, Lussier Family Heritage Center
• Saturday, Jan. 25: Saturday Morning Community Art (additional program registration opens 1/10), Kindling Community Arts, 3565 Tulane Ave, Madison
• Saturday, Jan. 25: Quarterly Earth Day Hike, Aldo Leopold Nature Center
• Sunday, Jan. 26: Winter on the Farm, Schumacher Farm Park, Waunakee
• Wednesday, Jan. 29: It’s Cold Outside Musical Playdate (register in advance), Seven Acre Dairy, Paoli