Infant and Toddler Playgroup

The Infant and Toddler Playgroup meets at Chestnut Hill Library this Friday, October 23, at 10:30 AM. It's part of the library's Family Programs, and it's for babies and toddlers coming in with their parents, grandparents, or caregivers. If you're in the neighborhood with a little one, it's a good way to get out of the house and let them be around other kids their own age.

The playgroup meets most Fridays, so if you can't make this one, there's usually another one coming up soon. It's a low-pressure thing: just you and your child, maybe a few other families, and a bit of time for the kids to play and socialize. It's as much for the adults as it is for the toddlers—a chance to connect with other parents while the kids do their thing.

Chestnut Hill Library is a Free Library of Philadelphia branch, sitting a half-block north of Bethlehem Pike in a garden setting. The area's first white settlers were religious dissenters from Holland drawn to Penn Woods by William Penn's tolerance, and the name Chestnut Hill first appeared in a 1711 deed. Philanthropist Henry Williams built the Christian Hall Library in 1872, which after 1876 allowed anyone to take books without charge; it became a Free Library of Philadelphia branch in 1897, and a new Carnegie-funded building opened in 1907. A modern meeting room was added in 1991 and the library was renovated in 1999 as part of the 'Changing Lives' campaign, which brought Internet service to every branch. The Friends of the Chestnut Hill Library, founded in the 1970s, provide active support.

You'll find the library at 8711 Germantown Avenue, at the corner of Germantown Ave. and Bethlehem Pike in Philadelphia. The playgroup starts at 10:30 AM this Friday, October 23.