The weather is turning colder, but that's not stopping little ones and their parents from socializing, learning and having fun on Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall.
The Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Army Community Service and Marine Corps Community Services l New Parent Support Programs have joined forces to revitalize indoor play morning groups by combining interactive play and music with story time.
"Each week, we'll have a new book and reader come in for the group," said Renee Lilley, family readiness officer for Headquarters and Service Battalion, Headquarters Marine Corps Henderson Hall.
Pamela Hirsch and Mary Cargill with the ACS New Parent Support Program said the indoor play morning group is designed for children up to the age of 5 and features not only reading, but interactive play and plenty of music.
The program got underway Nov. 6, when Marine spouse Alia Reese, whose husband is attached to H & S Battalion and works in the Commandant's Office, read from her books, "My Mommy is a Marine" and "My Daddy is a Marine." Reese said the books can be personalized by placing family photos in specially designated slots on each page and help youngsters to understand what their service member parents job involves.
Reese said she got the idea for the book when her husband began deploying when their oldest daughter, who is now 12, was a baby.
"It was pretty obvious from the start that Travis was going to be gone, he was going to come home and it was going to repeat," she said. "I started looking around for books that would describe to her what he was doing and why he needed to be gone. She was a baby, but I knew she was going to grow up and have those questions. There were not a whole lot of resources at that time."
Reese got the idea for the personalized books from her uncle, who put together photo albums for her of the time they spent together when she was a child.
More than a dozen youngsters and their parents took part in the inaugural play morning. Among them was Karilyn Simmons, who recently celebrated her first birthday and her mom, Sabrina.
"She loves playtime, she's a very active baby," said Sabrina. "I'm glad for every playdate, especially since its cold now and we can't go to the playground anymore."
Indoor play morning and story time is held every Thursday from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Memorial Chapel on the Fort Myer portion of the joint base through April of 2015. Registration is requested by calling 703-696-3512.
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