If you are the mother of a preschooler who longs for life beyond Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, broken crayons and bibs covered in drool, the local Mothers of Preschoolers program may be for you.

The local MOPS group has chosen “We are the starry eyed” as its theme this year.

“We will be working from the MOPS curriculum this year, which is all about enjoying the process and enjoying/embracing the darkness and the light and growing as a community of mothers,” said Emily Brooks of MOPS. “Our focus this year is becoming a tribe again. So much of our society today focuses on electronic communication and I feel like MOPS has been a great way to have actual adult community, without judgment for mom buns and yoga pants.”

Brooks said they have great volunteers who hold the children so moms can eat breakfast without someone in their laps.

“We could actually use more volunteers in the nursery so if there is a church who want to adopt the moppets, we would love to meet with their pastor to set up a month – two Fridays – per interested congregation,” she said. “We are non-denominational and really are working hard this year to grow our little community with people from all walks of life.”

Brooks said Laura Ashley Harper is doing the group’s devotional this year; Charlotte Petre is co-coordinating with Brooks; and they have a great group of homeschoolers who selected the moppets curriculum as their service project for the year.

“The children’s curriculum includes movement activities, an occasional walk to the library to enjoy story time with Caryl Lee sand Samuel, videos made by the creator of Veggie Tales, and some sort of coloring activity,” she said. “We have a growing number of transplants to the Andalusia community and a number of moms from all over the county.”

Brooks said the MOPS’s service project is gathering donations for those affected by the Baton Rouge flooding.

“Necessities and home repairs come first, but as moms we know sentimental ornaments and home décor come last, but mean a lot during the holidays,” she said. “So, we will be collecting these items and sending them via UHaul to Baton Rouge on Sun., Nov. 5.”

The next meeting is Fri., Oct. 7, at First Presbyterian Church at 9 a.m.