Fannish Fifty: Fun & Free Tuesdays
Sep. 20th, 2023 05:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smallhobbitAnother church activity I'm very enthusiastic about that is outside the regular scope is the Fun & Free activities we run on a Tuesday afternoon.
My church is in a suburb which is one of the less well off areas of Gloucester - there are places which are more deprived, but there's certainly a large need around. So we run activities on a Tuesday which are entirely free to attend.
We start off with a toddler session at about 1.30 with lots of toddler and baby toys, plus, as it's in our church hall, plenty of space to run around or ride the sit-on toys. The mums can sit and chat or simply just relax with the baby while the toddler charges round the hall. We provide hot and cold drinks and snacks. We started back last week and numbers have been low, partly because a number of last year's regulars are now in school or pre-school, but also because it's been raining at the start and not everyone wants to arrive very wet having walked to join us.
From about 3pm onwards we run an after school club. Last week we wondered, given how quiet the first session had been, whether we'd have many come, but they poured in and there were about 25 children plus parents/carers. Mostly they were families who'd been before the summer holidays, several of whom had been looking forward to coming back, plus a couple of new families.
We provide a craft table, with a different craft each week, board games, lego, jigsaws, and depending how much space is available (one room is used by another group once a month) we'll run more active games. We provide free hot and cold drinks as well as snacks, and also free ice creams (left over from the summer). The look of delight on one girl's face when she asked how much an ice lolly was and was told it was free was brilliant.
I was fortunate to get a grant at the beginning of the year, so we've bought toddler barriers (low plastic fencing in bright colours to allow them outside, on the odd occasion when it doesn't rain, without them running into the car park), new board games, two new sit on cars and plenty of soft matting, so now, instead of looking rather tatty with cast offs from the old play group, it looks like a very welcoming space.
And that's what makes it - the children and the parents/carers who enjoy coming and are keen to come back every week.
My church is in a suburb which is one of the less well off areas of Gloucester - there are places which are more deprived, but there's certainly a large need around. So we run activities on a Tuesday which are entirely free to attend.
We start off with a toddler session at about 1.30 with lots of toddler and baby toys, plus, as it's in our church hall, plenty of space to run around or ride the sit-on toys. The mums can sit and chat or simply just relax with the baby while the toddler charges round the hall. We provide hot and cold drinks and snacks. We started back last week and numbers have been low, partly because a number of last year's regulars are now in school or pre-school, but also because it's been raining at the start and not everyone wants to arrive very wet having walked to join us.
From about 3pm onwards we run an after school club. Last week we wondered, given how quiet the first session had been, whether we'd have many come, but they poured in and there were about 25 children plus parents/carers. Mostly they were families who'd been before the summer holidays, several of whom had been looking forward to coming back, plus a couple of new families.
We provide a craft table, with a different craft each week, board games, lego, jigsaws, and depending how much space is available (one room is used by another group once a month) we'll run more active games. We provide free hot and cold drinks as well as snacks, and also free ice creams (left over from the summer). The look of delight on one girl's face when she asked how much an ice lolly was and was told it was free was brilliant.
I was fortunate to get a grant at the beginning of the year, so we've bought toddler barriers (low plastic fencing in bright colours to allow them outside, on the odd occasion when it doesn't rain, without them running into the car park), new board games, two new sit on cars and plenty of soft matting, so now, instead of looking rather tatty with cast offs from the old play group, it looks like a very welcoming space.
And that's what makes it - the children and the parents/carers who enjoy coming and are keen to come back every week.
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Date: 2023-09-23 09:29 pm (UTC)Kudos to you for ensuring that grant at the beginning of the year, especially as it allowed the church to buy so many needed supplies. :-D
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Date: 2023-09-23 10:14 pm (UTC)