Family Day is held each year in the early summer. It’s an opportunity for children and their families to have fun with other families in the Meeting.
We often have a shared lunch, treasure hunt, singing, games and other activities, depending on our theme. It doesn’t matter how old you are, there will be something for everyone.
Here are reports from the Family Days in 2019 and 2018:
2019: ‘Simply the Best’
We explored simplicity and sustainability through creative play. As the sun shone, we welcomed into the Meeting House and garden fourteen children, their parents and grand-parents, from Oxford, Abingdon, and Reading meetings. We started by getting to know one another over lunch, games, and an all-age sack race. The garden provided the perfect setting for an incredibly creative messy play for the little ones, which explored climate change and plastic in the oceans.
Meantime, in the Meeting House, we welcomed back Chris Michael to run a comedy workshop based around the idea of living simply for those aged 4 years and up. This was followed by sensory play for the little ones; an environmental story about dinosaurs, and reusing household waste for making models for those aged 3-6 years; and creating beautiful yet simple handcrafted notebooks from scratch for the older children. A treasure hunt took teams through the buildings and garden to the final prize of … strawberries and cream! After the children shared what they had made, the day drew to a calming close as we sang ‘Simple Gifts’ and ‘I Will Tread the Earth Lightly’.
2018
Over 40 people, including 15 children and 4 babies, joined us for a wonderful, fun-filled afternoon in the sunshine in Oxford Meeting House and garden. Following a delicious bring & share picnic lunch, we had a game where everyone was given a flash card with an animal on and we had to get into height order by animal but only by making the noise and movement of that animal! Gradually a line formed going from microbe to elephant. An egg & spoon race and sack race followed, bringing out a friendly competitive spirit. The older children then enjoyed a comedy mime workshop with professional clown Chris Michael while the younger ones painted their feet in order to ‘walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in everyone,’ the ‘world’ being a beautifully drawn map. This included all the babies, awake or asleep, being bounced across the picture by their parents, without getting paint all over themselves!
Chris performed a comedy show that had both children and adults laughing in delight. We then headed out into the sunshine for a treasure hunt that involved exploring indoor spaces as well as the garden to find all the clues. The treasure – fresh strawberries and cream – was enjoyed by all! The activities came to a close with a mix of quiet reflection and singing. The afternoon provided a wonderful opportunity for children and adults to get to know each other better while having a lot of fun.
