Toddlers Toddle at St Ives Estate 12th Nov 09 - Photos and Report below

Toddlers Toddle at St Ives Estate, 12th Nov 09

Another successful event! The parents and carers of Windhill had another opportunity to enjoy a great morning out with the toddlers. Angie the parental worker at Windhill School and I had set up a walk at St Ives Estate and park and then free warm lunch at Windhill community centre.

Since we had a great response from the parents that participated in the toddlers toddle earlier this year in July, we decided to do a series of walks with the toddlers in the Bradford district. This was to encourage more parents to come out and enjoy their local surroundings and spend quality time with their children. It was also to get a walking group set up with the Baby and Toddler Group and to do a lot more walking. The free lunch at the community centre was an incentive for the parents to come and also to get parents to see the activities that take place a the centre as most people are unaware of the facilities at the community centre.

Janet the advice worker from the community centre joined us on the day. Janet said this was a good opportunity to meet the parents and introduce her as her work entails her to work with families. We had a good turn out but could have done with a few more families.

We all met at the school and waited for a taxi which was booked. Once the taxi had arrived we all got all the parents and children strapped in. We arrived at St Ives Park at 9.40am and we started with allowing the children and some adults play in the play area. Angie asked the families if they had been to St Ives before and only one family had been to St Ives, everyone else was new to the park.
Comments were made such as:

“Wow, didn’t know this existed”

“Will definitely be back on the weekend with the kids”

The children played for a short while and we then went for a nature walk towards the lake. The children were stepping in puddles and splashing about. They were really enjoying themselves and so were the parents. We had one family who had brought out their five week old baby and said how great it was to bring him as he would be getting fresh air! We arrived at the ducks and the children were delighted to feed them. Once the ducks were fed we walked on the main road that runs through the estate, this was to enable the group to see the beautiful architectural buildings. We got back to the play area in time for a 10min play before the taxi arrived to take us to the community centre for a hot lunch and drinks.

I heard comments such as:

“This has been a really enjoyable morning”

“Thoroughly enjoyed ourselves”

“I forgot about this trip, but I’m so glad you reminded me as I’ve had a brilliant time”

We got to the community centre and the staff had the food ready. I offered the parents drinks and everyone sat and enjoyed the meal.

I had parents come up to me and say:

“Thank you for a wonderful morning”

“Thank you, the morning has been terrific and the food delicious”

“Fantastic morning overall”

“Brilliant, look forward to more events such as this”

Overall the event was a great success. Angie and I have booked four more walking/trip dates for next year and a full day at the Dales with lots of fun activities for everyone!