Who are the VYFWBP?

We are a friendly community group, run by parents, who meet every Thursday morning in West Bank Park, York. Whatever the weather, school hols included, we spend a couple of hours in the woods and meadows of the Park, doing nature games and crafts, building or making things with materials we find, telling stories and singing songs.

We are open to all - with a contribution of £1 a family (to cover basic equipment) - so if you want to join us, see you on Thursday at 10am at the statue of Queen Victoria, at the top of the Rose Walk. (Bring something simple to share at snack time.)

For more information contact Elly at: westbankparkkids@gmail.com

Monday 22 December 2008

December doings

Oh dear...bad habits are forming and whole weeks are going by without this blog being updated...but first of all a great big HAPPY CHRISTMAS to all Very Young Friends, and their families, from not-quite-sunny Germany where I am writing this!

We had two quiet weeks at the beginning of December. On the 4th we ended up at my house, the weather being bad and the cafe being closed, making some rather wonderful snowmen out of small plastic drinks bottles. This, Ruth´s idea, worked very well even with the younger toddlers. We glued cotton wool all over the bottles, then all sorts of bits of paper, felt, sequins and glitter in the time-honoured fashion. They looked splendid and the kids got very absorbed.

On the 11th it was so cold and miserable that the few of us who did turn up just headed for the playground and tried to keep warm by throwing leaves at each other, but we didn´t hold out long!

But the 18th was another matter. We celebrated Christmas in grand style. First we searched through the woods for suitable trees to decorate, with plenty of branches within toddler reach. I had brought some baubles and tinsel which a kind lady from the Freecycle list no longer needed. All the children really enjoyed decorating the yew trees near the story tree. The story of the little fir tree who wanted to be beautiful and shiny like the other trees in the woods kept some children´s attention, although most were just dying to race up and down the hills (and did so). Then we practised some carols around our impromptu Christmas trees, so as to sing them more beautifully for the cafe staff later. We didn´t remove the decorations again till the children had headed off to the cafe with most of the parents, so they didn´t see their work destroyed! The cafe staff had prepared us some wonderful gingerbread men, and we decorated them with icing and sweeties and got sticky and sugary, before singing our carols as thanks. A jolly good time was had by all, as they used to say.

Our beloved Queen Victoria

Our beloved Queen Victoria
We sometimes bow to her before we set off into the woods!