HOME | ABOUT US | OPENING TIMES | CRÉCHE | NEWS | Q&A | FUNDING | HOW TO FIND US | GUESTBOOK | CONTACT St. Andrew's Family Support Project offers opportunities, facilities, and support for single parents (21 and under) and their children which may not be available in mainstream Mother and Toddler Groups. We are presently open on Wednesdays and Thursdays (see opening times for details). A typical session is described below. Setting up for the day Staff and volunteers arrive from 9.00pm. First stop: coffee and reminders about the day's activities. The lunch table is set. At the parents' request we have a healthy eating programme. Different home-made soups are tried weekly, and in order to widen the range of foods tried, varieties of fruit, vegetables, fish, and meats are on offer. Vegetarian food and special diets are all catered for by our two Catering Volunteers. The hall is set up in two halves. One half is for physical play and the other for quieter activities. What goes on at the "quieter end"? We learn how to work with glue and make pictures with many different materials including feathers, lentils, paper, different types of materials, etc. Sand and water are fun – especially when they get mixed up! We also do painting – we really do like getting into messes! Sometimes we build with bricks, at other times we have road tracks or lego. Our "home corner" has a kettle which sounds as if it were boiling, and the microwave "pings" when the food is ready. There is story corner and also a safe and comfy place for babies just to sit with their mums and play with toys. Lunch At 11.15 staff sit down for an early lunch before welcoming families who arrive anytime after 11.45. At 12.30pm our "cleaning up from lunch" volunteers arrive. A plate of soup awaits them before they start their tasks. Lunch is a very important part of the session, not just because of the healthy eating slant. Some parents ask for ideas in how to encourage their children to try different foods, to move on from baby foods, and how to move on from a bottle to a feeder cup. If we are not sure we can suggest that we invite a relevant professional to come and speak to the group. We get to know each other and make friends around the table. It is a very sociable time, often with lots of discussion. By 12.30 the children are at the stage of wanting to go to play so mums leave the lunch room and go up to the play hall. About 1.40 we all get back together for a few songs and a look at some interesting books before we go home or before our mums go to do other interesting things on their own. The créche runs from 2pm to 4pm. Find more about it here. Help St. Andrew's Family Support Project whenever you shop on-line by registering at easyfundingraising.ok.org and selecting our cause. A percentage of anything you buy then goes to the Project without any cost to yourself. Thank you.