Wake up sleeping bunnies, tots is starting up again!

Yes... we are going to have to adapt

Yes... It's going to be a challenge

Yes.. we may not have all our leaders back

BUT

Our parents are so glad we’re going back

Our Toddlers can finally play with their friends again

Life finally feels a little bit like normal!

As we finally look at re-opening our Toddler Groups, thankful though we are now overwhelmed with pages of guidelines, some saying the same, some different and it just seems so difficult to get it right. We have to comply. We can't help but ask if its really worth all the effort of trying to get up and running again? Everybody’s circumstances are different but for my tots group here in Grimsby, now seems the right time.

We have been in contact with parents throughout the various lockdowns and often hearing comments like:

- When are you reopening? My little girl is missing her friends...

- I feel so isolated with my little one

- You’ve never seen my new baby

- I'm worried my toddler won't know how to play with their friends anymore

These worries and many other messages made us realise just how vital our toddler groups are, they are a lifeline to so many parents and many have felt alone without that network of regular support. But it’s not only the parents and carers, as a leadership team we too have felt a big gap in our lives. Many toddler groups have leaders who have now retired from work and they help us run these groups. For them too, the last year has been hard. Feelings of isolation, a routine abandoned it's vital for them to feel part of the group as well! Every week we pray together, through the tots group we have our own fellowship group, so we too obviously want to get back as well.

I know that we are going to have to adapt in many areas, but one very special part of our afternoon is our song time. All the children and adults love to sing along together, but that isn’t going to possible at present with only one main leader and the children being allowed to sing (as per guidelines in June 2021). So it started off a chain of thought, how can we still enjoy that time together and the song 'Sleeping Bunnies' gave me an idea... What if we changed the emphasis of that time from singing... to moving? We started researching which songs were the most popular, well known and most importantly, were great fun for everyone (including parents). After many trials, changes and improvements, we are really excited to launch the 'Move with Me Nursery Rhyme Bag' as our latest toddler group product! We can't wait to use it fully in our group and look forward to jumping and marching together very soon.

We may get things wrong, we will need to adapt as we journey along (and as guidelines will undoubtedly be updated), but the main and most important thing is that we do our best and allow everyone to rebuild their friendships again, at their own pace, providing a safe environment and be salt and light in our communities again.