Daniel’s Den

Newsletter Winter 2015

Welcome to our winter edition of our newsletter where we round up some of the highlights of last term and let you know of up and coming events. It’s a joy to see such a diversity of activities going on in all our different groups! God bless Joanna Gordon Managing Director of Daniel’s Den

We have produced a set of 12 postcards which are distributed throughout the year.

They have words of encouragement, something to think about, things to do and so

much more. Hope you managed to receive cards 1-5 last term!

Postcard 1: You are the best parent for your child

Postcard 2: Dealing with disappointments

Postcard 3: What do children really need?

Postcard 4: The need for love

Postcard 5: The power of words

Postcard 6: 4 magic words to teach your children

Postcard 7: Routines

Postcard 8: Talking and Listening

Postcard 9: Handling challenging behaviour

Postcard 10: Eating

Postcard 11: Memories

Postcard 12: Investing time

It has been fantastic to introduce sensory play into our

sessions and watch children and adults enjoying

exploring various things using their senses. From spiky

conker cases to smooth shiny conkers; rainbow coloured

ice cubes bobbing in water to squidgy squashy mini

aquariums.

In the autumn term everyone absolutely loves the colour theme. It’s

amazing to see the array of different coloured clothes we have in our

wardrobes and some of you even started painting your nails the colour

of the week. One of the highlights of the term for me was green week

when the large toy time involved playing with green peas (balloons).

It’s amazing how a simple idea like this can bring so much fun

There are so many great ideas on the

internet and we know the value of

introducing new experiences to children.

Sensory play enables your child to learn

using their fives sense - language

development can be enhanced, fine motor

skills can be developed and so much

more!

.

Sensory Play

Colours

18th Anniversary

In November we celebrated our 18th anniversary with an 18 hour prayer

marathon. We ran a Daniel’s Den Praise at St Andrews and explored the story of

Daniel and the lion’s den from the bible. This story is where the name of Daniel’s

Den comes from.

Daniel was a man of prayer and because he prayed he ended up in a den

of lions. He prayed and he was saved from the lions! I liken this to many of

us who pray for a child and when our child is born, we feel like we’re in a

den of lions – scared and wondering if we will survive yet another disturbed

sleepless night or pile of nappies/bottles etc. We believe prayer is

important and have people all around the world praying for us – including

you!

Lion masks were made, a lion cake eaten and the famous Daniel’s Den Praise

song sung. After this some of us took the nine prayer batons around Brent =

praying for all our venues and then in the evening there was a special time of

thanksgiving for the past 18 years. To God be the glory!

It has been great to welcome Dyanna, from Brent

Council, who came and did mini health checks for

us – measuring our height and weight. I, for one,

was hugely challenged by this and have decided

to do something about my growing waistline!

We raised over £300 doing the hand

painted plates. I do hope you like

yours. I’ve heard some lovely

feedback from people who gave them

as a gift. They really are a timeless

treasure. I am coming to St Michael’s

on March 3rd so more can be made

in time for Mothering Sunday

We have decided to have one of these

once a term to raise funds for Daniel’s

Den. We are a charity and receive no

funding from the government or Brent

Council. It’s been great to see the

children loving the new tunnels at Elsley

and Gladstone Park, bought as a result

of this fundraising.

Mahdi from Bent Children and Families Information Service visited a number

of groups, showing people how to apply for nursery and reception places. If

you didn’t see her then do check out the CFIS section on Brent’s website to find out information.

We were delighted to receive tickets for a

couple of England matches last term and I

know many families were thrilled to go to

Wembley for the first time!

Thank you to everyone who donated

food during our harvest week. Funny

Bunny loved presenting a huge box to

Tesco to be passed on to the Brent

Food Bank – making a difference for

families in our community.

Christmas is a special time in Daniel’s Den and we

always like to remember the first Christmas story. It

was such a joy to see the children dressing up in the

nativity costumes and take part in their first nativity

play. The community lunch at St Andrews made it

an extra special occasion.

From January to July 2015 DD will be running an Open Table project for residents in the Wembley Central area. We have been approached by the Big Local – a community initiative in Wembley that is seeking to see community development and transformation in specific streets in Wembley Central. They have been given use of the former CFIS shop on Park Lane. We will be running a pop up toddler session every Friday morning and then having a community lunch and activities for over 65s in the afternoons. Plans are coming together very quickly and if you are interested in knowing more, please do not hesitate to contact Joan or myself. We will be working with other partners in the delivery of this project and hope that new initiatives will be inspired by it. As you all know – TEAM Together Everyone Achieves More!

Do you have clothes your child has grown out of

and no longer needs? If you would like to, you can

bring them to Daniel’s Den and we can have a table

where people can either/or bring and receive

clothes. One of our families are living in very

challenging housing conditions and the gift of a pair

of crocodile wellies were so gratefully received and

worn!

I first asked them what they thought about DD.

Raphael: one word which springs to mind is ‘unique’. Dare I say it – sadly

unique - as in there should be more of them. What's great is that DD breaks

down barriers and reaches out to the community, engaging with people who

value and support the lifeline we give to people. I do think there should be

more.

Shaheen: it is so inclusive and I really like it that people from all walks of life

are welcome. For those who don't speak English and who may only have been

in the country a few weeks - it is something they can do for themselves. There

is a wealth of information where people are encouraged to learn from one

another and about each other's cultures. It's a safe environment and lots of

women like it because they can share. It’s often the first experience of life

outside the home in England and it's great to know that it is so positive.

As the headteacher, what do you think is the value of Daniels Den?

Raphael: It's hard to know how to quantify it. DD is able to break down

barriers in ways more formal organisations and a school may have difficulty in

doing - due to perceived differences. It helps to engage parents and support

them in the way they provide for their children - they can do things with their

children here and then at home and therefore this increases potential

outcomes. At school age they are more able to access school as parents and

children, as they feel more confident.

I recently caught up with two new

faces at Elsley Primary School re

their thoughts about Daniel’s Den

after one term.

Raphael Moss is the new

headteacher at the school and

Shaheen Iqbal is the new family support worker

As the family support worker, what do you think is the value of DD?

Shaheen: I think it’s really valuable because my work is to support families.

DD bridges the gap and has been my lifeline. It is such a good starting point

to engage with parents. It’s a safe environment that is non-threatening, and

the nice gentle approach enables positive behaviours to be modelled. It has

enabled me to get support for other activities I do and has been the

foundation for other work I do so therefore it’s invaluable.

You are both parents – would you bring your children to DD if you

could?

Raphael – yes I would as I see warmth, love and caring relationships. There

is always a huge choice of activities and such a wealth of creativity. The

activities are similar but there always seems to be something new – different

opportunities to learn. Inspiring.

Shaheen – the sessions are very educational and parent and toddler groups

have been my lifeline for over 20 years.

You mentioned that there should be more – how could this happen?

Raphael – I throw that question back to you! The value you place on

community, breaking down barriers between different cultures and individuals

is great. There is no direct answer to your question at this time but I am open

to ideas of how the school can be more involved in the community as a centre

for learning.

Shaheen – today one of our volunteers Jackie said a key thing – ‘the

community should be raising children collectively’. Every child is important.

Personal note from Jo in response to this interview

The response of Raphael and Shaheen to these questions epitomises the

positive way in which they have embraced the work and contribution of

Daniel’s Den to Elsley Primary Schoolduring their first term and their physical

presence each and every week has really developed the community feel. Our

motto TEAM Together Everyone Achieves More is very much alive and well in

Elsley and its going to be interested to see how things progress there … and

beyond!

Daniel’s Den is a parent and toddler organisation with a simple mission – to encourage and

enrich family life. For more information why not go to the web at to

see all the things we do!

Daniel’s Den is a registered charity 1147172 and a registered Company 5303714. It is

independent and fully reliant on donated money, grants and fundraising activities.

We believe strongly that we should do all we can to encourage and support family life,

especially those who stay at home to look after their children. The project is faith based and is

based on biblical principles. It is open to all and is faith based, not faith biased.

In the autumn term we welcome lots of new people to our

group and if you’ve just joined us – welcome! Can you

remember the first time you came? Can you remember

how you felt – nervous, relieved, excited? Please

remember these feelings when you see someone new and

go and say hi!