Dads Go Wild at the Playday
As the sun rose on a cold September morning, 10 bleary eyed dads and their children slowly emerged from their tents at the crack of dawn. On the 14th September 2012, dads from Marston Northway Children’s Centre and Witney Children’s Centre had stayed overnight at the Hill End Centre in Oxford as a celebratory event which was part of the Dads Outdoors project. It was a crisp, clear morning and temperatures had plummeted overnight but all dads and children had kept warm in their tents and sleeping bags (many thanks go to Sue Dowe from Elm’s Road Children’s Centre for helping to source some of these tents). For many of the children it was their first experience of camping and a blanket of calmness seemed to have settled over the Hill End field as the fathers and children slowly put their tents away. This calmness was in sharp contrast to the frivolity and fun of the events the evening before and indeed the events that were to follow as Saturday the 15th was the Hill End Playday.
Dads and children started arriving at Hill End from 4pm on the Friday and immediately started putting up their tents. This task was completed by the dads and children with such aplomb that it was hard to believe that they were not all seasoned campers. Indeed for some of the dads this was their first experience of going camping. All of the children were notably excited and the children’s sense of adventure continued right the way through the weekend’s activities. This sense of adventure has gone hand in hand with the Dads Outdoors project which has involved 8 Children’s Centres across Oxfordshire. The project aimed to develop monthly activities for fathers in the local outdoor environment. The project has looked different in every centre and there has been a strong sense of father-led activities being arranged. Examples have included cray fishing in Witney, a trip to a farm park at Elm’s Road Children’s Centre, storytelling in the outdoors at the East Street Centre, a visit to the CS Lewis Nature Reserve at the Roundabout Centre and kite flying at Marston Northway to name just a few. Dads and their children were able to discuss the fun they had in the outdoors whilst they explored the Hill End site before settling down for their evening meal.
Cooking for 35 people was quite a challenge, and in the spirit of Dads Outdoors, the menu was very adventurous. The dads and children helped to prepare and cook the food on an open fire which included jacket potatoes, lentil dhal (curry), sausage casserole and a variety of marinated halal meats. You could really sense the children’s awe and wonder as they sat round the fire and watched the food cook. There was a real sense of achievement from the dads who had helped cook the food and everyone was really full after what surely surmounted to a feast. After eating, songs were sung around the fire and stories told before everyone retired early to their tents (the children was so keen to sleep in the tents that many asked to go to bed – surely a first).
Whilst we were packing the tents away and eating breakfast, the Hill End Playday 2012 was being set up around us. Oxfordshire Parenting Forum once again organised the Dads Go Wild area which the children and dads from the overnight camp helped to set up. Many of the dads and children stayed to join in the fun of the Playday and some were joined by the rest of their families. The Playday at the Hill End Centre is the last hurrah of the summer playdays and is becoming a firm family favourite as more and more people hear about how good it is. Organised by the Oxfordshire Play Association, the Playday is a free family event and this year was more popular than ever, with early estimates suggesting well over 1,200 people in attendance.
The Dads Go Wild area was a constant throng of activity with the water play feature keeping children and their families amused for hours. Around 20 metres of guttering, donated to us from the East Street Centre (Banbury), was set up in two opposing lines with a tray of water either end. The children loved pouring water down the guttering and watching ducks, cars and small balls race down. It was fun for all ages and an activity that dads in particular seemed drawn to…and an activity that parents found difficult to drag their children away from.
Inside the Dads Go Wild tent, Amy from Marston Northway Children’s Centre was helping children to create their own paper aeroplanes. With various different colours and creative ways of folding, the tent was soon filled with fantastic looking planes hanging from the tent poles.
The third activity in the Dads Go Wild area was den building. This was very much a child led activity with ropes, camouflage nets, tarpaulins and trellising used to make some awesome hideouts.
Now in its 5th year, Dads Go Wild was another massive success with positive feedback from all members of the family. We tried to give everyone who played with the Dads Go Wild activities a sticker which said ‘Dad Gone Wild’ for dads, ‘Wild About Dad’ for children and, so that they were not left out, ‘Mum Gone Wild’ for mums. In total we gave out over 400 stickers and they were an excellent way of approaching parents so that we could talk to them about the work that Oxfordshire Parenting Forum does and point dads in the direction of the Oxon Dads website and blog.
