St Lawrence Tots & Co

Click here for Tots dates.

Tots & Co is a parent toddler group run by Claire Wells and Elizabeth Hills with a team of volunteers from St Lawrence Church.

Why not come along and meet friends and make new ones. Have a coffee and a chat on a Friday morning.

If you are a newcomer or just visiting, it’s a good place to get to know others with young babies and toddlers and to find out more about what’s going on locally.

This weekly get-together provides a place for you and your little ones to relax and meet others. Mums, dads, grandparents and carers are very welcome!

Pushchairs and prams can be parked outside the small village hall (round the back) and there is a range of toys for the children inside.

A typical session starts off with playtime with plenty of toys to play with and a chance for grown ups to have a coffee and a chat. Drinks and a biscuit are available for children too!

There is a play-dough table, jigsaws and books and a splodgy, creative activity each week.

At 11.00am (approx.) we have some tidy up time before gathering in a big circle for our ‘together time’ - a fun time with songs and rhymes. As a church based group, we have a special bible message in the ‘together time’ each week, sometimes illustrated with puppets and a craft activity to link with it. We also have special celebrations at Christmas and Easter.

We are happy to help celebrate birthdays with the candles on our ‘special’ Tots & Co cake but you can bring your own real cake to share if you wish! Then its time for more play before we end at 12:00 noon.

We are a non-profit making group and all we ask is £2 per week for each family group to cover costs.

From time to time, we have guests to come and speak or help with the songs and storytelling. We also have special events including celebrations - teddy bear’s picnics, etc. We are also developing social evenings for grown ups including inviting presentations on issues of interest to parents and carers.

We arrange for craft, book and nearly new sales and we collect second hand items for families in need in other parts of Tunbridge Wells and for a charity overseas.

We now sponsor a child's place at one of the homes run by The Toybox Charity - helping children from the streets of Latin America. We receive regular news from a little boy called Antonio who has found a home with Toybox in Guatemala. We hope to fundraise to support this Christian charity.

Parentalk

Parentalk is a series of informal sessions run over 6 to 8 weeks. Meeting as a small group in a home setting we can explore parenting issues together using material produced by Care For the Family to prompt discussion. Parentalk is offered on an annual basis and is a way of encouraging each other as we reflect on family life with young children. Friendships grow from this sharing experience.

A daytime Parentalk with crèche will be offered in a home setting in Bidborough in the Autumn. For details and booking contact the Tots & Co team.

Parent Toddler Groups Together

This is a local network of leaders and helpers of parent toddler groups from different churches in and around Tunbridge Wells. Set up in 2002 by Claire Wells and a friend from St John's Church, Tunbridge Wells, it offers the opportunity to pray together, encourage each other and share ideas.

Lunchtime meetings are held every other month and there is an annual training day attracting representatives from a wider area.

For more information visit the website.

“Whoever welcomes a little child in my name welcomes me”
(Mk 9: v36)

Contact Details

For further info, contact Claire Wells on:

(01892) 527414.

or via e-mail: