First Day School:
2024 Annual Report
Through our children's programming, Third Haven Friends Meeting's goal nurtures the natural spirituality of children and their families, helping them learn and use principles from Quaker history, faith, and values. We honor each child's unique talents and skills, striving to give them the tools, experiences and freedom to pursue their purposes. We emphasize the qualities (called the Quaker Testimonies) of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality and stewardship. Our curricula focus on service, social action and experiential learning, all growing from our firm believe that world needs what our children can do.
Accessibility Note: First Day School is usually held on the 2nd Floor of the Brick Meeting House (no elevator). If you are a parent/caregiver of a disabled child, please email us at 3rdHaven@gmail to request accommodations.
Summer Nature Mindfulness Camp:
Join our summer nature Outdoor Mindfulness Camp July 7-10 at Third Haven Friends Meeting (the Quakers). This unique camp blends mindfulness & nature play for your children on the tranquil grounds of Third Haven located at 405 South Washington St. in Easton.
Winter 2025 Update:
Here are the monthly themes and addition teacher’s material/books etc for our winter/Spring children’s program at Third Haven.
- January: “Gifts”
- Faith and Play story “Gifts”
- Books: The Quiltmaker’s Gift, Over and Under the Snow
- Establishing a “Secret Friend” in Meeting
- February: Integrity
- Faith and Play story “Listening for God” (We have many stories upstairs about God and talking @God, what is God?)
- Books: Piggy Meditation, The Other Side, Nelson Mandela
- Creating a secret Valentine for their “secret Friend.”
- March: Earth Care
- Also: FDS does Hospitality every Sunday
- PYM Climate Action Playbook
- Books: Thy Friend Obadiah; Turn, Turn, Turn
- Outside work prepping our gardens
- Learning about our local community and garden, recycling, protecting the Earth
- Fifth Sunday, March 30: special potluck sharing food with your secret friend
- April: Peace
- Easter: April 20
- Godly Play
- Peaceable Kingdom curriculum (PYM)
- Books: Old Turtle, Martin Luther King
- More outside work and play on TH grounds
- Moving Up Day celebration
- Faith and Play
- Books: Who is my Neighbor?, Rachel and Obadiah, Beatrice’s Goat—learning about Heifer International
Please contact Susan Claggett with any questions.
Here are extra materials found upstairs and available to you anytime!!
- The Power of Goodness: Art and stories for a culture of Peace
- Holy Troublemakers and Unconventional Saints: stories about people of Faith who have worked for love, compassion, and justice in their corner of the world
- Sparkling Still: a Quaker Curriculum for ages 3-8
- Finding the Light in You: a curriculum about communication, relaxation, creating safe outdoor space and simple prayer activities
- The Peaceable Kingdom: lessons to assist in exploring Friends Peace Testimony
- An Antiracist Activity Booklet
The Basics:
Third Haven's First Day School offers spiritual education for children from preschool through high school (in other faiths this might be called Sunday School). We hold First Day School classes during the school year (from the 2nd week in September through the 2nd week in June) from 10 to 11AM. The children join their families with the full Friends Meeting for the first 15 minutes of Meeting for Worship, then attend their classes during the last 45 minutes of Meeting for Worship. The children are taught by a mix of parents, meeting members, and paid teachers. Curriculum is developed for every season and tailored to the group of kids attending, with the help of a First Day School Committee.
We also offer other children's programs, such as summer camps. These will be posted on this page as they are organized.
More about First Day School Lessons:
Third Haven Friends Meeting is hosting another fall calendar of rich, engaging activities for children in our First Day School. Featured programs include:
NATURE SEEKERS:
These sessions focus on helping kids build their toolbox of mindfulness techniques through immersion in nature. They will be led by Third Haven's talented summer camp teachers, Cherie Baron and Kristen Hanlon.FAITH & PLAY STORIES:
These are beautiful stories about the roots of Quakerism and Quaker values, told by teachers trained in a Montessori-inspired manner.
QUERIES & REFLECTIONS:
This monthly dialogue taps into the natural wisdom, curiosity and wonder of young children to explore how to think clearly about life's biggest queries—e.g., What is philosophy? Friendship? Happiness? Justice? Love? How do we know ourselves and what role do we play in the world? For the fall, the emphasis will be on the Quaker value of Peace.
SOCIAL ACTION:
A key theme of Quaker's faith: Let your life speak. Several times a year the kids take social action, offering their time and talent to help heal problems in our community. Recent projects have focused on local child hunger, homelessness, and refugee support.