††† Gunpowder Meetingπs First Day School Program is designed to provide religious education in a nurturing and supportive environment.† Classes begin in September and end in May, with childcare available throughout the summer months due to lower attendance.† We encourage regular attendance during the school year, since our curriculum often flows one lesson to the next.†

††† The children begin each First Day by accompanying their parents to Meeting for Worship, where all are accustomed to and welcome the ≥wiggles, giggles and whispers≤ of our youngest Friends.† After 15 minutes of worship with all the gathered Friends, the teachers then lead the children into their classrooms, where they will often sing, read stories, complete hands-on activities and share in our Quaker learning experience.† Each Christmas, the children participate in a re-enactment of the Christmas Story, and we often finish up a school year with a culminating project or presentation.† Our First Day School curriculum encompasses the following topics:

††† Ɔ† Quaker Practices and Testimonies
††† Ɔ† The Bible and its relationship to Quaker values
††† Ɔ† Quaker History†††

††† In addition to the curriculum stated above, we strive to reach out to our Meeting community as well as the community-at-large by completing service projects with the children to help translate our Quaker beliefs into actions.† In the fall of 2005, a Memory Garden, planned and created by the students, was planted in remembrance of Gunpowder Friends who have died.† This proved to be a healing experience for the entire Gunpowder community as we grieved the loss of one of our young and dear Friends.† To support the greater community, we coordinate efforts with the Baltimore County Department of Social Services to adopt families each Christmas, collect warm clothing and canned food for the United Churches Assistance Network (UCAN), and sing Christmas Carols at a local Quaker retirement community.

††† At the current time, children are grouped in the following manner:

††† Ɔ† Grade 2 and up
††† Ɔ† Preschool- Grade 1
††† Ɔ† Ages 3 and under

††† Children in the youngest class are usually accompanied by a parent.† As those children become more comfortable within the classroom setting, parents may choose to rotate childcare responsibilities among themselves.

††† First Day School teachers consist of parent volunteers from the First Day School Committee. Other Meeting Friends kindly offer their assistance in the classroom on a regular basis so there are always two adults in each classroom.† This provides opportunities for the children and the adults in our community to get to know each other better, and for the adults to learn more about our program.† The First Day School Committee meets throughout the year on an as-needed basis to develop curriculum and plan service projects.

††† For more information, please feel free to visit us on any First Day (Sunday), or call the Meeting House at 410- 472-4583