Cooperative Play at Cornerstone Church
“When children pretend, they’re using their imaginations to move beyond the bounds of reality. A stick can be a magic wand. A sock can be a puppet. A small child can be a superhero.” – Rev. Fred Rogers, Television Creator
We want to encourage imagination and relationship-building through no-cost/low-cost play between children and their grown-ups. A lot of our play materials are made using recyclables.
This program is open to the community, and includes guided activity options and a snack.
We’re grateful to Dr. Joyce Hemphill (parent, play advocate, author, and Doctor of Developmental Psychology), who helps our team plan play dates appropriate for varying ages and diverse able-ness.
At Cornerstone Church, we appreciate the values of Let’s Play America!
We believe that play is a vital part of the human experience.
We believe in the benefits of play.
We believe play grows relationships and builds communities.
We believe in advocating for equitable access to play.
All play dates are held at Cornerstone United Methodist Church, 41W170 Russell Road, Elgin, IL 60124.
2024 Play Dates
December: No Play Date
Our children’s ministry team is focused on making this year’s Noon Year’s Eve event the best one yet. Please join us on Saturday, December 28 at 10:30 a.m.–Noon for some family-friendly fun, in place of this month’s play date.
Saturday, November 16
10:30 a.m.–Noon
* * * NOTE THE NEW START TIME * * *
We live in one of the top pumpkin-producing states in the U.S.! In honor of this famous gourd, we will be playing games, and doing crafts and science experiments—all about pumpkins.
October: No Play Date
Our children’s ministry team is focused on making this year’s Trunk-or-Treat event the best one yet. Please join us on Saturday, October 26 at 4-5 p.m. for some family-friendly fun, in place of this month’s play date.
Saturday, September 21
10:00 a.m.–Noon
It's the heart of apple-picking season, and we’ll be enjoying the harvest with activities focused on this popular fruit! Find out how well you can “pin the worm on the apple”, challenge someone to a game of “apple twister”, and more!
Saturday, August 17
10:00 a.m.–Noon
Super-size your summer fun with super-size games! Enjoy God’s beautiful creation with a scavenger hunt, and play classic favorites with a jumbo twist.
July: No Play Date
We have planned an entire week of play for our children during Vacation Bible School, so there will be no play date in July. Please join us for VBS (July 8-12) and our family-friendly “Scoop Up Summer Fun” event (July 13).
Saturday, June 15
10:00 a.m.–Noon
Get immersed in outdoor summer fun! Express your creativity, make (and taste-test) sweet treats, investigate nature, and experiment with floating structures.
Saturday, May 18
10:00 a.m.–Noon
Come dressed for dirt! We will be planting a small pollinator garden to help support the local ecosystem, and our neighboring farms and gardens.
Saturday, April 20
10:00 a.m.–Noon
We’re moving back outside this month (weather-permitting) to play with the wind! Enjoy the power and beauty of God’s creation with other friends and their grown-ups.
Saturday, March 16
10:00 a.m.–Noon
We’re so excited for the promise of spring! Rainbows represent God’s promise to us; they are often also used to symbolize St. Patrick’s Day with a pot of gold at the end. Join us as we explore all the colors of the rainbow!
Saturday, February 17
10:00 a.m.–Noon
February is full of special days, and we plan to enjoy as many as possible! From Chinese New Year to Leap Day to Super Bowl Sunday, you can celebrate them all (and more) through games and crafts.
Saturday, January 20
10:00 a.m.–Noon
Experience winter in a whole new way, through a variety of winter-themed STEAM activities (science, technology, engineering, art, math)!
Activities will include: Igloo building, snowman stretch challenge, making a snow storm in a jar, ice fishing, freeing arctic animals from ice, a snow shovel race (indoors), and more!
Interested in other community events hosted by Cornerstone Church? Check out our News & Events page.
2023 Play Dates
Saturday, December 16
10:00 a.m.–Noon
Discover holiday traditions from countries around the world!
Activities will include: Christmas crafts, stories, games, and more!
Saturday, November 18
10:00 a.m.–Noon
Explore the play of indigenous people who populated the United States. They relied on agility, strength, balance, reflexes, hand-eye coordination, accuracy, strategy, intuition, and patience to feed their communities. These skills were learned at an early age through games.
Activities will include: Ulu Maika (a modified native Hawaiian game), Ring-n-Pin (played by all Indigenous Peoples across North America), and more!
Saturday, October 21
10:00 a.m.–Noon
We are moving Our Play Date inside this month. Please join us for some autumn fun!
Activities will include: Harvest games, an outdoor scavenger hunt, and more!
Saturday, September 16
10:00 a.m.–Noon
NOTICE: Our September event is canceled due to inclement weather. We’ll see you next month!
Saturday, August 19
10:00 a.m.–Noon
We’ll be having fun with water this month, so come prepared to get wet as we paint, pour, splash, and blow bubbles!
Activities will include: Building a water wall, creating a bubble maker, ice painting, experimenting to find items that sink/float, creating a project to take home, and water table play.
This play date will be outdoors.
Saturday, July 15
10:00 a.m.–Noon
Participate in as many stations as you like! Get your passport stamped after each activity, and choose a book to take home at the end of the event.
Activities will include: Games for both larger and smaller groups, both gross motor and fine motor activities, and creating play items to take home.
This play date will be outdoors.
Interested in other community events hosted by Cornerstone Church? Check out our News & Events page.