We’re starting a play revolution in Glasgow!

Everyone, of all ages, loves to play! Play is at the essence of being human. When we play imaginatively with other people there are no limits and no mistakes, just endless possibilities. Licketyspit and our children, families and colleagues have got a recipe and a list of ingredients that make imaginary play an easy, wonderful and inclusive part of every day. We call this Storyplay.

Licketyspit has been developing the Storyplay approach with Glasgow families for over 15 years. From LicketyLeap sessions in nurseries to Storyplay Schools programmes in primaries, to Porridge & Play in the community and Picnic & Play in museums and parks. From 2020-2023, Glasgow City Council’s Community Fund supported us to build on our work to make Glasgow the first Storyplay City!

Storyplay Sessions

In Storyplay City sessions, we play using the Lickety Playcards – old and new hilarious games that give people a licence to be creative and inventive together. Children are at the centre of this play – they are the play experts – supported by fearless Licketyspit actor-pedagogues and Play Champion volunteers. See more on the impact of these sessions, below.

Big groups of families meet to sing, dance, rhyme, joke, go on imaginary adventures and make friends. Thanks to Glasgow Council, Bemis and the Scottish Government, we were able to run 3 weekly Zoom sessions in January-March 2021 as part of Storyplay City, enabling us to include all the families who took part in Big Porridge & Play Glasgow.

Read the Session Blogs Below.

We all need what children need

Children know that the most important things in life are love, kindness, fairness, respect. Playing with children liberates adults to remember this! You can let your hair down and feel at home even with strangers! Storyplay is a celebration of collective invention where everyone is safe in the knowledge that they will always be seen, heard, valued, included. We can all relax! It’s not competitive, it’s fun. There are no mistakes, only endless possibilities. Everyone is welcome.

Lickety-play is not only a lot of fun, it also supports children’s development in education, arts, health and wellbeing. This kind of play nurtures creativity, confidence, social skills, friendships, emotional literacy, family and community, equality, resilience, language, literacy, integration, multi-culturalism, confident parenting, physical and mental wellbeing, love, happiness and positivity. (Woah, that’s a lot!) This has been especially important during Covid-19 as many of our families testify.

A Glasgow network of Storyplay Champions

Facilitating play like this is not as easy as it looks. It takes time and work but develops life-enhancing, life-long skills. We want to share this children’s rights based practice with Play Champions of all ages across Glasgow as part of a movement to further embrace and celebrate the creative riches, kindness and humanity that characterize this city. We want to embed this play and playfulness in our culture to support us all to flourish despite the immense challenges of contemporary times. Collectively we are our greatest resource, people really do make Glasgow!

If you or your organisation would like to join us in making Glasgow a Storyplay City, please get in touch.

Licketyspit – opening doors to imaginary playworlds to unlock the limitless possibilities of children…..and adults!

What’s On

The next block of sessions starts in February 2023.

To find out more and sign up click here.

Storyplay City Blog!

Read about each week’s session, see photos and find your drawings from the Lickety Art Gallery – Don’t forget to show your family and friends!

Over to You

During Storyplay City, families have continued to be inspired by our Cooking, Making and Exploring video series with our actor pedagogues Taz, Jack and Iona and share creative expressions of their own…in over to you!

Outdoor Play Challenges

Getting outside is good for our bodies and good for our minds!

You don’t need anything special to do, just getting outdoors to play, run around, explore and breathe in the fresh air is so good for us. In our outdoor play challenges we challenge you to play with sound and touch, make potions and more!

If you’re interested in taking part, please get in touch and join the Licketyspit Children & Families Network. You can email us at CFN@licketyspit.com or Tweet us at @LicketyTweet. Follow us on facebook and twitter to see all our updates and latest news.

Thank you to our funders!