Porridge & Play in Linn Park!

#SummerOfPlay

Welcome to the Porridge & Play Online blog, where we share the stories of all the adventures
we’ve had during our virtual play sessions on Zoom! Get in touch to find out how to join.

What a day for outdoor play!

Our second Saturday outing this year was to the 3rd largest park in Glasgow: Linn Park. 🌳

With beautiful woodland and river walks, it also has an equestrian centre, an orienteering course and a public golf course so it offers a lot of opportunities for fun, exercise and learning too. You can also admire and walk the “Halfpenny Bridge”over the White Cart Water or look out for Cathcart Castle or Linn House Mansion! 🌊

Linn Park is surrounded by the neighbourhoods of Cathcart, Muirend, Simshill, and Castlemilk so if you live in one of those you are not far away from this exciting Glasgow park! 🗺️

Saturday 12th June

Virginia, Andre, Iona and Taz were not only very happy about meeting more of our families in person on Saturday, but also very excited about welcoming back our friend & fantastic actor-pedagogue Effie to the Licketyspit Team and to tell her everything about our Zoom adventures with our friends. 👩‍🦰

We set up our playing & picnic areas and told Effie so many things about you all and your wonderful ideas and creativity over the lockdown months and we realised how special it really is that we can now finally get together to enjoy each other’s company!

It was breezy in the morning and the trees were singing around us and by the afternoon the clouds were rapidly moving and the sun was on and off for a bit until it took over the clouds and shone on us all. And although finding our spot proved difficult for some families, you all persevered and so did we and we gathered everyone in the end with big smiles on our faces.😃

So on this fantastic Saturday we welcomed Martha, Chris, Chris Junior, Calvin & Christabel, Huma, Azaan, Eshal & Ayra, Diana, Gyan & Ayjei, Wendy,Leo & Jayden, Fathima & Yumna, Amina, Areeb, Sarim & Rohan, Alimat & Muzamil, Muqseen & Murshidat. Olayinka, Zainab, Ope & Taiwo, Catherine, James & Emma, Titilayo, Barakat, Aliyat & Ayomide and Fatou, Tijan, Moudou & Aziz…what a gang!

It was fantastic to see the grown ups taking playing as seriously as the children do and a special shout out to the older brothers and sisters that rarely join us on the Zoom but got teased by the fun of being in the big circle, having a laugh and letting any worries go and they proved to be fantastic experts at playing and at all things creative! 🗯️🎇

The Magic Ball got us kayaking down a fast river and manoeuvring downstream, finding an eco that says your name and climbing a massive mountain with ropes! It also took us to the moon where walking turns into dancing and we met the Man of The Moon 🌛 who was not impressed at us tucking into his MoonCheese! We offered to make more cheese for him and we concocted the most fabulous new flavoured cheese with milk & butter, smelly scarfs & chocolate…’Let’s make some cheese! Let’s make some cheese! Think of all the things that make you sneeze’… But it wouldn’t be MoonCheese unless you do the CheeseDance around the pot! 🧀 Our MoonCheese not only it turned out delicious it also gave us wings to fly around and down back to Magic Ball.

Amina made delicious samosas at home for everyone and while some sat in the sun chatting others went to explore the den that Virginia found in the woods! It was so cool that Areeb got inspired and came up with the idea of having Porridge & Play at night and camping and telling stories round the fire and cooking. 🔥

Aren’t we lucky to have wonderful green spaces to explore and enjoy and fabulous friends old and new to meet up with and play together? 🌿🌹

By Iona, Andre, Virginia, Effie, Taz & The Licketyspit Families 🌈

We had a great time – what did you think? Tell us here!

This week’s Lickety Gallery!

Porridge & Play Children Say Hey!

To celebrate Refugee Festival Scotland, the bold, unstoppable Porridge & Play children invite their friends, classmates and other new families to join us for a taster session designed and led by them!

Sat 19th June at 11am on Zoom.

As well as Lickety Playcard classics like Funky Chicken, we’ll play the ‘HELLO GAME’, where we share our different languages and do a child-led Reflective Art activity!

The session will be led by Storyplay Champion Children from refugee families, supported by Licketyspit Actor-Pedagogues. Families are welcomed into the Licketyspit community, through play!

Share with your friends and book free spaces here.

Next Opportunity to Have Your Say Through Play

On 22nd & 29th June we invite you to take part in a child consultation that will improve children’s rights in the family law system.

As part of a review of the role of Child Welfare Officers and Contact Centres, we’re going to explore the following questions through play:

What makes an adult a good listener?
If you could design a room where you feel very comfortable, what would it be like and what might be in it?
What makes it easier to tell a grown up about things you don’t like as well as things you do?