Big Porridge & Play Week 5

2021-07-02T09:41:28+00:00

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. We are the experts!  Are you really very good at tying your laces? Or, maybe it's making sandwiches? Or, maybe you're great at jumping to the moon and back?! This week we discovered that we were all experts at something - a whole team of experts! One thing that all children are experts at is playing, of course, so for our final Porridge & Play Online of this block we used our skills to dress up as characters that were experts at something, and to use our imaginations - and the Magic Ball - to dream up an amazing adventure... Thursday 20th May 2021 We had a great time with the Thursday gang of experts letting our imaginations run wild by dressing up as characters who were all an expert at something… 🍞 💇 🗺️  Taz became Bill who lives on a hill and is an expert at hopping on one leg and Andre was Phil who lives in a mill and is an expert at making bread. Agyei became Phil who lives down the hill and is an expert at cutting hair! Azzan became [...]

Big Porridge & Play Week 52021-07-02T09:41:28+00:00

Big Porridge & Play Week 4

2021-07-02T09:41:17+00:00

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. Do you know Margaret & Margaret?  Bold Margaret and Worried Margaret are the two main characters of our play – Licketyleap!  Licketyleap is a Licketyspit show where the children leap into the story and go on a fantastic adventure with Margaret and Margaret, all the way through the Bog, over the Sea, into the Cave and up the Mountain to find their Heart’s Desire! As you can imagine all sorts of thing happen during their adventure and Margaret & Margaret and the children realise that we are all a bit like both Margarets: sometimes we are bold and ready for anything and sometimes we get worried about things and that’s OK! Wednesday 12th May 2021 A CAVE! ‘What if it’s dark?’ ‘What if I get cold? A BOG! ‘What if I get stuck in it?’ (Magnus) ‘What if I get lost?’ ‘What if I don’t have any shoes and my socks get all dirty?’ (Fiire) The ZOO! ‘What if the lions eat me!?’ (Osato) 'What if the giraffes lick me!?’ (Lily) This week was all about characteristics! What would a BOLD character look like? What [...]

Big Porridge & Play Week 42021-07-02T09:41:17+00:00

Big Porridge & Play Week 3

2021-07-02T09:41:07+00:00

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. Welcome to the Olympic Games...of Games!! We will WIGGLE, RACE and MIME! Place an egg on your spoon and see if you can reach the finish LINE! Team Licketyspit warmed up their bodies, to compete in the Games of Games; star jumps, press ups, break dancing, all to help us play! The best thing about the Olympic Games of Games is that it's all about playing, so there are no winners or losers. Because when we play we can relax and all the amazing ideas we all have inside can burst out!  We can be anyone, go anywhere, do anything! Saturday 8th May 2021 The Olympic Games…Of GAMES! In space, in a location only reachable by Magic Ball, the most mysterious, wonderful and celebrated floating field awaits the arrival of teams of players from all over the whole wide world… These teams are formed by the most serious, dedicated and committed players who spend many hours of their days throwing themselves into the most hilarious and imaginative games… And today the cheering crowds can hardly contain their excitement at the prospect of witnessing fabulous playing from Team Mary [...]

Big Porridge & Play Week 32021-07-02T09:41:07+00:00

Big Porridge & Play Week 2

2021-07-02T09:40:58+00:00

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. Selkie Broth, Selkie Broth, Steam and Bubble and Froth! 🧜‍♀️ Shirley the Selkie needed a rhyming recipe for her Selkie Broth and all of the wonderful Sea Creatures came to the rescue! Aroush the Silly Whale 🐋 swam around, Junior the Funky Shark 🦈  plucked some lollies from the ground, Keith the Silly Puffer fish made it bubble, and Emma the Silly Seahorse helped us stay out of trouble!   Thursday 22 April 2021 A rather aquatic Thursday gang! Funky Octopus, Snappy Shark, Smart Shark & Funky Dolphin Silly Queen , Sick Penguin & Dancing Dolphin Pinchy Crab, Wobbly Fish & a wee Lost Sardine, Silly Octopus, Laughing Mermaid & Silly Mermaid  All ready to swim and dance and having a big underwater laugh when suddenly… ‘I’m Shirley The Selkie - Half Human Have Seal Is anyone there who will cook with me?’ Selkies are famous for their massive feasts and their Selkie Broth that’s a magic treat! ‘But to make it right you must rhyme all the time!' Shirley The Selkie thought she couldn’t rhyme but with some of our help she was just sublime! [...]

Big Porridge & Play Week 22021-07-02T09:40:58+00:00

Big Porridge & Play 2021

2021-07-02T09:32:43+00:00

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. Wednesday 21 April 2021 We are back back back we saw Lily, Brown and Osak and met Adesayo’s Jealous Cat! Wohoo! We met new friends, Mighty Magnus and his Crunchy Crocodile, Fareedah the Unicorn who flew up high and Firefunmi who introduced us to the Lazy Dog… woof! 🐶🦄🐊 Do you know the Cow Chicken? Have you ever been to Orkney and flown on the back of an Eagle? 🦅Have you even imagined how beautiful ancient cave paintings are? 🖌️ Well, this all happened in the Wednesday group of Porridge and Play, and what can we say, it’s so wonderful to PLAY! The Magic Ball this week was all about Art Voyages! What’s your favourite art form? Singing, dancing, rapping, painting? We dressed up as EXPLORERS  🥾and jumped inside the Magic Ball! It first took us to a very dark and ancient cave - where we met a bear! 🐻 The bear led us around and when we held our torches up to the walls we saw the most incredible ART! Cows and horses and people, all painted in fantastic colours! Suddenly we all fell down a hole and [...]

Big Porridge & Play 20212021-07-02T09:32:43+00:00

Play In A Time Of Crisis Webinar

2021-07-02T09:40:50+00:00

At the start of February 2021, we were thrilled to be invited to present our work at the International Play Association’s Play in a Time of Crisis Award webinar series, which showcased projects all over the world that have supported children’s right to play during the pandemic. What we shared During the webinar, we spoke about the generosity, joy and limitless creativity we witnessed during Big Porridge & Play Online 2020. As our actor-pedagogues guided families through our Lickety Playcard games, amazing group story improvisation, dressing up and reflective drawing, we saw children break out of lockdown monotony and grow in confidence, becoming a tight-knit group, ready for anything. This was also reflected in the wonderful feedback from children and parents.   We regularly remind our Children & Families Network that “in our imaginations we can be anyone, go anywhere and do anything” - and this was the basis for the huge, and increasingly amazing, group improvisation activities, using Flying Balloons and the clear favourite, Magic Ball. As well as the sheer, thrilling enjoyment of playing together, we saw our participants gain vital life skills such as the pleasure of reciprocity in play, how to respect and listen to others, how to interact confidently with their peers and grown-ups, and the realisation that all we need to [...]

Play In A Time Of Crisis Webinar2021-07-02T09:40:50+00:00

Happy Holidays! A Festive Final Week

2021-03-11T12:25:00+00:00

Welcome to the Big Porridge & Play Online blog, where we share the stories of all the adventures we've had during our virtual play sessions on Zoom! See below for details of how to join. Saturday 🎁 What a brilliant final session! We played the PRESENT GAME where one present can transform into lots of wonderful things!! Kamila & Saif turned their present into a Christmas tree and gave it to Muhammed who turned it into a candy cane who gave it to Muizza who turned it into a magic snow tree  who gave it to Tobi who transformed it into a MAGIC BALL... 🐧 We landed in the North Pole and immediately got attacked by hundreds of snowballs thrown by the huge Snowman Monster! Adesire spoke to him in snow language but he wouldn’t stop throwing them - so we all threw snowballs back and ran away!! We found an igloo to take shelter in and on the way in we came across a sleeping polar bear! We gently reached out our hands and stroked it. The polar bear made satisfied snoring sounds and it slept peacefully! In the igloo we met Betty Clause who handed out mince pies and cocoa! ☕️Fatou’s mince pie tasted of mushrooms and cinnamon and ginger and Modou's had a meatball inside!    Then Betty told us that all of the reindeer had escaped! Oh no!! Luckily Amanda [...]

Happy Holidays! A Festive Final Week2021-03-11T12:25:00+00:00

Feeling the love as Big Porridge & Play 2020 draws to a close

2021-07-02T09:41:55+00:00

Welcome to the Big Porridge & Play Online blog, where we share the stories of all the adventures we've had during our virtual play sessions on Zoom! See below for details of how to join. Saturday What a brilliant session we had on Saturday with 30 families!! The sessions are so full of excitement and generosity and feels like one big family! We began with BIG AS A BEAR, our great warm up! Gyan told us that the warm up is important because it makes everyone feel comfortable and welcomed, which is so true! 👍 In FUNKY CHICKEN we met 10 hilarious animals! - Junior's Funky Cat 🐱 - Adila & Muhammed's Ninja Horse 🐴 - Janaiba's & Ramtoulah's Angry Lion 🦁 - Adesire's Funny Butterfly 🦋 - Adeola's Funky Cat 🐈 - Simmi's Funky Chicken 🐓 - Modou's Angry Horse 🐴 - Queen & Faly's Slivering Snake 🐍 - Princess’s Crying Puppy 🐶 - Michris’s Baby Polar-bear 🐻 We then dressed up wonderfully for a very special occasion... to write and send A LETTER TO OUR LOVES!! And how beautiful we all looked! Everyone wrote fantastic letters! Islam wrote her letter to her bed. 🛏 Donald wrote to pizza 🍕 ! Lawand wrote a letter to his squirrel 🐿 ! Ramtoulah wrote to her best friend! Yumna wrote to her mum, dad and pet fish! 🐠 Meerab [...]

Feeling the love as Big Porridge & Play 2020 draws to a close2021-07-02T09:41:55+00:00

An EXTRA BIG adventure as BPPG 2020 draws to a close!

2021-07-02T09:42:05+00:00

Welcome to the Big Porridge & Play Online blog, where we share the stories of all the adventures we've had during our virtual play sessions on Zoom! See below for details of how to join. We love Saturday Porridge & Play sessions! 37 families attended our Saturday session last week, and what a brilliant session it was. We stomped like Latifa’s Grumpy Elephant! We covered ourselves in Simmi’s butter and cheese in Mucky Brew! And we flew with Tobi and Marvellous’s jetpacks off the top of Mount Everest! Funky animals and messy concoctions! 🐔 🐝 🦅 In FUNKY CHICKEN we met Queen & Faly’s Crazy Unicorn, Abdulmateen’s Bad Monkey, Ayaan’s Funky Butterfly, Ameen’s Loud Lion, Simon & Shullamite’s Busy Bee, Fiyin & Favour’s Naughty Seagull, Latifa’s Grumpy Elephant, Lawand’s Silly House and Sayeh’s Dancing Bird who went ‘tweet tweet tweet!’ 🥚 🧀 🍨 We then decided to dress up, and cover ourselves in MUCKY BREW! First we cracked a great big egg on our heads, followed by Simmi’s butter with cheese, Emma & James’s mayonnaise, Miracle & Michelle’s mermaid's tail, Junior’s shea butter, Lorraine’s yoghurt, Princess’s feathers, Queen & Faly’s slime, Sayeh’s honey, Shullamite's rotten eggs, Victoria’s ice cream, Sylvia’s cake and Muiz’s chocolate! Then we mixed it all in… SOOOO MUCKY! Finding the Magic Ball ⛰️ 🦕After Iona found an orange Magic [...]

An EXTRA BIG adventure as BPPG 2020 draws to a close!2021-07-02T09:42:05+00:00

Dancing and singing with Adie Baako!

2021-07-02T09:42:16+00:00

Welcome to the Big Porridge & Play Online blog, where we share the stories of all the adventures we've had during our virtual play sessions on Zoom! See below for details of how to join. What an exciting week! 🎵 ‘Everybody! Bring your calabash! Bring your calabash!’ 🎶 At this week’s Big Porridge & Play Online sessions, we had the privilege of being joined by Adie Baako, a professional dancer from Ghana now living in Scotland, and enjoyed a week of dancing and singing and moving and grooving! We sang about the calabash, danced the Kpanlogo, a social dance from Greater Accra in Ghana, and found out all about Adie’s life! Learning about Adie’s life 🇬🇭 🎣 Adie is a dancer from Ghana, now living in Midlothian, near Edinburgh. He's been dancing professionally for 26 years and he told us how he started dancing when he was a wee boy growing up in a village. Adie grew up by the sea with his Dad, a fisherman, and his Mum, who worked selling in the markets. Before going to school Adie, like other children, would do chores in the house to help the family, fetch water for the pots, and then wash to get ready to go to school to learn. An early start in the morning for wee [...]

Dancing and singing with Adie Baako!2021-07-02T09:42:16+00:00

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