Make-Do Play have been featured in the July/August edition of Families North London Magazine.
TEXT: Something very special is happening in a new community garden in Crouch Hill. Play has been given back to the children. “We often offer messy play – paint or slime, shaving foam, a mud kitchen,” says Kerri Burton, one of the founders of Make-Do Play. “There’s definitely no rules about not mixing the paint colours here and more often than not most of the paint ends up on the children. It’s a relief for many parents who want to embrace this sort of play but find doing it at home is not manageable.” At Make-Do Play, children are given freedom to explore the space in Tollyrise Happiness Garden, in the grounds of St Mary’s Church Hornsey Rise. “We fill it with open-ended activities and plenty of loose parts,” said Kerri. Loose parts are objects which have lots of potential for play but aren’t necessarily designed as toys. They can be played with in a multitude of ways, depending on what the child’s imagination needs. “It really is the simple things,” she adds. “Plastic storage boxes, tyres and oldbits of shelving become bridges and obstacle courses. The sides of an old cot become a climbing frame.” Strings of plastic bottles and ribbons hang from a tree and children delight in running through them and watching them blowing in the wind. “We do woodwork with real tools and encourage even the youngest to have a go with the hammer or saw because we know children are more capable than we might expect. Many parents tell us that they have never seen their child play so independently or imaginatively before.” Activities are not directed, explains Kerri. “Children are the experts in their own play and our aim is to create an inclusive, non judgemental space where families feel comfortable to be themselves and let their children do what they like without unnecessary adult interference. “We are open to all ages because we know magical things happen when children play in mixed age groups, and we are completely free to everyone
because we know that play is a right, not a privilege."
because we know that play is a right, not a privilege."