Mobile Play Cafes
As part of Froebelian Futures
The Froebelian Futures Mobile Play Cafe initiative was an action and practice project (delivery). Mobile Play Cafes led by the University of Edinburgh (Kristina Konstantoni, lead academic, researcher and parent) and Cowgate Under Fives Centre (Simon Bateson, lead practitioner) were curated in partnership with local community organisations in different neighbourhoods (Leith, Newhaven, Pilton/Granton, Old Town/central Edinburgh). The Mobile Play Cafe facilitated pop up play and social spaces for children, families and key workers across Edinburgh and beyond, co-designed with diverse community organisations.
In total four pop up Play Cafes took place between 2022-2023. The final pop up Play Cafe took part as part of a wider We Play Festival initiative. Table 1 shows briefly the information about the pop-up Play Cafes that we co-created with partners.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel! @playcafeproject
|
Leith |
The first pop up Play Cafe took place in Leith, 12-15 May 2022, between 9am-3pm or 11am/11:30-3pm each day. Partners included Dr Bell’s Family Centre, Inspiring Leith, Kin Collective, Multicultural Family Base, Cowgate Under Fives and The University of Edinburgh. The pop up Play Cafe included additional events for parents/carers to discuss child-led play and Froebelian principles, like for example: ‘Child-Led Play for Parents: what does it really mean?’ |
|
Pilton/Granton
|
The second pop up Play Cafe took place in North Edinburgh in the Pilton/Granton area, 5, 6, 8 of October 2022, between 9.30am-3pm each day. Partners included North Edinburgh Arts, Pilton Community Health Project, Stepping Stones North Edinburgh, Cowgate Under Fives and the University of Edinburgh. During the pop up Play Cafe a workshop event was also facilitated on Thursday the 6th of Oct, 2-3pm, for parents/carers exploring skills and principles for child-led play. |
|
Newhaven
|
The third pop up Play Cafe took place in Newhaven, 22-25 of March 2023 between 9.30am- 3pm each day. Partners included The Heart of Newhaven Community, Home Start Edinburgh, Victoria Primary School, Daddy Daycare Edinburgh, Multicultural Family Base, Stepping Stones, Cowgate Under Fives and the University of Edinburgh. The pop up Play Cafe included the below workshops: musical gatherings (22 and 24 March), baby massage (22, 23, 24 March), a circle discussion on ‘Child-centred activity and parent discussion circle (22, 23 March) and a workshop on ‘what really is ‘child-led play’? for parents and carers (25 March). |
|
We Play Festival, OldTown, Edinburgh
|
The fourth pop up Play Cafe took place in central Edinburgh, Old Town, 23 Sep- 1st Oct 2023, as part of the We Play Festival. The We Play Festival was a collaboration between the University of Edinburgh, The Play Cafe Project, Froebelian Futures and the Scottish Storytelling Centre supported by a host of other partners. For a full list see here Alongside the We Play Festival’s pop up Play Cafe there were a range of events: talks, workshops, storytelling, well-being activities, music and film. |
Table above. Information about the pop-up Play Cafes co-created with partners 2022-2023.
In total more than 2,852 individuals attended our Froebelian Futures Mobile pop-up Play Cafes and relevant play cafe events.
All pop-up Play Cafes provided free tea/coffee, fruit, breadsticks, and biscuits. The pop-up play cafe in Newhaven also offered free soup, due to the generous support of the community partners, The Heart of Newhaven community centre. All events and food/drinks were free for all.
Before and after the pop-up Play Cafes knowledge sharing events were also organised to further develop community partners in Froebelian pedagogical approaches.
