Welcome to My Playful World
An imaginative play centre, where children can get lost in a world of creative play.
The concept is that of a miniature town. Children can pretend that they are out shopping, at the theatre, in a miniature home, at the vets, working in construction, in the forest or getting ice cream from the ice cream store. Playing is not just fun, it is also the best way for young children to learn. By playing, children practise the skills they will need as they grow up.
The Importance of Play…
Registered charity, Play England tells us that play is an essential part of every child’s life and is vital for the enjoyment of childhood as well as social, emotional, intellectual and physical development. When children are asked about what is important in their lives, playing and friends are usually at the top of the list.
Children’s access to good play provision can:
- increase their self-awareness, self-esteem, and self-respect
- improve and maintain their physical and mental health
- give them the opportunity to mix with other children
- allow them to increase their confidence through developing new skills
- promote their imagination, independence and creativity
- offer opportunities for children of all abilities and backgrounds to play together
- provide opportunities for developing social skills and learning
- build resilience through risk taking and challenge, problem solving, and dealing with new and novel situations
- provide opportunities to learn about their environment and the wider community.
Here at My Playful World, we have created a place where children can do all of these things, in an exciting and stimulating environment.
A little about my vision…
I worked with children and families for over a decade before deciding to set up My Playful World. My previous role gave me an appreciation for the importance of play in the lives of our children. I wanted to create a space that children love coming to visit, somewhere they can play and let their imagination run wild, somewhere they can socialise and learn new skills.
I also wanted this space to have something for parents. My Playful World indulges parents as well as children through the eye-catching design, the comfortable café area, great coffee and my home-made bakes. I hope that parents will choose to visit time and time again, and not just because their children are insisting on coming!
Sustainability…
Sustainability is important to me and as a family, we work hard at home to reduce, reuse and recycle. I wanted to carry this over into my business.
When you come to visit us, it might strike you that we have very few plastic toys at My Playful World. I have resourced many of the toys from smaller companies or those using FSC certified wood. As a parent I have also seen that the musical, flashing light type plastic toys were never the ones favoured by my children.
At My Playful World we are also using refillable cleaning products, from Boo’s Pantry Zero Waste Store in Mansfield http://www.boospantry.co.uk/
In the cafe we use British and local produce wherever possible to reduce food miles. We also try to include as much organic produce as we can. Our milk is organic and delivered to us the old fashioned way, in glass bottles from Milk and More, which again, hugely reduces the amount of plastic we produce.
Cafe…
When I go to a play centre with my children, I always pray there will be good food in the cafe…I have taken this and ran with it in my own cafe!
The menu is small but the food is good quality and I always ensure I have vegan and dairy free options available.
Menu to be inputted here.
Play areas…
Parents are free to join in with their children’s play, but mind the low door frames…My Playful World is built with children in mind!
We have a mini grocery store where children can shop using their baskets and trolleys, then pay for their food at the little check-out. We have the village green where children can get an ice cream from the ice cream store, water the flowers or pick the vegetables growing in the planters. In the forest they can have a teddy bears picnic or play with the sensory toys. Next up, they have a theatre where they can take centre stage quite literally on the mini stage area and play at dressing up.
Further along the road there is the mini house, with bedroom, kitchen and living room. This has all the things they need to ‘play house’. They can cook or bake in the kitchen, have lunch at the dining table, take a nap, play with the pet dog or look after the babies. Next door we have the vets where children can dress up as the vet, make the animals better, feed or wash them and take them for a walk.
In the final space we have the construction area where the children can dress up as builders, play at the Duplo table, build a wall using the foam bricks, use the tools at the workstation, ride on the diggers or play with the cars.
Play sessions
When visiting, children will have a 90-minute play session, in the last 5 minutes they are encouraged to help a little with ‘tidy up time’. After the session, I take some time to ‘re-set’ the play area and have a clean-up, ready for the next session. We only have a small number of children with us at each sessions so the children can get the most from their time with us.
Sessions run throughout the week, at the following times:
9:30am-11am
11:30am-1pm
1:30pm-3pm
3:30pm-5pm (Tuesday and Saturday).
We encourage you to pre-book to guarantee a place and avoid any disappointment, especially during our busy periods.
Make An Enquiry
For any questions relating to our play sessions or parties, please email us through our online enquiry form.
