Day in the Life of ... a Village Playgroup

Early Birds

We arrived early to set up the toys, snacks and craft materials we'd brought with us to the community library in a village not too far from the capital. We were amazed to see one mum with 3 children already waiting an hour and half before we were due to start! Word had spread that there was a new fun time for Mums and Toddlers, although the local ladies had no idea what a "playgroup" would actually be like.

We set up the toys that we'd managed to collect and buy cheaply second hand in the main room. There was a small library room with children's books which we put tables with playdough and colouring. Then another room we used for the craft.

Another surprise occurred when a bus full of children arrived from a local school. It had been explained that the Playgroup was for mums with toddlers, but the school teachers had thought it would be a trip out for the children. We were so grateful for our local friend, who had invited us to do the Playgroup in her village, as she very diplomatically handled the situation in a culturally appropriate way. We were sad that the children could not join us but there would not have been space or appropriate supervision for them.

Copycats

By the time we started at 10:30am there were 32 mums and nearly 40 children! Our local friend introduced us and then I gave an introduction in Arabic to explain what would be happening in the morning. We started with a welcome song and other songs in Arabic and then songs in English (such as head, shoulders, knees and toes!). The children loved copying the actions and joining in.

Funky Fish

Then we divided into groups and took 8 children at a time, with their mums, into the craft room to stick coloured paper to make a fish. Some children looked like they'd never seen glue before! They were all pleased with their finished fish. Meanwhile other children played with the toys and playdough and colouring.

We told the mums to help themselves to tea and coffee and snacks. Since they rarely get tasty treats like this, everyone was piling their plate high with cookies and cakes. Also some were popping snacks into their handbags to take home to share with family. We hadn't expected this and what we thought was plenty of food, was soon all gone! We enjoyed having some time to talk with the mums but most of the morning we were busy organising things.

Why should the kids have all the fun?

The mums also surprised us by asking for a competition! Again our local friends helped us in dividing the mums into teams and thinking up a quick competition – writing down as many fruits beginning with the letter … (in Arabic of course!). It was surprising how competitive the women were!

We finished by going outside and the children catching bubbles from a bubble machine. Everyone said how much they enjoyed the time and what fun they had!

After clearing up, we were invited by the village sheikh’s wife to visit their house for a cup of tea. The ground floor of the large house was a big space with lots of seating for holding village meetings and ceremonies whilst the upstairs was the family home. Even upstairs, the lounge was large and we relaxed and chatted drinking mint tea and eating home-made date biscuits. Arab hospitality is renowned and we were invited to stay for lunch but sadly had to decline since I had to get back home to look after Kira and Isaiah after school.