Make Do Play
I can’t help but feel nostalgic when I talk about Make Do Play as, not dissimilar to many of the bands I worked with in the early 2000s, I was there when they started man! Born from a post-lockdown frustration with minimal truly child-friendly play sessions in the area, Dom and Kerri decided to create their own. Together they have over 20 years of experience in playwork, adventure playgrounds and other child services so it was no surprise that it quickly grew from a small group of friends in the park with empty yoghurt pots and shaving foam to the absolute joy that it is now.
Based firmly in unstructured, child-led, messy, risky and all-round joyous PLAY they are committed to accessibility and maintaining free sessions as regularly as possible. This means they are dependent on donations to keep the project running, at the time of writing they have enough to run fortnightly until the end of summer 2022 however every penny counts (as much as donations, keep an eye on their insta for specific requests but it can be anything from cardboard boxes to paints to fancy dress) there’s also a direct link to their crowd funder at the bottom of this post should you wish to read more.
Needless to say this group and others like it speak directly to my heart…and eyes - it is a photographer's dream to see children and adults fully engaged in the wide range of activities available, no interruptions, no direction and no structure. A huge thank you to all the parents that agreed to be included in these images, I sincerely hope they help to spread the word of how important this type of play is as well as capturing some great memories for you and your kids for years to come.
Instagram - for most up to date info