Discovery Sprouts
Discovery Sprouts
A huge thanks to everyone who came to play this summer. We had a very busy time and thank you for your support.
Now the summer is over, we’re looking forward to welcoming in Autumn with you. We’re back to our term time schedule of Thursday & Friday mornings 9.30-11am.
On the first Saturday of every month we will run a special session 10-11.30am where the age range widens up to 8 years so that all the school starters we will be missing can come back and play. It’s the perfect session to bring school age children and older siblings back to The Patch.
Joley and Bizi are working with Liz to rearrange some areas at The Patch to be even more fun. We will be introducing the Discovery Sprouts Village this week with our newly placed shop, mud kitchen and construction areas and we will be working hard to improve this area over the coming weeks by adding colourful bunting, redesigning areas and adding some brand new resources for your children to enjoy. We always welcome your feedback so let us know what you think.
We are excited to start offering a limited number of birthday parties. These will be very much like a Patch Playtime session just for you and your friends with a campfire and marshmallows and use of the yurt. Currently we are able to offer the first Saturday afternoon of each month plus one other tbc. We also have the option of a Thursday lunchtime/afternoon session for anyone not attending schools/nurseries. Please email if you would like more information.
Don't forget you can follow along with us on social media @discoverysprouts on both Facebook and Instagram. We share lots of photographs of what to expect and what's been happening each week plus ideas to try at home. Every like, comment and share on there really helps us out. Thanks and see you soon.
Patch Playtime
Come and join Patch Playtime, our popular nature-based, creative and playful sessions aimed at children aged 18 months – 5 years on Thursday & Friday mornings from 9.30 – 11.00.
Each week will be filled with hands-on and sensory activities, invitations to play and lots of freedom to explore. This is alongside the playground, giant sandpit, car zone, construction area, mud kitchen, enchanted woods and more! Our refreshments cabin is open for grown-ups to help themselves to a hot drink and a snack is provided for the children.
(These sessions also take place in the school holidays and are open to children up to the age of 8 so that older siblings can come and join in the fun too)
Patch Playtime - Saturday
The first Saturday of every month you are welcome to come and join our popular nature-based, creative and playful sessions aimed at children up to 8 years and their grown-ups.
Each week will be filled with hands-on and sensory activities, invitations to play and lots of freedom to explore. This is alongside the playground, giant sandpit, car zone, construction area, mud kitchen, enchanted woods and more! Our refreshments cabin is open for grown-ups to help themselves to a hot drink and a snack is provided for the children.
Patch Playtime: Kids Only Holiday Club
Holiday club for children aged 6-12 years attending without their parents.
Bizi
I still find it hard to believe that I started my career as a ballet dancer before hanging up my pointe shoes and beginning my work with children and young people. My work began as a volunteer at Haringey Shed, an inclusive theatre company which specialises in bringing together children of all backgrounds and abilities to create theatre. 15 years later I was still there running the company and working with over 2,000 children a year and with a staff team of inspiring young people who had once been our members! I am still incredibly proud of the work we did there to create a place where everyone was welcomed and included and celebrated for their unique contribution.
I took some time out to live in Peru for 6 months assisting in a school for children and young people with additional needs. It was an eye-opening experience that taught me even more about the value of creativity and connection to nurture others and ourselves. I now have 2 young children of my own whose love for mud encouraged me to retrain and I am now a qualified Level 3 Forest School Leader. I founded Discovery Sprouts as a way to encourage families to share the outdoors with their littlest members and to enjoy being playful together. I have been busy running weekly pre-school sessions, holiday workshops Tree Parties and birthday parties. I also work alongside Woodland Adventure Club running Forest School sessions with local schools.
I’m passionate about inspiring families to enjoy more time outdoors and to reap the benefits for themselves and their children so I am delighted to be running Discovery Sprouts sessions at The Patch. Meeting Liz and visiting the site for the first time was magical and I knew I would love the opportunity to work there. More than the fantastic facilities and inspiring location is the ethos we all share for connection, community and inclusion. I’m looking forward to working alongside the team to deliver some truly extraordinary projects and events.
Joley
With a degree in theatre and professional practice, I began my career in theatre and education at the Old Town Hall Theatre in Hemel Hempstead, before setting up Flametree Productions with Liz. We designed and delivered bespoke theatre-based experiences for schools, theatres and families, and built up a wide range of experience working with all ages and abilities to deliver projects designed to provide safe, engaging, exciting places for people to explore and feel inspired.
As an artist I work in all mediums. My passion is building interactive props, making educational objects and dressing spaces, often using recycled materials. I rarely produce identical items, because I enjoy making one-off projects designed for specific experiences. I will be running the Discovery Sprouts sessions with Bizi and will also be adding some JoleyMakes creations around The Patch for you all to enjoy. I look forward to meeting and making with you soon.
