Kids, kids, kids Greenwich was made for kids. Wide open spaces, secret spots, pirates and river trails. Flowers for the Summer and conkers for Autumn, and not forgetting the sparkly white winters of sledging and snowman building in the park. Listed in this section you’ll find activities and events to keep your little treasures entertained and stimulated!
This month our activities guru Rachael Osborne went searching for fun on a Tuesday afternoon…
For those of you that don’t know me I am a local mum and have two children, my daughter Erin is 3 1/3 (the 1/3 is VERY important!) and my son Alex is 21 months, for things to do I think we are pretty spoilt in Greenwich but I am still always on the lookout for something to keep my kids occupied and one of our favourites is “Play Tuesday” at the Maritime Museum.
Every Tuesday throughout the day there are sessions by a story teller, musician, dance teacher or an environmental lesson, each class is based all things maritime and we are rarely disappointed!
Erin’s favourite leader is Paul who runs the music led sessions; he engages the children on their level and gets them hunting around the museum for different kinds of boats or learning about explorers. My son loves Ella “the dancing lady” whose mild manners when faced with 20 toddlers always amazes a fellow teacher friend and I!
The bonus of these sessions is of course they are free! They run for an hour at a time and are capped at 20 (including parents), being held in the museum means even after your hour play Tuesday experience there are plenty of things to do/see on those wet days.
In the holidays the traditional play Tuesday makes way for a lot of craft based activities that keep Erin very happy when Alex isn’t ripping or grabbing at whatever she is doing.
Apart from the somewhat ridiculous man behind the maritime desk who insists on newborns having a ticket (yes I am serious) or refusing to give you a ticket unless you stand front and centre for him with all children present and correct – so no herding kids in the cafe while the other parent gets tickets makes jumping though his somewhat overzealous hoops well worth it.
I don’t think there is a Greenwich parent around that hasn’t experienced the Maritime Museum on a wet afternoon, between the Cafe upstairs for kids to run around in and the newly refurbished Children’s gallery (no mudlarks but ok) Play Tuesday is worth a try.
Rachel Osborne is a local mums of 2 and owner of Tiptoes & Tappers Dance School Rachael has been dancing for 26 years, she trained with the prestigious Elmhurst Ballet School (now Lower School to the Birmingham Royal Ballet) before completing a 3 year Jazz Performers Diploma with the London based Urdang Academy. Dancing on the West End stage and performing with various ballet companies Rachael has gained a wealth of knowledge in both teaching and professional dance.