Jane Georgopoulos is the playdough-making arts and crafts coordinator at her granddaughters’ playgroup, Metford Community, which is the same one she went to with her son Nicholas in the late 1980s.
She attends now with Nicholas’s daughters Chloe, 19 months, and Penny, 4. When looking for a group for her grandchildren, she sought out Metford Community, fondly remembering the space’s generous outdoor area. “Everyone really loves being out in the sunshine,” she says.
Jane also likes the playgroup’s organisation, where tea, rice crackers and fruit are always on hand. Activity tables provide the kids opportunities to gather, play, draw and create.
In addition to opening, closing and tidying up after every session, Jane devises weekly craft projects for the kids. First, she creates a sample at home, then makes supply kits for each of the 12 to 13 kids. Together with their parents, the children work on the craft.
“It’s really important to help the parents,” she says. “Being able to organise the space and the art activity, to open and close the playgroup each week – this lets the parents relax and socialise with each other.”