Apples and Jam – Creative Time For Kids
by PlanningQueen on October 1, 2012 in Children's Activities
On Friday I took the three younger children to the lovely Apples and Jam in South Melbourne. We were meeting friends and the kids were booked into the Creative Time session.
I have written about Apples and Jam previously on the blog, the place has a great philosophy and community spirit.
It is also a very beautiful place for kids. You can find out what sessions they have left for this school holidays here or find out more about their garden club for kids and term Creative Time sessions for kids here.
The theme for the Creative Time session we attended was spring and there were a range of spring inspired crafts the kids could choose from.
The preschooler seemed to get a bit nervous at first when I said I would see him at the end of the session, but once he settled into the activities he was very content to be creating with his siblings and friends.
Once settled my girlfriend and I walked to another part of the South Melbourne Commons building to the cafe. The Commons is actually an old school:
The South Melbourne Commons project is a partnership between Friends of the Earth Australia, The Father Bob Maguire Foundation and the Parish of St Peter and St Paul. You can learn more about Friends of the Earth below .
Friends of the Earth have leased part of the old Galilee Primary Schools from the Parish of St Peter and St Paul. The building has undergone a sustainable retrofit to accommodate several social enterprises and provide valuable community services in this now public space.
All enterprises at The Commons must adhere to strict environmental guidelines outlined by Friends of the Earth. All enterprises must have a social purpose and give something back to the local community. {Source: commons.org.au}
The cafe is very child friendly. There were a group of mums there with about 4-5 babies happily chatting in a corner.
We had time for a drink and a bite to eat and no calls were received as the kids were having a ball! The homemade relish that came with my breakfast burger was super delicious!
Next to the cafe is The Pantry where you can buy all sorts of lovely organic goods. They do have an online store if you can’t make it to South Melbourne.
The outdoor area in front of the cafe would be a glorious on a non rainy and cold Melbourne day!
When we arrived back at Apples and Jam, the kids were finishing off some of their creations. There were:
Binoculars.
Rainbow clouds.
Flower mobiles.
And these recycled bits of paper turned into…..
Dinosaurs!
Everyone had a lovely morning. Master 6 stated he wanted to have his birthday party at Apples and Jam! (They do host birthday parties there.) I loved that the kids could choose from the various craft activities and mostly recycled materials were used for their creations. We will definitely head back again to do another session.
What have you been up to so far this school holidays?
6 comments...read them below or add one
We have mostly been enjoying each other’s company, but have also pent time attepark, pool and tomorrow are booked into school holiday activities at the library. I love the sound of apples and jam.
Over the last 24 hours we had a “theme” day at home with the kids cousin staying over. Super simple but we had lots of fun. Enjoy your session at the library!
Apples and Jam sounds wonderful. I wish we had one in Sydney. Art and About is on in here and my little one is only two but we have been having a great time checking out all the art. I think older kids would be able to engage even more x
What a great concept. I wish we had something similar in Perth as well. What a great way to spend the day. X
Oh wow – this looks fantastic. I was only at Melbourne Commons the other day and had no idea Apples and Jam existed. I love the set up for birthday parties and will definitely be making an enquiry for Miss M
That looks utterly brilliant. I do wish all our spare cash wasn’t sucked into psych and speech therapy as my girls would love to go there. However we have a recycling bin full of cardboard and tons of sticky tape so I might entice them both outside for some craft in the backyard.