Originating in the UK, Spoonville’ has turned to globetrotting and is causing a stir in suburbs all over Australia to tackle boredom in kids during lockdown. Spoonville’ is a community of wooden spoons (Forks are also welcome, Spoonville is an inclusive community) decorated as kids’ favourite characters, from Buzz Light-spoon to Spoon-minions.
This is Winnersh and Victoria’s Story of Gratitude for Spoonville
Lockdown has seen us all taking to new hobbies, from picking up a book for the first time in years to learning to knit and everything in between. For some of us, finding new ways to entertain ourselves over these long months has been difficult, but for the parents of young children, the challenge of keeping them entertained whilst stuck at home has taken parenting to a whole new level.
With playgrounds closed and limited time allotted to be spent outside each day, there’s only so much of ‘The Wiggles’ you can watch before you and your child start losing the plot. Never fear, the citizens of Spoonville are here to save the day with a creative task, keeping the little ones entertained and giving their imagination a chance to flourish.
Originating in the small village of Winnersh, England: Spoonville was started by local, Karen Vass. In an interview with The Reading Chronicle, Karen said: “I started ‘spoonyville’ as I was concerned about the local children’s mental health while everybody is in lockdown, so I wanted to give them something to do, and something to be creative with.”
Little did she know, Spoonville would transcend the English Village and take to the seas, landing on International shores. The initiative even earned it’s own Facebook group and Google Maps page showing each Spoonville location across countries including North America, New Zealand and Scotland. Vass was surprised at its impact, reportedly saying “I did not expect it to get this popular”.
The creative activity has been a much-welcomed break for parents and kids from home-schooling. In an article from The Age, Upper Pakenham resident Rebecca Ellis reports her experience home schooling her three children for almost the entire time since March whilst also working from home. Ellis states “It has broken it up a little bit … they’re surrounded by coronavirus and school stuff”, she reported deciding that her children’s mental health was even more important during the second lockdown in Victoria.
Imagine if we all dug deep into our creativity and brought a spoon to life. We could have a Spoonville on every street and our neighborhood would be filled with beautiful, colorful artwork.
What are you grateful for? Say thank you the best way we know how, by sharing your story on sharegratitude.com