Spoonville fad dishes out lockdown relief for stir-crazy kids.
Dublin Core
Title
Spoonville fad dishes out lockdown relief for stir-crazy kids.
Subject
Spoonville fad dishes out lockdown relief for stir-crazy kids
Description
Melbourne's first lockdown saw teddy bears and rainbows appear in windows, now lockdown 2.0 has another activity for stir-crazy children as communities full of brightly painted wooden spoon characters pop up across the suburbs.
Originating in the English village of Winnersh, the Spoonville fad has spread across Britain and is finding a toehold in Victoria, where spoon villages are sprouting in parks and nature strips.
Flynn, Rebecca Ellis, Milla and Ashby take their decorated wooden spoons to a Spoonville at the Cardinia Cultural Centre.
Flynn, Rebecca Ellis, Milla and Ashby take their decorated wooden spoons to a Spoonville at the Cardinia Cultural Centre. CREDIT: EDDIE JIM
Characters have included cartoon favourites, monsters, animals and even a Reese Witherspoon.
It follows the global bear hunt and rainbow trail activities, where children put their bears or drawings of rainbows in windows for other children to spot while taking a walk around their neighbourhood.
Junelle Wilson and her three sons provided a home for a family of spoon people on their Longwarry nature strip in March after hearing of the trend from a friend in Scotland.
Locals began to add other residents to the community before a few more Spoonvilles appeared nearby but it wasn't until Melbourne's second lockdown that the spoons really started to cause a stir.
Spoonvilles pop-up across the world to help kids cope with COVID-19
Spoonvilles pop-up across the world to help kids cope with COVID-19
Little villages of spoon people are popping up across Melbourne, as people find new ways of entertaining kids during the COVID-19 lockdown.
"It's really lovely that it's taken off. People are saying it's the new rainbow trail," Ms Wilson said.
"It was all about the mental health of the kids and that's become more apparent the longer we've gone on, so I'm really hoping it just gives kids something to do and something to smile at when they go for a walk every day."
New Spoonvilles are now popping up each day and they've been spotted in Pakenham, Frankston, Lilydale and Nunawading, amongst other places.
Parents have been using the activity as a break from distance learning, while primary schools have been getting those students who are still attending classes to create spoon villages as a way of getting their minds off the pandemic.
Rebecca Ellis has been working from home in Upper Pakenham while homeschooling her three children almost the entire time since March.
Ashby (12), Flynn (8), and Milla (6) spent part of Thursday morning decorating wooden spoons with pompoms, paint and googly eyes.
They then added their creations to a Spoonville outside the nearby Cardinia Cultural Centre.
"I said 'we've done enough, let's do something fun'," Ms Ellis said.
The Spoonville craze originated in an English village called Winnersh and has made its way to Pakenham.
The Spoonville craze originated in an English village called Winnersh and has made its way to Pakenham. CREDIT: EDDIE JIM
"It has broken it up a little bit ... they're surrounded by the coronavirus and school stuff."
Ms Ellis said children's mental health was even more important during the second lockdown as she now knew what to expect during weeks of isolation.
"It's so important that they can click off – and I say literally click off because iPads just rule our lives – and do something creative [and] get out of the house."
Ashby said she missed going to school and that distant learning could be challenging some days.
"[Making the spoons] is pretty good, because otherwise, I get all cranky," she said.
Some parents might relate.
Originating in the English village of Winnersh, the Spoonville fad has spread across Britain and is finding a toehold in Victoria, where spoon villages are sprouting in parks and nature strips.
Flynn, Rebecca Ellis, Milla and Ashby take their decorated wooden spoons to a Spoonville at the Cardinia Cultural Centre.
Flynn, Rebecca Ellis, Milla and Ashby take their decorated wooden spoons to a Spoonville at the Cardinia Cultural Centre. CREDIT: EDDIE JIM
Characters have included cartoon favourites, monsters, animals and even a Reese Witherspoon.
It follows the global bear hunt and rainbow trail activities, where children put their bears or drawings of rainbows in windows for other children to spot while taking a walk around their neighbourhood.
Junelle Wilson and her three sons provided a home for a family of spoon people on their Longwarry nature strip in March after hearing of the trend from a friend in Scotland.
Locals began to add other residents to the community before a few more Spoonvilles appeared nearby but it wasn't until Melbourne's second lockdown that the spoons really started to cause a stir.
Spoonvilles pop-up across the world to help kids cope with COVID-19
Spoonvilles pop-up across the world to help kids cope with COVID-19
Little villages of spoon people are popping up across Melbourne, as people find new ways of entertaining kids during the COVID-19 lockdown.
"It's really lovely that it's taken off. People are saying it's the new rainbow trail," Ms Wilson said.
"It was all about the mental health of the kids and that's become more apparent the longer we've gone on, so I'm really hoping it just gives kids something to do and something to smile at when they go for a walk every day."
New Spoonvilles are now popping up each day and they've been spotted in Pakenham, Frankston, Lilydale and Nunawading, amongst other places.
Parents have been using the activity as a break from distance learning, while primary schools have been getting those students who are still attending classes to create spoon villages as a way of getting their minds off the pandemic.
Rebecca Ellis has been working from home in Upper Pakenham while homeschooling her three children almost the entire time since March.
Ashby (12), Flynn (8), and Milla (6) spent part of Thursday morning decorating wooden spoons with pompoms, paint and googly eyes.
They then added their creations to a Spoonville outside the nearby Cardinia Cultural Centre.
"I said 'we've done enough, let's do something fun'," Ms Ellis said.
The Spoonville craze originated in an English village called Winnersh and has made its way to Pakenham.
The Spoonville craze originated in an English village called Winnersh and has made its way to Pakenham. CREDIT: EDDIE JIM
"It has broken it up a little bit ... they're surrounded by the coronavirus and school stuff."
Ms Ellis said children's mental health was even more important during the second lockdown as she now knew what to expect during weeks of isolation.
"It's so important that they can click off – and I say literally click off because iPads just rule our lives – and do something creative [and] get out of the house."
Ashby said she missed going to school and that distant learning could be challenging some days.
"[Making the spoons] is pretty good, because otherwise, I get all cranky," she said.
Some parents might relate.
Creator
The Age
Source
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/spoonville-fad-dishes-out-lockdown-relief-for-stir-crazy-kids-20200716-p55cos.html
Publisher
The Age - Chloe Booker
Date
17/07/2020
Format
Videos, Photos
Language
English
Still Image Item Type Metadata
Original Format
Different photos of wooden spoons decorated as spoonvilles.