“Once upon a time, I was a first-time mum surviving on little sleep... struggling with what to do at home with a baby all day...”
Hi! I’m Claire. An early years expert, teacher, author, purposeful play champion and mum of 2 boys with another baby on the way!
The playHOORAY! journey started when my eldest son, Mason, was tiny. As a first time mum who’s friends and family lived far away, I would often find the days at home lovely but lonely and long. Many days I’d be exhausted from broken sleep, completely running on empty, with even the smallest tasks feeling like hard work.
"When it came to what to do at home with a baby, my mind would go completely blank. I wanted to keep my son happy and entertained, but I needed to make my life easier..."
One day I decided to draw on my teaching experience and write a list of simple play ideas that would keep Mason stimulated and allow me to actually finish a cuppa. I purposely only chose ideas I could quickly set-up using things I’d have around the house. I called them: playPROMPTS. But at this point, I had no intention of anyone else ever seeing them!
The joy of watching my son absorbed in play began to energise my weary mum-brain, and reminded me how passionate I am about the power of play on early years development. I realised the prompts were something other tired parents and their little ones would benefit from too.
And so playHOORAY! was born, built in nap times and while Mason was busy putting my playPROMPT ideas into practice.
7 years, another incredible son, and a growing bump later-playPROMPTS are now used allover the world by fellow parents, carers, and educators who want to make stimulating their children easy, fun and realistic.
Playing at home doesn’t need to look Pinterest-perfect.
Children can be fascinated by the simplest things! Everything I do is about helping parents invite their kids to explore, experiment, imagine and learn-without needing expensive toys or resources. My range of purposeful play products has expanded to include over 30 varieties of playPROMPTS, the playPROMPTS App, theplayHOORAY! Handbook, numerous online courses, and The HUB, my brand new membership site.
I pinch myself everyday that playHOORAY is now my fulltime job and I've been featured as a play expertby some of the world's leading children's brands including Lego, Cocomelon, BBC Bitesize, Mother & Baby & more. The more I see other families making use of their playPROMPTS, or gaining confidence in The HUB, the more determined I become to reach and empower more parents with the tools they need to make play feel doable, even in the whirlwind of those earlydays.
I’ve grown an amazing community of parents giving their children the best start to life through play. I can safely say, if you’re looking for what to do at home with a baby or young child all day, you’re in the right place!
GET INSPIRED, GET PLAYING Are you ready to make your days at home more playful? There’s plenty here to help! Browse all playHOORAY’s products by age here!
WORKING WITH ME Interested in hearing me talk on the power of play or want to discuss collaborating together? Click here to find out more about working with me!
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