MWAE Toddler group was started in 2008 with weekly sessions of two hour length held in the original mosque building which is now Aroma Cafe. It was the first Toddler group to be established in a mosque in Scotland.
At that time the old mosque building was in disrepair. The volunteers running the group shampooed the carpet and cleaned an area to use for the toddlers to play in. A call out for toys received donations of two toy boxes full of good quality toys for children aged from 0 to 4 year old.
Edinburgh Central Mosque had kindly given us permission to use the space and have snacks for mums and kids. But when the weather got colder the space got very uncomfortable to use even with two large heaters brought in by MWAE volunteers. We contacted the mosque committee to explain that the group was being run regularly and had good attendance but the space we were using was very uncomfortable in the wintry weather. We requested use of the downstairs multi-function hall in the main mosque. Alhumdholilah this was granted and our toddler group has gone from strength to strength with different volunteers taking over managing it over the years at Edinburgh mosque and Iqra Academy.
Advertising our Toddler group in GP surgeries and library notice boards meant that mums and grandmas with toddlers to look after found us and have attended the group even though they weren’t Muslim. We have made connections with a granny gardener who helped us plan planting in the mosque garden. Another granny had a daughter who worked in publishing and donated locally published board books for the group. They were quite happy to sit on the floor in our mosque with the children even though we offered chairs.
Right from the start our enthusiastic volunteers incorporated rhyme-time and story-time in the sessions. These have been enjoyed just as much by the mums as the children. Muslim nursery rhymes were always included and when Elizabeth Lymer ran the group we were lucky to be taught her original rhymes and stories that she wrote herself.
Each volunteer managing the group has brought their own energy to the group. They (can’t remember the sister’s name) established “Healthy snack time” teaching toddlers to try new fruits and tidy up after themselves. The Toddler group acquired chairs and folding tables for the Toddlers to sit at and needed space to store these and the new toys including slide and tricycles that we now had. Edinburgh Central Mosque allocated a lockable cupboard specially for our Toddler group equipment. This really helped us feel like we had established a sustainable group for mums and kids.
The regular weekly sessions have been held on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays in the past. The Toddler group has given mums, who feel isolated when caring for a pre-school child, a comfortable place to socialise and chat about issues that concern them. To help with these issues, MWAE have invited speakers and visitors to attend the Toddler sessions to talk about pre and post natal care as well as general health issues for children. We have made connections with practitioners who work in schools, the council and the health service to provide advice and talks on issues ranging from good dental health to recognising autism in your child.
Whenever the weather has been good, the Toddler group has let the children play otdoors or had picnics on The Meadows. When mums have wanted to continue sessions in school holidays we have accommodated the older siblings too.
It is therefore very gratifying to hear from a sister who was in Edinburgh during her studies that the Toddler group gave her a focal point for socialising with Muslim mums when her daughter was a toddler. The interaction helped relieve her felling of isolation when in a new country away from her family. She proudly states that it was at MWAE Toddler group that her daughter took her first steps and learned to walk! Alhudholilah.