Check out our poster for our 1st Fundraiser! we’d love to see you all there, the ‘Dads Rockers’ are our very own dads together on stage for the 1st time! We’ll have our Raffle and Tombola.
Don’t delay! Get in touch to buy your tickets today! email: dads.rock@yahoo.co.uk
![DR_fundraiser[1]](https://i0.wp.com/nen.press/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/dr_fundraiser1.jpg?ssl=1)
Edinburgh dads group Dads Rock will head west to help launch a new PlayTalkRead initiative aimed at men tomorrow.
A list of 30 things for dads to do with their children up to the age of three is being launched this Father’s Day. Dads attending the Family Man Fun Day at Hamilton Park Racecourse this Sunday will be invited to have a go at some of the suggestions on the list by climbing on board the PlayTalkRead buses.
The two buses will be packed with activities for children to enjoy with their families. One of the buses will be taken over by Dads Rock, Scotland’s only musical playgroup run by dads for dads, who will be demonstrating their own brand of fatherly fun through songs, storytelling and games.
The 30 Things To Do With Dad Before You’re Three list offers loads of great ideas to encourage dads to spend some quality time with their children, from dressing dad up as a superhero and making pancakes together, to staging a mini Olympics and building a den to read a book inside.
Minister for Children and Young People Aileen Campbell said:
“Father’s Day rightly celebrates all that’s great about dads and is a great opportunity to have some family fun.
“This new list is packed with great ideas for dads spending quality time with their children. We know that evidence shows us that during the first three years of a child’s life, 75 per cent of brain growth is complete and an estimated 50 per cent of language is in place, so it’s never too early to start.
“Simply playing, talking and reading with little ones will give them the best start in life. I hope everyone visiting the PlayTalkRead buses at the Family Man Fun Day has a great day out.”
The full 30 Things To Do With Dad Before You’re Three list is available to download from the PlayTalkRead website along with a number of new interactive games for parents and children.
Thomas Lynch, co-founder of Dads Rock, said:
“We are thrilled to be asked to be a part of PlayTalkRead’s celebration of Father’s Day. This is only one step towards our long term vision to support dads across the country to understand the vital role they play in their children’s development. In line with PlayTalkRead’s principles we believe that doing simple things such as singing along to your favourite band, or playing with your children daily is crucial for bonding and children’s healthy development.”
Research underpinning the Early Years Framework shows that:
Follow Play Talk Read on Twitter – @playtalkread
Hi,
We wanted to share our latest news regarding Dads Rock Fife, our new South Edinburgh venue, 1st Birthday Party, and our short film. The film was made to show what Dads Rock is all about; please take a few moments out of your day to watch it and feel free to pass it on..
Link to our latest Blog: http://dadsrock.blogspot.co.uk/
Link straight to our Film:
Dads Rock is part of Fathers Network Scotland. (www.Fathersnetworkscotland.org.uk)
Blog: http://dadsrock.blogspot.co.uk/
Facebook: Dads Rock
Twitter: @DadsRockEdin
David and Thomas, Dads Rock
Dads Rock have had a memorable year and last week’s Christmas Party put the icing on the cake.
After a lot of fundraising and preparation the group held their first ever Christmas party on 15 December. More than than forty kids were there, and when you add dads, mums, grandparents and friends – and one very special guest (pictured above)! – over 110 people attended.
It was a perfect end to a remarkable year for Dads Rock.
“From Dads Rock point of view it was very humbling and a great way to end the year – to see the joy on the kids faces was priceless! We’ve delivered 48 sessions this year – that’s 72 hours of playgroup and had over 80 dads come along, and 90 kids. We’ve reached over 5000 people on Facebook, had over 10,500 hits on our blog and have nearly 800 twitter followers. It’s been Amazeballs!”![dadsrock_santa[2]](https://i0.wp.com/nen.press/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dadsrock_santa2.jpg?resize=230%2C300&ssl=1)
Children and Families Minister Aileen Campbell MSP officially opened the new Dads Rock group at The Prentice Centre yesterday (Saturday 27 October). Around twenty men and their kids attended the first local session of the playgroup that was set up specifically for dads and male carers.
The Clydesdale MSP was joined by her partner Graham and their wee boy Angus at The Prentice Centre and the family had a great time! Ms Campbell said:”We received a really warm welcome and enjoyed our visit. Dads Rock is a great idea and I really do hope it goes from strength to strength, not only in Edinburgh but across the country”.
Dads Rock founders Thomas and David said: “We were really delighted to see so many new faces at our first session at The Prentice Centre and we’re very grateful to Aileen for showing her support by performing the launch. We’re hoping that the word will spread now that we’re open in Granton and we’re looking forward to meeting more and more local dads as the weeks go on”.
Prentice Centre management committee members and staff were on hand to welcome the new visitors to their building on the corner of Granton Mains Avenue and West Granton Road. Janet Campbell, manager at The Prentice Centre, said: “We are delighted to welcome Dads Rock to the Centre and it was good to see so many people here for the first session. The kids seemed to have a great time and we are sure it will be a success”.
The Dads Rock playgroup meets at The Prentice Centre on Saturday mornings from 10 – 11.30am with play, music time, art stuff, snack and story time – and it’s all free. For more information check out the Dads Rock Facebook page or see their blog at http://dadsrock.blogspot.co.uk/
Children and Families Minister Aileen Campbell MSP will officially open the new Dads Rock group at The Prentice Centre on Saturday 27 October at 10am. Continue reading Childrens Minister to open Dads Rock
Dads Rock, the free fun playgroup for dads and their kids, is coming to Granton. It’s almost a year to the day since Thomas Lynch and David Marshall dreamed up the idea of starting a playgroup for dads and their kids, and Dads Rock has since gone from strength to strength.
Dads Rock’s weekly fun sessions for under-fives at Sighthill’s Gate 55 have been very popular since they were launched last November, and the group has gone on to attract both local and national press coverage – last month the group was featured in a photo exhibition at the Scottish Parliament. Dads Rock is now very excited to be coming to The Prentice Centre on Saturday mornings – the big launch is Saturday 27 October from 10 – 11.30am.
Group founder Thomas Lynch said: “It’s amazing the difference a year makes! We’ve had brilliant meetings at The Prentice Centre and it’s a great venue. We’re really looking forward to starting there on Saturday 27th at 10am – we’re hoping for a great turn out, so spread the news!”
No sooner said than done …
In Dad’s Shoes, a photo exhibition which shows what it means to be a dad, opened in the Burns Committee Room in the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood yesterday.
Organised by Fathers Network Scotland and Dads Rock in conjunction with Dad’s House, the exhibition tells the story of thirty dads of all types, through images and their own words. The pictures – both personal snaps and professional images – shows the great variety of life as a dad, and the aim of the exhibition is to highlight positive, caring images of dads and their children.
Two local men were among the thirty dads whose stories and pictures were recorded for the exhibition. Dads Alex Newport, from Wester Drylaw, and Malcolm Borthwick, are members of a North Edinburgh group set up specifically for dads. Based at the Haven Project in Craigroyston Primary School, the father’s group is run by Circle Scotland’s Nick Smithers, who enlisted the NEN’s help.
Alec and Malcolm were photographed and interviewed last month, but this was the first time they had seen the finished product – fortunately both men were happy with the display!
Alex Newport lives with his sons Cameron (12), Declan (9) and daughter Tiffany (7) in Wester Drylaw.
“Life doesn’t always go to plan. My partner developed Huntington’s disease and is now in care – that had a devastating effect on our family, and it’s been really tough. There have been lots of ups and downs, but things have been more settled as the kids have grown up. They understand more now. The biggest challenge has been the change in lifestyle – from having enough money to having to be very careful, but have a social life as a family and we’ve done lots of fun things together over the summer.
“My big hope for my kids is that they enjoy school – I didn’t have a good educational experience and really I hope my own children will continue to enjoy school – the opportunities available to them are much greater. There will be more challenges – Cameron is nearly a teenager, and daughters can bring other challenges – but we’ll get through them together.”
Malcolm Borthwick lives in Granton with his two-year old son James.
“It was an almightly struggle to get custody of James – my ex-partner’s family made things difficult and I think at first the authorities thought that, because I was brought up in care myself, I wouldn’t be a fit person to bring up my own son. I think the opposite is true – I’m going to do everything I can to make sure James gets the opportunities that I never had.
“I have a boy and girl from a previous relationship. They’re both really brilliant, and I think I’ve learned enough from bringing them up to make sure James is well looked after and cared for. We do everything together – fishing, reading books, going for walks – and I try to make sure James eats all the right things and has a healthy diet. He’ll get the best start in life I can give him.”
Alex, Malcolm and Nick (pictured top) were joined at Holyrood by Circle Scotland Director Liz Dahl, and parliamentarians of all political persuasions were among the first-day visitors – Children and Families minister Aileen Campbell, Sarah Boyack, Lewis MacDonald, Margaret McCulloch and Ann McTaggart were among those MSPs to look in on the exhibition.
Good news for North Edinburgh dads – dad’s group Dad’s Rock will be launching new weekly sessions at The Prentice Centre on Saturday mornings from the end of October. We’ll keep you posted with details when they are confirmed.
This week is the six month anniversary of Dads Rock playgroup, and we thought it was time to reflect on how far we have come, and how much support we have had from so many in such a short space of time.
Thanks to the support we have received, we have been more successful that we could have hoped.
We have now had over 50 Dads come along to our group and with average weekly numbers of 18 Dads and kids it shows that there is a great need for our group in Edinburgh. We have a real mix of Dads coming from all parts of Edinburgh, we have local Dads from across the street as well as Dads who have driven from outside the city, even as far as Galasheils.
We now have a core group who attend on a regular basis and some good relationships have been developed. It is great to see Dads coming together talking about what it means to be a Dad and playing with their kids.
We have over 330 people/organisations following us on Twitter, and our Facebook page has reached over 930 people in one day. Our Polish publicity has paid off with on average 50% of attendees being of Polish origin. We have had interest from a variety of sources including other like minded groups local and national press, MSPs and our MP.
We are proud to have started in Sighthill in Edinburgh and are developing plans to expand the service to allow more areas to benefit from the Dads Rock Experience. Thanks again to all the Dads who’ve come along, the kids for the fun they’ve had.
For more information visit the Dads Rock Facebook page here: Dads Rock Facebook Page
David Marshall & Thomas Lynch (founders of Dads Rock)
