Play centre focused on kids socialising and developing lifelong skills

Determined mum-of-two, Vicki McNulty and owner of Greencubs Play, set up her play village in September 2023 when she struggled to find suitable activities to do with her young children in the area.

Vicki loves the idea of eco friendly and sustainable toys and clothing, having used them with her two young boys. So, during Covid, along with her husband Eric, they set up an online baby gift company Greencubs Gifts, focusing on organic, sustainable clothes and gifts for young children.

After Covid, when places reopened, Vicki once again began searching for activities to do with her young children. With a background in paediatric and general nursing, she recognised the importance of children socialising and developing lifelong skills through play. Unfortunately she only managed to find a few activities and none at the weekends.

Carrying on with her interest in sustainable toys and early childhood development, an idea formed which grew in to Greencubs Play - an eco friendly space where children could play, laugh, learn and share sustainably made toys from small Irish businesses.

Running her first two terms in Dunshaughlin Community Centre, Vicki was overwhelmed with the community support. When an opportunity came up in November for Greencubs to have their own space on Dunshaughlin Main street Vicki decided to go for it! Herself and Eric got stuck in cleaning the new space, laying carpet and transforming the space in to a welcoming play environment.

Greencubs' role play village has different stations such as a vets, a supermarket, a construction area, a garden, café, dress-up area and theatre plus an area for smaller children. It is completely child led, so the children can explore at their own pace. Vicki also does an interactive song activity at the end for anyone that wants to join in. Vicki says “It’s so lovely to see children from 6 months-6 years developing their social, cognitive and communication skills at Greencubs Play. I know how hard it is to get out with multiple children so we also offer a 50 per cent sibling discount and siblings under 6 months are free”.

Classes in Greencubs new venue on Dunshaughlin Main street commence Friday 12th January. Each class is 1 hour long and are held on Friday mornings at 9:30am and 11am as well as Saturday mornings at 10am and 11:30am. There is the option of booking a 5 week term to secure your place each week at a discount as well as an option of individual classes to try too.

All classes are pre- bookable in advance so as to keep numbers the same every week. You can find Greencubs at their new venue on Main Street Dunshaughlin opposite the Arch Bar, Eircode A85K856