Holiday club HALF term 2021
đ„đ„đ„SYCP free half term holiday club was EPIC!đ„đ„đ„
Thank you to Chester le Street AAP #funandfood and The JD Foundation for funding the day which enabled us to provide everything free.
đđ»đ€A huge thank you to our staff and volunteers for the hours/weeks of planning, preparation and shopping to ensure the day was a fantastic success. They set the bar high at Easter so really had to challenge themselves to make half term better still âïž
đđ»đđ» Thank you to our amazing minis and juniors for making the day so enjoyable.
đWe kept everyone active and on their feet for the whole 9 hours. There wasnât a minute spare for anyone to get bored! The session is filled with lots of learning in a fun environment.
đ„Łđ„We started with breakfast at 8:30. The children enjoyed a selection of breakfast pastries, cereals and fruit juices.
đ9am everyone had an hour at the park while we waited for the Candy Kids entertainment to set up in the hall.
đ¶10am - 12 was non stop party games. Extreme Musical statues, Fortnight dance-offs, limboing were the favourites.
đ§đMidday was lunch time with a ploughmanâs lunch outside in the sunshineđ¶
đThe afternoon was filled with a range of activities.
đđIndoors out of the sun we did mindful colouring and made positive affirmation cards in picture frames to take home.
đčđ°The theme for our holiday club was animal care and being a responsible animal owner.
đđAnimals about Town came to visit us and were really impressed at how respectful our young people were towards the animals. Learning to care for animals and treat them with kindness is an experience that children can easily transfer to their relationships with other humans too - it helps to build empathy, understanding and respect for both their peers and adults.
đšđWe painted animals and insects with RecycLD. Painting enhances creativity, increases fine motor skills and teaches children color recognition and hues.
đ·ââïžđȘDen building is always popular. We repeated the activity because it challenges and develops physical and mental wellbeing.
Itâs a simple activity with a wide and varied range of benefits:
đâPHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
It promotes gross motor skill development through moving, lifting and carrying materials to make their den. The children really put their hands and fingers to work threading and weaving, manipulating and fixing materials, placing, gripping and grasping, and tying knots.
đ€TEAMWORK AND COOPERATION
Working together is really the only way to succeed if you want to build a good den! Teamwork is a big life skill for children to learn
đ€PROBLEM SOLVING
They donât realise it, but practical application of maths, physics and engineering are all part of the fun!
To build what they want to achieve and to make their structure sound, children will need to think creatively and logically to work around problems that they encounter.
đŁđđ»COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Children learn how to convey their thoughts and ideas through talking and describing. Language is used to solve problems.
Not only the words themselves, but also the way in which they are expressed. Itâs so important to help children to develop their communication skills so that they can interact positively with others, express their own needs and ideas and theorise about the world they live in.
đđ§ROLE PLAY AND IMAGINARY PLAY
Engaging in role play once the children have built their den. A den is the perfect place for young learners to try out role play and imaginary play acting out and cementing their understanding of situations and experiences.
đđINDEPENDENCE AND SELF ESTEEM
Unknowingly to our young people, building a den either alone or with peers and playing in it in their own way is in part about a child learning how to challenge themselves, both physically and mentally, in preparation for the independence and some of the challenges that will lie ahead as they grow and become adults.
đ§ GROWTH MINDSET
Achieving a Growth Mindset is incredibly important for those children who are often anxious and unwilling to try something new. Children may not realise at first that they are learning new things, developing determination from making mistakes and rectifying them or finding alternative ways. This is a significant life skill that is required in most elements of their education and something that we can always relate back to as an example with them, helping them to believe in themselves and persevere.
đ§đŠđđ©The children enjoyed ice lollies in the sun and ended the session with tea of loaded hot dogs and goodies donated from GREGGS bakers.
đ đ5:30pm HOME TIME YEY! Children with sad faces at home time when parents came to collect them. Sad faces means the day was a huge success đđ» and we canât wait for Summer holiday club đđ» we gave everyone lots of free goodies to take home do they eventually left with happy faces đ«đđ
đŽOur staff and volunteers were ready to drop. But no rest for the wicked, they were all back at 8:30 the next morning for a full day of Mental Health First Aid training.