Back again and now we are back into a normal routine. 

Little Group have kicked things off this week with making some chocolate chip shortbread biscuits to take home and also a teddy bears picnic in the end room where we decorated the biscuits and had snack on the floor. 
They have also made some really nice little pieces of art for the display board in the kitchen.  Each child has made a mini self portrait and Clare has backed them in colourful card. 
Little group have also been to the park and met up with some friends from school who were out there, and for once, it didn't rain!

Middle group have been playing some parachute games in the hall with favourites like cat and mouse.  
They have also made a brilliant New Years Tree to put on tbe window into the kitchen.  It has some of the children's resolutions on there, like "getting better at football" but the best one waws "get more sleep!"
They have also made some scarecrows usng lolly sticks and wrapped in coloured string.  They all made some fantastic scarecrows.  They also joined in with little group to do some den building in the hall with parachutes and plastic scaffold. 
They were most taken with pizza making using tortilla wraps as a base, then they had the option of adding different toppings.  They each made their initials using the toppings to tell them apart. 

Big Group have been world building, given a sheet to design their flag, national flower and animal, monuments or landmarks, uniforms etc, they all really got into it and created some brilliant designs.  It was great to see them all really diving into their imagination. 

They have also been really creative with white tiles and marker pens to create some beautiful artwork.  

There has been a lot of physical activites as usual with stage ball, running games and football in the hall, along with some relaxing times as well with Pool and PS4 and also the A-Z quiz and free drawing. 

Always lots going on at Kids' Club!
​See you all next week. 

Welcome back to a new year at Kids Club! We hope you all had a great time off.

The children have come back full of beans and seem to have settled right back into routine.  
We've had some great sessions already, especially in Little Group which have been mostly planned by one of the children in year 1.  She has added sessions like - Yoga and Paint a Pig!
Some of the more normal sessions, however have been making funny shaped penguins which you can see on the End Room window.  They are all fantastic and unique.  The children have used random shaped black paper and then used white circles and orange beaks complete with googly eyes.  
The children have also been writing and drawing about what they got and did for Christmas and wanted to put all this on stocking shapes. 
Clare has also got the children working together to complete two large pictures using tissue paper.  One, is a large penguin and the other is a snowflake. These will go up as a winter decoration somewhere in the building. 
Little group also wanted to have a party, so we used the day we had pizza for snack, and then had some dancing games in the end room with the light off!  They played Musical Statues, although I have no idea how anyone saw anything!

Middle group have been doing lots of physical activities both outside and in, one of which was floor is lava.  The children used the hall and set up different areas for safety when the Lava call was made. 
They have also played other games like dodgeball and bench ball.  
Michaela has tried her hand at Tattoos using facepaints, and she's done ok...
Joe is going to help next time to avoid dissapointment. 

Big group have done more forfeit games where children can choose a beanboozle challenge to taste. Some of the children need a drink alongside the game, while other actively look for the "fart" flavoured one.
They have also been playing some cube mini games in the hall, often a favourite session as each mini game includes different skills, meaning anyone could win overall. 
Mafia was also played on a busy Tuesday and Ben did a fantastic job of narrating the game. 
Big group have also needed lots running around and so have played games like, first to the bib and capture the flag to get them to burn off some energy, and Friday will open up Pool for them. 

So, lots has happened, and I have probably forgotten something. There are already some sessions planned by the children for next week which they are getting excited about.  We encourage the children to write down ideas on a sheet for the group in the kitchen so that their leaders can put it into the planning.  

Have a great weekend, see you all next week!

We've made it, the last after school club of the year!
As you can imagine, all groups have been busy with lots of Christmas crafts and everyone is very excited. 
Little group have been making 3D Christmas trees using paper plates folded into a cone shape and painted and decorated.  They looked fantastic.  They have also made some Reindeer heads using egg cartons! 
In the hall, there have been lots of dancing to Christmas music and also some great Christmas Treasure Island on the whiteboard. 

Middle Group have been dancing along with Little group in the hall with all the Christmas music, and they have also been decorating a large scale tree with baubles they have made and stuck on.  Middle group also made a huge mess in the end room when they made snowflakes out of paper.  The end products were beautiful, and the amount of tiny pieces of paper on the floor at the end of session was like a snow drift. 
Using brightly coloured card, middle group made some cards to give to friends or family, and have also been playing lots of physical games in the hall like benchball, capture the flag and dodgeball. 

Big group have been making some christmas cards also and had free reign of the glitter....
They also have had a festive edition of Treasure Island with some bonus sweets as well as prizes.  In the hall, there were some very competative games of ladders and stageball and also some favourite parachute games as well.  
Mafia was played on one of our busiest days, it was a long game, with the mafia winning against the villagers and there was a lot of cleaver acting during the game.  

So, that bring us to the end of after school club.  There will be one more day of playscheme this year on the 23rd, but then we are closed until the 2nd of January. 

All that is left to say is Merry Christmas, and I hope you all have a fantastic time off with your loved ones.  
​From all of us at Kids' Club. 

Little Group has been Christmas mad this last week.  They have been making Christmas Cards using various craft materials and card, making Santa decorations to hang on the tree, paper chains that have been wrapped around the tree in the foyer, designed a new christmas jumper, for which there was one lucky winner, and also made some really delicious brownies that were supposed to be cut into tree shapes, but we just ate them in squares. 
There were also lots of Christmas Themed games to play as well, including four corners, with Elf, Tree, Holly and Santa as the areas, and a Christmas Treasure Island on the whiteboard. 

Middle Group Has been keeping the christmas theme down until the final week so as not to overwhelm the children.  They have been doing lots of hall games, like Sharky Sharky, tig and some dancing and bowling.
They have also made Brownies (when do they not bake?) and they were really good. 
The children have been begging to have facepaint tattoos for a while, and they have got what they asked for.  There were some interesting designs, with one child having an octopus on her cheek.

​Big Group have been really busy with lots of craft and games.  They have all had a try at some pixel art, focusing on repeating patterns for wrapping paper, and some chrismas pictures, lots of them decided to try reindeers and santa. 
There was also some bingo in the kitchen, which, if you happened to pass thorugh, you'll have noticed it was a very noisy bingo, but they all had a great time, Ryan managed to somehow turn it into a competetive sport. 
In the hall, the children have played some favourites, like dodgeball, wollop the cone and 1 on 1 football.  
Back in big group room, some of the children have had a go at making some christmas cards or decorations, with free reign of the craft area. 

​

Had no time for updates last week so here is a double dose!

The children in Little group have been planning and writing up their own sessions, and they have chosen to make rainbows!  They used paint to make them and then mounted them on the window in the End Room. 
They have also been into junk modeling, making lots of different objects, and some hve requested to make robots. 

There have been lots of physical activities going on with football in the hall, music games, four corners and time bomb.  There have also been lots of board games and card games played in a group, like Uno which is ver popular, and also colouring in and playing theor own snakes and ladders game.  

On the white board, the children have been playing some Christmas Themed Treasure Island and in the kitchen, making Tree shaped bisuits, and chocolate cakes. 

Gearing up for Christmas, the children have helped decorate the end room and the tree in the foyer and will be continuiing to make decorations throughout the comming weeks. 

Middle Group have also been realling into christmas making snowball pompoms, christmas cards, and started making their own advent callendar.  They have also been doing some themed painting and colouring competitions, along with some more general sessions, like facepaint tattoos, sharkey sharkey in the hall and going to the park. Middle group wouldn't be the same without some baking, and they made some snowmen shaped shortbread biscuits with chocolate drop buttons.  Yummy. 

Big Group have been doing lots of team games, with Stool Ball, Ladders, Capture the bib, and football.  They have also played dodgeball and parachute games.  So loads of physical stuff!

They have also played other games they love like Mr and Mrs, Higher or Liar,  Who am I? and Mafia.  

They also did some painting, where there were some genuinely beautiful pieces of art. 

So that's the end of a bust two weeks.  Countdown to Christmas now!

Little group spent all week concentrating on Children in Need by making lots of posters for the cake sale on Friday, and baking lots to sell. 
There has been lots of excitement for this day and they have really pulled out all the stops. 
Middle group have also been baking lots for the cake sale and have been making banners and bunting for the building.  
All in we raised £30 for Children in Need which is fantastic, so a big thankyou to all parents for any donations you gave, we hope you and your children really enjoyed your cakes and biscuits!

Middle group have also been doing regular sessions, such as dodgeball in the hall, and capture the flag outside; both really popular games. 
They have also been playing some whiteboard games in the end room, like hangman and pictionary, and also a giant pudsy bear collage to go with the rest of the decorations. 

Big Group have been very busy playing lots of team games, both physical and mental.  They have played dodgeball in the hall, football, and running games. They have also brought out the parachute again and played sharks and lifguards and cat and mouse.  They also played a game Ryan made up called Stageball wich some parents had to wait for their children to finish so they could go home.  Very competitive, very fun.   
Many of bog group asked for Pixel Art which is hugely popular, all that's needed is squared paper. We also provide them with lots of example pictures as well to copy from or ammend. 

Another team game they love is higher or liar.  Ryan has found some new cards that to broaden the ammount of questions to ask, like, how many chess pieces can you name in 30seconds, or parts of a car etc.  

As it was quiet on Friday, Ryan got out the PS4 so they could play Rayman, a 4 player game that they have to work together to complete the level.  While some wanted to help with the cake sale, drumming up buisness. 

Once again, thanks for reading, please leave a comment!

After having the fireworks demonstration at the castle the weekend before, the children were all talking about fireworks.  Then, as I'm sure you heard, there have been fireworks most nights all last week.
So, due to this, and to keep with the children's interests, the children have been partaking in crafts and games related to bonfire night. 

Little Group Have been discussing bonfire night and talking about staying safe, and having fun.  There were a few ways that the children already knew about when being safe with sparklers, for example, and one of those is to stick the sparkler in a fat carrot and hold that.  This means that it is further from your hand, and nice and thick to hold.
They have also making firework pictures using various media; chalks, felt tips and coloured paper. Clare has also played 'find the firework' as a whiteboard game.  The children have to choose a grid reference and then Clare will reveal if there is a firework in that square or not.  There are 3 to find. 
Continuing the theme, Clare and the children made rockets of their own using cardboard tubes and tissue paper for the streamers and also Firework painting using bright colours and sponges to apply the paint.
On top of all this, there were lots of games in the hall, colouring sessions joined up with middle group when it was quiet, and preparing for children in need week, by colouring Pudsy Bear, and designing biscuits. 

Middle Group have continued the theme as well with firework drawings using chalk, and some autumn colouring pictures, where the children were limited to using only browns, oranges, yellows and reds.  This was done to create a piece of art that really reflected the season.
Middle group have also been getting ready for children in need by doing some colouring pages around the event, and making their own Pudsy bear pictures.  
In the hall, they have been playing Elephants in the long grass, which always involves lots of running, capture the flag, and also a trip to the park nextdoor. 
The group was also lucky enough to make rice crispy cakes using melted marshmallows.  They were extremely sticky, but tasted good. 

Big Group had the best start to the week, when they baked a cake!  A proper Victoria Sponge, complete with jam and cream.  Ryan was mostly pleased with himself as that was the first time he had ever baked a cake. It didn't taste half bad!
They have also done a group favourite of junk modeling, and the new favourite game - Higher or Liar.
In the hall, they have been playing elephants in the long grass, which was joined with middle group, and also 4 corners and some dodgeball.
Big group also tested their artistic skills this week in portraits of their friends.  Some of the artists were very pleased with themselves, the one's being drawn, however...
Big group also played a rapid game of Beetle Drive, which is always a frantic game to play but lots of fun. 

There has been lots going on this week, especially with Halloween, so we were able to do some themed sessions. 

Little Group to begin with, 
They have been playing 'find the pumpkin' where they took it in turns to hide a pumpkin picture in the end room, and then they all had to come back in a find it.  During the same session, they also had a 'best drawing' competition which is something they ask for every week. 

The whole group also came together to make a large collage of a witches hat, which they then displayed on the wall in the kitchen for all the others to see, and also there for the Halloween disco they had at Youth Club on a Thursday. 

They have also been taking part in some Halloween colouring, designing pumpkin faces, playing Halloween themed games both on the whiteboard and in the hall, and dancing to spooky music. 

Little group were very lucky to make some biscuits in the shapes of pumpkins to take home, too. 

Middle Group have also been doing some colouring competitions involving Halloween pictures, making friendship bracelets using different coloured wool, string and twine, and also took part in making a large collage piece to display on the wall.  They made a giant pumpkin!

Michaela also had the children on a treasure hunt around the building, finding clues to lead them to the next spot, and then at the end, a bounty of sweets!

Middle group were also lucky enough to make some biscuits, and iced them with a bright orange colour to make them look more pumpkin like. 

In the hall, they have done some big team games, like capture the flag, dodgeball and benchball, really concentrating on working together. 

Big Group will tell you that the best thing they did this week was Beanboozle Challenge.  Spin the wheel, and pick a jelly bean with the choice of something nice, or nasty.  Some of the flavours were bubblegum or toothpaste, vomit or vanilla, catfood or cola.  The children absolutely love it.  

They also played a game of forfeit treasure island, where if you get certain squares on a grid reference, you had to do a forfeit, usually of something like eat some brown sauce.  Again, they love this kind of thing. 

Big group got creative and did some day of the dead skull designs, using pictures to reference and create their own.  There were some fantastic designs in there. 

They have also been very active playing lots of football at free choice times, as well as a session, and bringing back parachute games! They loved playing parachute games, something we haven't done in big group for a long time, but they had so much fun.  

They have also been obsessed with ghost stories, and had Joe telling some to the older ones of local haunts, and the children shared some of their experiences, too.  

All in all, a very busy week considering we only started on Tuesday!

October half term started on Friday for us, and since then we've been very busy.  There has been lots of baking, with some groups making Rice Crispy cakes, and another group making their own version of a Jammie Dodger biscuit.  
We have had lots of sport sessions, with football being a favourite, both inside and out.  
Uno, the card game has also featured pretty heavily.  Lots of the children love it, and so does Michaela and Clare! 
Chess is still something that children enjoy playing at free choice time, and some of them have been teaching the rules of the game to others as well, which is really nice to see. 
Big and Middle group have made lots of really nice colouring pictures, and also had some drawing competitions, while Little group made collages and paper planes to play with. 
One of the children have brought in a mini monopoly board game, which has attracted the attention of some of the older children, and Joe had a group of children from little, middle and big helping complete a Where's Wally Jigsaw. 
Michaelas group have been outside to collect leaves to make an Autumn collage with some autumn coloured paints as well. 
Middle group have also joined with Big group to do a favourite activity of Pixel Art, using squared paper and some pixel ideas that they can copy.  This seems to entertain everyone.  Even the ones who aren't interested in making any kind of art, somehow Pixel art overcomes them all. 

There has been more craft sessions towards the end of this week, with both Middle and Little group making large artwork of a giant bat using tissue paper and paint, and another of a giant pumpkin using similar materials. 
All the children have been keen to use lots of our colouring pages, and just recently, we have added lots of Superhero ones for them to complete.  
Big group have been playing some competitive dodgeball with a variant of King and Queen.  Each team chooses a VIP in the team  who will then wear a marker, and if they get hit, the whole team is out. It's up to the others to protect, and attempt to get the opposing teams VIP.  This game brings out some interesting tactics to win. 

As a treat today, the children had an option to watch a film, and they all chose The Little Rascals.   Anyone who didn't want to watch had the options of lots of different board games, colouring, free drawing or pool.
  
If you have recently taken part in our survey and realised that this blog is here, please leave a comment and say hello! This is here so that you can get more of an understanding of what goes on here with your children, and it's a platform for you to tell us what they like to do at home, that maybe we can roll into our own planning too. 
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A lot has been going on since being back at Kids Club and everyone has settled into their new groups well.  Little group has been great with all the new children from Reception, but since most of them have been coming over the summer holidays, they already knew what was in store.  Middle group has settled with their new leader Michaela, who has been doing lots of physical sessions with them, including dance, sports and group games like charades. 
Big group is very big! Ryan has been doing a fantastic job with them, often having two sessions running at once so that everyone has something to do.  It does mean, though that the sports sessions are always great with so many participating.

Some of our new parents have asked about what sessions are, and the types of things we make the children do.  Well, we never make the children do the sessions, but we do encourage them to join in.  If they don't want to, then they can find something else to do in the room that they are in.  Some of the big group children like to get a book and read, and little group are happy to get the train set out.  Our main objective for kids' club is that all the children are safe and happy.  

The types of sessions we do varies week to week, with Little group following the same interests as school is doing in Reception, and Middle and Big planning with the children so that everyone gets a say in what they want to do.  We have a good mix of sports, games, cooking and baking, arts and crafts, with opportunities to go to the park and playground to just play and run around.  

I'll try and get back into keeping this blog up to date along with photos, meanwhile, please leave a comment, or just tell Joe you've read the blog.  It would be nice to know I'm not just talking to myself.