Monday 6th August 2018

Another sunny day and another fun one here at The Holiday Scheme.

This morning the children tried their hand at rudimentary robotics, making moveable figures and robotic hands with straws, butterfly pins and paper and card.

All sorts of creatures made an appearance: ghostly penguins, cats and Canadian huskies, as well as princesses and heroes.

Later on, Dominique from Zoolab visited us with an array of animals - snakes 🐍 and rats 🐀 to name but two - to tell the children about their features, habits and habitats. Don’t worry, the snake wasn’t venomous!

Having said that, not everyone wanted to stroke the wild creatures, including the Leaders. 😬

The younger age group did animal yoga in the afternoon, which predictably, involved some barefoot stretching and twisting, followed by breathing and relaxation.

Meanwhile, the older age group practiced trust games with partners; turns out if you’ve been trained not to fall all your life, it’s hard to let your body fall backwards. Happy to report, all the pairs caught each other and all the children tried to create variations of other trust games to much amusement and surprise.

We come back tomorrow and we look forward to seeing you there.

Best wishes,

The Holiday Scheme Team

Rachael Snell : 06 Aug 2018 16:07 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Friday 3rd August 2018

We saw children’s sporty side at the Holiday Scheme today.

In the morning, the children created their own sporting equipment out of craft materials.

We had cardboard hockey sticks, paper footballs and even a tennis racquet constructed out of cardboard and string.

The groups also went outside to compete in relay races involving skipping ropes, tennis bats, cones and more.

In the afternoon, we learned how to play rugby 🏉 with coach Troy Perkins. Everybody had great fun practising their skills before taking part in a competitive game of touch rugby.

The children also designed and crated their own rugby shirts as a reminder of the day.

Cheerio...

Rachael Snell : 03 Aug 2018 16:22 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Thursday 2nd August 2018

This Thursday’s theme has been adventure and boy, did we have some!

Some children made their own cookie mixture while others played games and built obstacles courses outside. Watch out for a cookie jar with layered dry ingredients, including dried fruit 🍇 and rolled oats, that’s two of your five-a-day! Please see the recepie and cooking instructions using this link: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2389639/oaty-energy-cookies .

After lunch we were in for a treat: Lego workshop, with amazing creations - both in teams and as individual builders - and outdoor activities. On that note, we give you one word, ‘jumparoo’, and you get the picture, don’t you? We were so thankful for the beautiful sunshine so everyone dried off quickly.

All in all, another fun day with energy and excitement. Don’t forget the theme on Friday is ‘Sports’. Remember to bring a plain t-shirts if you’re with us tomorrow, as we’ll be decorating some these.

See you then 😎

Rachael Snell : 02 Aug 2018 16:05 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Wednesday 1st August 2018

It was a day for learning about warfare technology, admittedly, and thankfully, very rudimentary one at that.

The children split into age groups and our University’s resident scientists, Ian and Anna, led the fascinating workshop, where clay balls, silly explosives and various types of catapult featured to much delight. There was something called a ‘trebuchet’ as well as miniature cannons as well.

The children also had an opportunity to build lego balloon cars and bridges out of various resources. The leaders saw some very strong and sturdy bridges made by the children and some brilliant teamwork. Our younger group took part in a craft activity which involved making mini hot air balloons and lego cars and bridges which was so much fun! We all ended our day by playing parachute games, dodgeball and rounders.

Until next time...

Rachael Snell : 01 Aug 2018 17:25 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Tuesday 31st July 2018

Today was a day for budding artists at the Holiday Scheme.

The children decorated the pavement behind Westwood cafe with some fantastic chalk drawing. We had drawings of lions, dragons, flowers and even a tropical beach scene. One group of boys were especially inventive, drawing two portals with a person disappearing from one end and appearing at the other.

The older group then channelled their inner Jackson Pollock to create some beautiful paint splatter pictures outside, while the younger group created their own comic strips with some very original ideas.

Both groups also took part in ‘Cake Wars!’ They designed their own cake using cardboard, tissue paper and many other things. I am sure you will agree, they look delicious! This activity was designed by the team last night as unfortunately the ‘Art Lady’ wasn’t able to join us. It didn’t stop us having a brilliant time as all the children got stuck in.

Best wishes,

The Holiday Scheme Team

Rachael Snell : 31 Jul 2018 17:07 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Monday 30th July 2018

Warwick University’s Summer Scheme has hit its second week and it HAS been a hit!

Monday opened with the usual welcome routine (no, Health & Safety isn’t the most exciting subject but yes, it has to be done) and breakfast.

For a gentle warm-up, we went outside to collect props for our nature picture. Some children even made their pictures into 3D artworks.

The highlight of the day for the overwhelming majority, however, was Forest School with Jo. She explained us all about how to take care of wild nature, respect the animals’ natural habitat and make the most of the resources found in woodland. Mud pies and camp fire made an appearance, the latter for a specific purpose: toasting marshmallows!

Even if not everyone fancied eating a marshmallow, everyone heard about fires loving cotton wool and vaseline, small sticks and oxygen. And the children really enjoyed witling sticks and making tents.

In between the fruit snacks, lunch hour and all of the above, we also enjoyed making wands for giant bubbles, as well as free play. We’ve had a full day and can’t wait until an arty day tomorrow.

Rachael Snell : 30 Jul 2018 16:57 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Friday 27th July

What a fantastic end to week one! The theme for today was construction which involved a lot of team working and building.

Our younger group began the day with a carnival themed workshop with Jim Morris which involved creative puppet making, followed by a brilliant puppet show performed by the children.

Our older group started the day with group orienteering around campus. The leaders saw some excellent navigation skills from all of the children, as well as team working skills during the team tower building competition. The older group then did their workshop with Jim Morris and made some excellent puppets and costumes, we loved Hope's and Georgina's bat costumes.

We all finished the day with a domino run, limbo competition and tug of war! We can't wait to do it all over again on Monday.

The Holiday Scheme

Rachael Snell : 27 Jul 2018 16:39 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Thursday 26th July 2018

Today was our science themed day at the Holiday Scheme. The children visited the Science Park where they entered the planetarium dome. Everyone was very excited as they entered the dark dome where they looked at spectacular images of galaxies, planets, eclipses and much more.

The space based craft today was making spaceships for our younger group, complete with rocket boosters and flames, while the older group learnt about the solar system and made models of the planets (plus Pluto)!

All of the children made delicious cookie cake monsters and sparkly space gloop. They had a great time getting extremely messy and the staff had a great time tidying up. There were plenty of games played, both indoor and outdoor! Another fantastic day at the Holiday Scheme!

The Holiday Scheme Team

Rachael Snell : 26 Jul 2018 16:43 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Wednesday 25th July

Today has been another success at the Holiday Scheme and the children have all learnt something new about the Vikings.

As today is history themed the children had the opportunity to make Viking hats and shields. The older group made some amazing stalls and a selection of goods to sell. Martha went the extra mile and made herself into a chicken- brilliant!!!

In the afternoon all the children took part in the Viking workshop with Domini which was lots of fun! She was dressed to impress and brought some cool bits to show us, I am sure the children will tell you all about it!

We ended our day by making Viking catapults and some fun medieval games.

We are so excited for our science themed day tomorrow.

The Holiday Scheme Team

Rachael Snell : 25 Jul 2018 16:47 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Tuesday 24th July 2018

Another exciting day on the Holiday Scheme. Today the children went on the University sculpture trail, led by staff from the Warwick Arts Centre. They got to see some of the fantastic art work dotted around Warwick campus such as ‘Dark at Heart’ and the ‘Needle of Knowledge Obelisk’.

There was also a lot of creative thinking today. The age 9s and over group had a go at making their own wire sculptures and had some great ideas such as bangles, faces and even a couple of decorated lightsavers. They also created some very colourful mosaics using Hama beads, which the leaders ironed for them to create a permanent reminder of their day.

The age 8 and under group made their own village out of cardboard boxes. We had houses with working doors and windows, chimneys with smoke coming out and a variety of wall decorations. It all came together to make a very interesting village. The children also planted their own sunflowers or watercress, together with a decorative label made from a wooden spoon and various colourful additions like glitter and even some feathers!

There was some more outdoors fun with the children continuing their capture the flag battle from yesterday and showing a lot of energy and competition.

The Holiday Scheme Team

Rachael Snell : 24 Jul 2018 16:18 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem