Friday 31st August 2018

Last day of the Scheme and the last day of the summer, with both sadness and excitement. The Holiday Scheme was one large party headquarters today, as the groups separated and started preparations for the afternoon’s fun.

That is not to say that there was no fun in the morning; far from it. Part of the morning was taken up by a Ukelele workshop delivered by Matthew. We learnt that the ukelele comes from the Hawaii, and in the native language it means ‘a little bird’. And it is little, which makes it easyto handle. Before practicing, we did some rythm and movement exercises, created our own beats and sang an African tune.

The big show, that is our Party, came on after reflections on the summer. The stars of the older-aged group took care of the music, the invitations and the decorations, pulling resources and giving it their all.

We were touched by the kindness of the children’s cards thanking the team here for the fond memories and fun friends. It goes without saying that we will miss the amazing children and will be counting weeks till the next school holidays. So watch this space!

With best wishes,

The Holiday Scheme Team

Rachael Snell : 31 Aug 2018 16:25 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Thursday 30th August 2018

It was all about performance today, and performance was us today.

We shared our magic tricks and learnt new ones - with elastic bands, pencils, paper and cards. No fools in the house and plenty of tricksters.

We also organised a talent show for all, and in their age groups, the children chose and practiced both solo acts and team numbers. What takent should would it be without “Mamma Mia” or “The Greatest Showman”, gymnastics and dance?!

The Moving Image workshop was excellent fun too, with its tricks of the trade, green screen secret and special effects.

Last but not least, the Pop Dance session was a hoot, with rocky tunes and warmup, stretch, new moves and great grooves.

Can we bear to say goodbye tomorrow? Can we make it the most magnificent end to the summer holiday this Friday? You will have to come and see.

With best wishes,

The Holiday Scheme Team

Rachael Snell : 30 Aug 2018 16:58 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Wednesday 29th August 2018

Today’s theme was History and you know what, we did plenty of it.

First up was Henry VIII who appeared in person, full-height and full-on, with his larger-than-life personality and nothing-in-impossible attitude. Joking aside, the actor-impersonator truly brought history to life, telling the story of Tudors, their continental relations and all that has impacted Britain to this day. It got scary at times, with graphic descriptions of executions, but the session ended with music played on medieval instruments, including that very familiar tune called Greensleeves.

The groups also played games, made a Three-in-a-Row board and drew impressive, elaborate portraits of that most controversial Tudor, Henry.

We are back for adventure and learning tomorrow, hoping the weather will hold for us.

With best wishes,

The Holiday Scheme Team

Rachael Snell : 30 Aug 2018 07:51 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Tuesday the 28th of August

Welcome back to The Holiday Scheme. Last week before back to school, and we’re just as busy as when it all started.

It was Animation Day, and with Gemma’s help, the children created their very own animated stories.

The first phase entailed making the characters and props with plasticine. Here, again, the sheer amount of wacky creativity at times stunned us. See if you can imagine aliens in sailboats, penguins eating ice-cream and goblins in shorts? Need we carry on? You get the picture: a playdough party. The models then took centre stage to tell the story with the help of various backgrounds, such as a street, sea or sky.

The teams’ completed animation movies will be forwarded to the parents in due course: Gemma tells us it will take roughly two weeks for the films to be edited.

Besides all that, there was a chance to calm down and chat, to make a kite and, most hilarious of all, to play apple bobbing!

We return tomorrow for Tudor Day. Guess who is making an appearance?

With best wishes,

The Holiday Scheme Team

Rachael Snell : 28 Aug 2018 16:47 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Friday the 24th of August

As always, the week at The Holiday Scheme ended on the high.
The theme today was Sports, but there was more to our day than that.

The art and craft activities included decorating a sporty cupcake. Among the dazzling designs were footballs, tennis balls, rackets and baseball caps. The added challenge was NOT to eat the icing while making it into tempting colourful shapes.

There was also painting, with brushes repeating Picasso’s grooves among others. We did stress that ‘It’s not copying, it’s being INSPIRED!’ and ‘Good artists copy, anyway, and the great ones steal.’

The multi-sports session took place outside and was complete with relay races, parachute games and team competitions. The highlight was the yoga session in the middle of the afternoon, to stretch and strengthen, and then rest and recover.

We could tell you about the sports t-shirt designs or the hand-made skittles as well, but you get the idea: the children had fun, did some learning and practiced some skills. They should be ready for the Bank Holiday, after which we will resume our programme for one final summer week this year.

With best wishes,

The Holiday Scheme Team

Rachael Snell : 24 Aug 2018 16:33 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Thursday the 23rd of August

Our explorations today started with clay - fruit and vegetables, shaped with fingers, left to dry. It is messy work but that’s the whole point. Adventure was the theme of the day today, and we did our best to get adventurous indoors and out.

There was Forest School with Jo, whom the regular children have got to know and like.
She explained about feeding small sticks to tiny sparks, and how to use water wisely in the woods. They played with mud, and climbed some trees, and built some dens, and finally, toasted marshmallows on their hand-whittled sticks over the fire.

And there was also coloured playdough, which was moulded into all sorts of arty-looking clever things. The skill, concentration and imagination poured over the making of the simplest object was wonderful to witness. Some children went home with sticks from the woodland; others took their clay or plasticine figures; then there are those who would take stories and jokes from their new friends.

We will be back tomorrow for more observation, leading and participation.

With best wishes,

The Holiday Scheme Team

Rachael Snell : 23 Aug 2018 16:33 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Wednesday the 22nd of August

Naneh V Hovhannisyan<nvhovhannisyan@gmail.com>	13:56 (2 hours ago)
to me

Rachael Snell : 22 Aug 2018 16:30 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Tuesday the 21st of August

Another day, another theme, and today’s was Warrior. Well, we had variations, though far less fierce and fear-inducing than actual members of the actual military.

In the morning, Dan from Ultim8 Warrior constructed an obstacle course for the younger group. The silly little things soon became substituted by harder and harder challenges, and soon we had children lying on the ground, crawling and puffing their way to the finish. But finish they did, though not before they got to be gladiators and fight off squirty wet sponges with their shields.

The older group were busy doing crafts at that time, and when they swapped after lunch, the younger kids then made their own warrior-themed crafts, such as gladiator helmets. Those Roman soldiers would have been impressed by the paper and card recreations of their metal headgear!

The whole gang had a blast, as some said, which is kind of the point of The Holiday Scheme.

Back tomorrow with some more.

With best wishes,

The Holiday Scheme Team

Rachael Snell : 21 Aug 2018 16:49 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Monday the 20th of August

It’s been a day for all things Science here at The Holiday Scheme.

In the morning, we made papier mache mountains and quirky red solutions for one of our experiments. It turns out, sometimes kitchen volcanoes erupt and sometimes they just stay sleeping. In any case, the children witnessed the effects of baking soda and vinegar on their paper creations.

Later on, we headed over to the visiting planetarium, with its own real expert, Mark. Under a blow-up dome, he showed us the night-time sky, complete with planets and stars. Boys and girls were fascinated by the constellations and the ancient Greek myths around them, and the spinning Earth, Sun and Moon sent their heads spinning a few times too.

After the Planetarium, we did crafts and played Mini-beast Hunting outside, before settling down for Free Play. Pretty tired but happy too, with the new friends we met and things we learnt. Signing off till tomorrow.

With best wishes,

The Holiday Scheme Team

Rachael Snell : 20 Aug 2018 16:39 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Friday the 17th of August

It’s nearly the weekend but our busy bees seem oblivious to it, immersed in their outdoor games. You would have thought they’d be tired after the day they’ve had, but the energy reserves are mot exhausted yet.

The morning at Avon Drama Studio was occupied by t-shirt and tote bag making with the Warwick Arts team. Some of the designs astounded the staff, the all-too-realistic octopus drawn by one young artist being among them.

After lunch, the children continued printing patterns, this time making notebooks, presumably, to go in the tote bags. There was still quilling to do - fine motor skills at the ready - as well as mosaic craft, using paper tiles and imagination.

As mentioned above, the active part of the day was spent outside, playing dodge ball. Ah, nearly forgot the very hilarious Caterpillar Races - pretend to be a crawly and get an apple to your team as fast as you can. Whilst it’s not rocket science, it did prove harder than imagined, not use our legs.

We enjoyed this Friday very much. Back next week for more crazy, cool and creative stuff.

With best wishes,

The Holiday Scheme Team

Rachael Snell : 17 Aug 2018 16:41 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem