July 29th

After a couple of weeks off school for vacation care we are straight back into the swing of things. We like to take the opportunity to learn alongside our children when they have incursions at OSHC. During the holidays we were lucky to have Paul from Lapin Ink teach us how to draw some comics. He focussed greatly on how each frame needs to set the scene, introduce a character or tell one step in an event so the reader can follow the story line. We decided to continue some of that learning by drawing our own comics this week.

Just like the rest of the world, many people (staff included) are caught up in the storm that is Pokemon Go. For the regular readers, we were anticipating this game early before its release date. We never imagined it would be this popular! It isn’t just people playing the game on a device, many have dusted off their old trading cards, drawn or coloured in pictures, played make believe games or just talked about who has caught what. It has been wonderful to hear about what the kids have caught during the weekends, because I don’t think we have ever had kids share so much about what they did on the weekend!

P.S. Go Team Mystic!!!

Tuesday this week was very creatively focussed; with lots of art, origami, making and make believe games. The weather was dry enough that we spent a great deal of time outside running amuck, playing ball games, such as footy and lots of chasey on the playground.

Wednesday was similar to Tuesday as we were outside playing badminton, football and soccer. In the SAC many children were having a go at gymnastics. It was lovely to have some of the older and/or more experienced gymnasts running a workshop style lesson with others. This sharing of knowledge is always welcome.

Towards the end of the week we slowed down, with not much happening outside. Luckily gymnastics resurfaced for some of the older girls who put the cushioned mats to good use and practised different types of hand springs and somersaults. Many of them really proved they had a growth mindset by acknowledging when things weren’t working, breaking down the steps and trying to identify what was stopping their progress. They used a video recorder to watch themselves and see when they were not doing what they should.

We would like to remind you all of our closure time. Our service finishes at 6:15 each night, if you are unable to collect your children on time a late fee of $1 per minute per child will be applied to your bill. This amount can not be covered by your Child Care Benefit. If you will be late please contact Dianne on her mobile as we do get worried and so do the kids. It is great to know you are on your way!

Gallery

Photos by C. H.

July 22 Vacation Care

We had a new addition to our staff this week, Laura has come to join us just for these holidays as Maya is away on holidays and Brandon is working in the snow. Laura teaches piano as a full time occupation offering lessons at her home studio in Black Forest. She has also undertaken a new venture creating handmade original jewellery. You can find her products on DuckDuckGoose and email her at laura.poynter@hotmail.com.

We began our week with a delivery of arcade games from Dickeson’s Amusements, including Datona, Pinball, Super Pang and Puzzle Bubble Two. Although the adults all hold driver’s licenses this fact did not seem to imply that we were more capable on the Datona racing game than the children.

We also spent a great deal of time playing Just Dance through the day. Who Let the Dogs Out was played more than five times within an hour! This game is great for getting the heartbeat up and having a laugh.

We finished the day by relaxing and watching Finding Nemo, this was a great choice because many of the kids had recently seen, or were going to see the sequel Finding Dory.

On Tuesday we focussed on winter cooking to help keep ourselves warm. Everyone got to have a hand in peeling and chopping vegetables for a pumpkin soup and a mixed veg and pasta coup. This was served up with some nice crusty bread for lunch and we all got to sit together and share the fruits of our labours.

Mid-week, Paul from LampinInk did a comic drawing workshop. Paul has a degree in visual arts and is creating his own comics. He explained some of the process of how comic books are created. Then he explained some ways of using different images to tell a story, first, showing a setting, the character and then an event in steps so the reader could follow the plot. See the bottom of this post for some of the work that was created on the day.

On Thursday we were blessed with some warm weather for our trip to the Adelaide Festival Theatre. We took the train to town

and walked to the Dunstan Playhouse. Here we watched a live performance of Andy Griffiths’ 52-Storey Treehouse.  After doing so, we came back for a chilled afternoon playing outside in the sun, playing the arcade games and drawing our own treehouses.

After a big couple of weeks of holidays we were all in need of some time to just unwind and relax. We spent Friday in our PJs having hot chocolate with marshmallows, watching a couple of films and just socialising with friends. In the morning we were so lucky to have Brit bring in some of her bunnies in the morning and Baileigh brought her guinea pig, Lucky. We all got to have a cuddle and pat these precious creatures, for some children they had never held or touched these animals.

July 15 Vacation Care

Blog July 15 Vac Care

This week we have been truly spoilt with variety. Each day has been jam-packed with lots to try. We started our week at the Marion Gym where we did gymnastics using the spring floor, parallel bars, mats, trampolines, balancing beams and climbing rope. We also played lots of games like hide and seek. In an environment like that, it was a real treat hiding under giant foam shapes, laying under big mats and some hid behind the people counting. During our time there we also got to jump and play in the foam pit and had a disco in the main gym.  

Tuesday we had a Japanese culture day. Kerrie the Japanese teacher from school came with a friend and their food truck and cooked everyone a teriyaki chicken and rice lunch! Unfortunately we had quite a difficult day with the weather. Crazy wind meant that by the time we got to the food truck and back we were bedraggled and wet and our meal was slightly cooler than we’d prefer. But to much delight the OSHC building was attacked by hail. Under the tin roof it sounded amazing and the hail was great to play with, so much so that some was kept in the freezer for later. 

A favourite game this week has been Adventure Time Fluxx. It is a card game that starts with simple rules; draw one card, play one card. But as the game progresses new rules are added, the goal is reset and players need to keep changing their strategies. This game is a great one for critical thinking, problem solving and analysis skills. Aside from this there has been a lot of Scrabble, guess who and connect four.

Aside from special days from our program we have also been playing lots of tennis, badminton and basketball in the SAC. Also Wii Sports has been back in action, with boxing being the favourite.

We have also watched a few films this week including Matilda, Frozen and Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Because the days are so long during vacation care, from 7:30am until 6:15 it is important for all of us, staff and children, to take time away from all the hustle and bustle and chill out and re-energise.

Wednesday was our painting day. <Please scroll to the bottom of this post to check out our gallery>. We were lucky to have Helen join us this day and to encourage and inspire some different techniques. Some features, such as poop emoticons were used in interesting ways, but we don’t mind as long as people are taking an interest and giving it a go!

Thursday, David from Mobile Science came to visit and talk about all things that fly. Our young people were able to make plans, spinning helicopter made out of paper and an indoor kite. This was a great day for experimenting with designs to better understand how things work. We were really pleased with some conversations between staff and students about what things in nature behaved similar to our helicopter paper. Some great suggestions were leaves, seeds and flowers. As we know, nature has always been a great source for scientific designs.

On Friday we had quite a small group with only eighteen children. We spent the day outside in the sun! Many were so happy, even though it wasn’t truly warm; it was mild enough to be out doing some nature play. Many of the younger children spent time breaking apart rocks to look for gems and crystals. They also chipped away at soft rocks to try and form shapes.

Jewellery making was our organised event for Friday. Our crafty lot made bracelets, necklaces, rings and earrings. Some were made for themselves, others made gifts for family and friends. We worked with leather thongs, twine, beading wire and waxed thread with all kinds of beads for decoration.

Looking forward to another full on program next week! J

Scarlett's Gumnut Lady

July 8

We have come to the end of another term at school. But as school winds down, OSHC does not. We have had a full on week with a lot going on.

Some young people are still going with their sewing. With some working on making a simple teddy bear working with a pattern, when we say simple, we mean over twenty or so pieces.

Others have been creative in different ways, making mini-films on ipads and developing comedic routines! 

Some have revisited older projects such as beading. Making animals by weaving thread in and back through beads. 

Wednesday night we were spoiled with some banana muffins and apple cinnamon muffins made by a group of girls.

Bad weather has rarely stopped kids from enjoying their footy. The oval is boggy, the ground wet, the footy becomes slippery but the game keeps on. When we can we have moved into the SAC but footy becomes dangerous when there are too many bodies all crammed into a small space. 

We have also managed to cram in basketball, soccer and gymnastics into the SAC.

There have been many board games this week, scrabble, guess who, connect four and naughts and crosses. It is great to see so many kids interested in board games because it helps to practise skills like guess-who helps deduction, describing and categorising. Aside from games there has been a lot of reading. Harry Potter seems to be trending again.

Friday school finished early at 2:15pm, although many celebrated with class parties we had our own fun with special ice-creams and lots of different toppings and our usual Friday night movie which was Haunted House which is a reoccurring favourite.

As next week is vacation care, please read your program thoroughly and remember some key points.

Please pack snacks and meals when required. As children are generally with us longer than a school day please consider packing a little more.

When we have excursions there are times written for when we leave. These times are not flexible, if circumstances arise that prevent you from arriving before we have left you will need to contact Dianne to let her know.

Lastly, we can not stress how important appropriate clothing is, especially at this time of the year, enough clothing to stay warm and dry and shoes that are comfortable and will not chafe when children join in activities. As many excursions mean a decent walk it is important that shoes do not hinder children from keeping up with the group or causing them grief!

We look forward to a great vacation care :D