Croydon Holiday Camps
Introduction
We run our Croydon holiday camps for ages 4-16 at Riddlesdown during Half Terms, Easter and the Summer Holidays. Starting off our day we begin by welcoming the children and playing a fun warm-up introduction game. Children are then split into 2 smaller groups, mostly based on age and ability, but ensuring we keep friends together. Half of the children go on the trampolines and half do gymnastics.
Morning
For those on the trampoline, they work on basic skills tailored individually to what they can do. This enables them to improve and move those skills onward. Beginners start by learning some of the more important trampoline basics. This is primarily of how to control their stopping as well as staying in the middle of the bed. They then go on to learn the basic shapes and seat landings. Once they have achieved those, they will move on to other skills like Back and Front Landings. For advanced members we look at what they are already working on and encourage progression exercises to learn new skills. This helps boost their confidence to move on.
Those working in gymnastics like trampoline will do a group warm-up and stretch to begin with. They are then split into 2 or 3 groups and get use a great variety of gymnastics apparatus. We have Balance Beams, Asymmetric Bars, Vault, Trampette and an Airtrack as well as a full-sized floor. Everyone will learn how to safely use the equipment and develop new skills all whilst having fun. For those who already take part in gymnastics they will also be enhancing their current skills and improving them. They can learn to link skills together, add twists and/or dance moves before or after the skills themselves.
Break
A short snack break is scheduled which is where at this point groups swap to try the other activity. Gymnasts to the Trampolines, Trampolinists to the Gymnastics. This ensures everyone gets to use all the equipment and has something different to look forward to. Twizzlers aims for everyone to both enjoy and gain a lot at our summer camps. For those who have never taken part before through to the more experienced. Our aim is to enhance what they can already do whilst keeping them actively enjoying and having fun. Before lunch they will play games on the equipment they are currently on. Groups swap again to play on the other equipment giving everyone the chance to have fun on everything. Games are a great way to include the newly learned skills in a fun and exciting new way. Boosting their confidence provides them with a fun, relaxing, and safe environment to just be themselves.
After this we break for lunch – a big packed lunch is required as they have yet more fun to have in the afternoon session.
Afternoon
After Lunch the focus is ensuring everyone has had the opportunity to try all of our equipment, giving each child the benefit of everything we can offer. Games we play will also be different in the afternoon session, again keeping things new and exciting for the children. Skills they learn and games we play will usually be different each day, unless they have a particular favourite and would like to play or learn it again. Coaches are always looking at creating new games for the children, keeping them on their toes – however, we do find that time after time the kids know what they want and ask for the original games – sometimes the old ones are the best.
At the end of the day, we bring all the children together to play a chilled-out group game to cool down with. This is usually with our large parachute or many other smaller pieces of equipment we have like bean bags, balls, hoops, soft foam blocks, and skipping ropes to name just a few.
A late pick up option is also available, which is until 4pm. In this hour we let the children use any of our equipment independently. They can choose what they would like to go on and there will be a coach to help them practice anything they learned that day to further boost their skills and improve them.
We find this can be when they really achieve and shine – the quieter atmosphere helps them focus and we enjoy seeing the difference and that big smile on the children’s faces when then finally do it correctly.
To find out when the next Croydon Holiday Camps are taking place have a look at our Calendar or the Class4Kids site directly
