Apologies to Gabriel García Márquez. We had some fun during vacation care at The Kids’ Castle; it was buzzing despite these uncertain times. If anything, we’ve learnt to generate activities from not only our resources but from our imaginations too. It’s way too easy to bring in incursions or organise excursions; the real challenge is doing it all yourself – it is sink or swim. And let’s face it 5 to 12-year-olds are an unforgiving audience.
When I first crafted the tagline, “Where fun comes to play”, I liked it for its play on words and its inherent cleverness (sorry, I’m forever the copywriter). Still, these last few weeks have shown how wonderful it is to bring a sense of fun to how we play, and that the rewards are immeasurable.
From Nerfing, crafting wands and spells, to driving Formula One cars (Scalextrics), the children and staff had a blast. One of my favourite days was the Master Chef Challenge – what feast! Our mini Chefs cooked up a storm with scones, pizza and chocolate brown things. Delicious!
Okay, something went wrong with the brownies and turned what should have been morsels of chocolatey goodness, into a fire-retardant material to protect spacecraft on re-entry.
The team and I are already planning the next vacation care program, which we’ll run past the children to get their feedback. I genuinely hope that there are no more suggestions to set up old stock and throw wet sponges at me! Maybe that’s not the children suggesting that, eh? Jake? Viv?
COVID and the Castle
Okay, just so you know, our COVID-19 protocols during vacation care included ensuring that the children regularly washed their hands, didn’t share stuff and that all surfaces cleaned every two hours; toys and books wiped down at the end of every session. It’s a wonder the Axolotls survived. These protocols are enforced term time too.
Staff are now wearing face masks. Hopefully you can tell who you are talking to?
Crikey, where did the time go?
The first weeks of Term Three are over. It was fantastic to see so many of our little buddies back at TKC doing what they do best – have fun. We have an action-packed program in-store, all based on the four elements: Fire, Earth, Water and Air (I kept saying, Wind, until Viv corrected me – I think I was feeling a tad guilty about the onion soup for lunch).
All’s well at the Castle – providing peace of mind.
Our free mental health and mindfulness sessions on Tuesday and Thursday arvo have been great. Run by Amanda from Pink Elephant Kids, the sessions are a great opportunity for the little people to talk about stuff. If you’d like to know more, pop in and have a chat.
Xpay – it’s the only way to pay.
On a more serious note, please ensure that you
have entered your payment details into the Xpay system. If you’re unsure how to navigate the app, pop in or give the Centre a call and we will happily walk you through it.
Permanent Bookings on Xplor.
Unfortunately, permanent bookings on Xplor will need entering into the system termly. For your convenience, you can always send us an email with your prefered session dates and times, and we’ll input them for you.
Thanks to all our families for their support and friendship.
Roy, Anna, Viv and Jake
