At the end of June, Family Worship Centre in collaboration with Slovo Centre of Excellence hosted a Winter school holiday club for its FWC Children’s Ministry. Approximately 70 to 90 children attended over a 3 day period.
With the help of their church volunteers and Sunday School teachers, we were able to facilitate numerous activities for the children with a special focus on arts and crafts designed by the Toy Library Program Co-ordinator. These included various forms of sensory activity stations:
- “Green Fingers”: planting seeds and enlarging our “Garden of Happiness” at the Toy Library
- “Origami Magic”: learning about symmetry and the ancient art of paper folding.
- “Expression Session”: using paints, brushes and other painting techniques to channel emotions and creativity including a poster making competition.
- “Edible Art”: decorating cookies which were then later given out at the elder’s Hospice at Family Worship Centre.
- “Beauty Products from the Pantry”: the unexpected capabilities of brown sugar, oil, coconut and oats as a skin and body treatment for dry skin
The Program also included a collaboration with the Bathupi Chess Academy in a 2-day introduction to chess for boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 16. With its mind-stimulating effects it is no wonder that some schools now consider including chess as a subject in their curricula. The chess introduction will hopefully lead to a smaller group of children pursuing to master the game in the last half of 2019 through a Chess Development Program at the Centre.
Program coordinator Debbie Cockrell says that “sensory play is what learning through play is all about at the Toy Library. Providing safe spaces for children in the community to thrive while having fun, meeting new friends and developing holistic life skills while impacting their educational journey in a fun and engaging way.”
We would like to thank everyone who eagerly participated in this year’s Holiday Club.
These include the Family Worship Centre’s Pastors Audrey and Libby and their committed volunteer team, as well as Mika, Mothupi and Ben from the Bathupi Chess Academy!