"The sun has got his hat on" – ideas for the summer

Have you planned a summer event for your group? Although most groups find it impossible to meet regularly during the summer holidays due to the presence of older siblings, it may be possible to have an end of term party or to do something different in the vacation which involves the older children too. Anything from a ‘bring your own’ Teddy Bears’ Picnic in the local park to a coach trip to a local attraction can be used to maintain contact with your families during the long summer break.

Here are 2 ideas you could try:

Eileen Le Ray from Shiloh Church writes: “At the end of the summer term last year, we had a Teddy Bears’ Picnic. We asked all the children to bring their teddies. Our craft involved decorating teddy bears, with ribbon to hang around their necks, then we had a lovely music time, including ‘If you go down to the woods today’.

We had a bouncy slide for the children but the real highlight of the morning was the teddy slide. We made a slide with string from the church balcony down to the window (making sure it was high enough not to garrote people), tied the teddies to a second string hanging from the slide, pulled them up and then let them slide down. It was the most exciting thing we have ever done for the children (and adults actually). We then put rugs on the floor and gave them food which included teddy crisps, animal biscuits, fruit and, at the end, mini-milk ice-creams.

We’ve just had our planning meeting for this term and, as part of the Teddy Bears’ Picnic at the end of this term, we’re doing face painting (teddy bears, of course!) and our craft will be making a band for their heads with teddy bear ears.”

Zoo and farm animals

There are lots of venues for toddler group summer outings all around the country. One example is the Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm just west of Bristol. It’s home to a wide variety of zoo and farm animals (tigers are due to arrive this summer), and there are daily animal shows and keeper talks. With 12 different play areas including trampolines, slides and a ‘Welly Splash’ area, it’s suitable for all ages and, although the latest predictions are for a warm, dry summer, there are indoor activities and an undercover picnic area should the rains start to fall and the floods come up!

Fiona Burt

Last Updated 28 May 2009