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Activities to get kids moving

Half term’s coming!  Are you ready?

If you’re idly googling “activities to get the kids moving” while wondering how you’ll contain their energy for a whole seven days… then you’ve struck gold.  Holiday Academy knows exactly how to get kids moving.  Kids love expanding their horizons at our action-packed camps! 

Too much screen time?
Kids are even learning on devices these days.  So during the holidays, it’s important to get your kids active.  Harder than it sounds, right?  Especially if you have to work and leave them with Aunty May.  Don’t panic.  At Holiday Academy, we run lots of different activities to tempt them away from the iPad.  Just a day or two with us will give your kids a good dose of exercise!

Football is one of our most popular requests, so we will occasionally run a dedicated football camp.  But in a normal week, our football coach Harry runs fantastic sessions, with games and skills practice, and he is experienced at including every child – whatever their age or level.  It’s not just football: we love all kinds of team games, encouraging the kids to work together and discover their own strengths.

Perhaps they’re not so keen on footy? 
Lots of children enjoy using their minds and bodies in different ways.  One may seek achievement, or love independent activity, like climbing; another might be a strength-tester; and yet another will love being part of a team.  We’re all so different that it’s important to think outside the box – and there are actually loads of activities to get kids moving.  Some of them don’t even feel like ‘exercise’.

How about street dance – or yoga?  You can find video tutorials for either on YouTube: an easy way to get your kids active (and laughing) in the lounge.  We bring in specialist coaches for both these activities.  In fact we plan our programme so that there’ll be something new for the kids to try, as well as plenty of time for them to develop the skills they already have.  We don’t bother about syllabus or targets.  We’re all about getting kids active and having tonnes of fun!

How to get kids active in different ways
Getting the kids active does not have to involve running a mile.  There are other ways to sneak in a bit of physical activity; look for activities that you can do too, or something a bit special that they can boast about in school!  For example, our Kayak packages appeal to kids who might not like traditional PE. 

Holiday Academy works with Pirate Castle in Camden to offer our kayaking days.  We’ll drop off and pick up, providing additional activities until you’re back to collect the kids.  These are some of our most popular packages, as kids relish the opportunity to get on the water – and they also come home happily worn-out.

Another way to (furtively) get your kids active is Forest School.  Collecting firewood and constructing dens, using tools and playing in the park – before they know it, they’ve had a day full of fresh air and not a digital device in sight!  We now run dedicated Forest School camps, during which the kids are out and about all day (even lunch).  And back home, you’ll be able to reinforce these new skills by taking them out to recreate the experience.

Getting kids active… in the right measure
Kids are like the rest of us: we need a certain amount of activity with at least a little rest.  Mental activity is an important part of the Holiday Academy day.  Planning some activities that offer time for sitting down and concentrating is a good idea.

Our programme ensures that we’re getting kids active, with built-in physical breaks in the form of art, mindfulness or music.  We have the experience to create a day with the right amount of stimulation and relaxation.  So when the kids are tired after a game of Dr.Dodgeball or a session on the climbing wall, an art or music session gives them the opportunity to wind down.

The BEST way to get the kids active is to give them new skills…
Whether you explore the woods together or book them in for a day of kayaking, the best way to get the kids active is doing something that’s really different.  They may think they can’t do something.   But we reckon they can.  And you know what usually happens?  Their social confidence grows, their agility skills soar, and their independence blooms.  That was tonnes more fun than a normal week at school…

Just phone to find out more about our upcoming programme – we run camps every school holiday, including half term.  When you book, tell us about your child so that we can plan the sessions to suit the group.  Use our contact form if you have any questions.