During the Easter holidays, Woodcraft Folk delivered an exciting and engaging Holiday and Food programme in Bromley, South London. The programme was funded by Bromley Children & Families Forum and was open to young people of school age to support them with activities during the school holidays and also to provide a delicious hot lunch together as part of the schedule.
Woodcraft Folk staff and volunteers worked together to plan a fun, varied programme for both weeks of the school break at a school in Biggin Hill. Children who attended in the first week took part in bushcraft activities such as making clay faces and trying den building. The club was lucky enough to be able to use the school’s forest school area. Some of the clay faces were extremely creative with bunnies and cows appearing on trees across the area! The participants also had a chance to brush up their circus skills such as getting stuck into juggling and diablo. Inside activities also took place such as mindfulness crafts and a session around food nutrition and the science behind eating.
The second week saw young people take part in more bushcraft activities; the group were starting fires using flint and steel. “I got really good at the flint and steel because I practised a lot” – Victor age 7.
Participants also had time to go on a minibeast hunt and found a lot of worms, millipedes and slugs in the school garden! More mindfulness craft learning took place in the second week as well as further nature themed activities such as discussing the differences between moths and butterflies and drawing them to remember the different species in the future. One of the most popular activities was the drama sessions. The second week ended with a spectacular show performed by the young participants.
The Holiday and Food activities helped the young participants build their confidence, make new friends and try out some activities that they might not have tried before. “I threw the diable 7 times in a row! I have never used it before” – young participant, 11.
The activities encouraged cooperation and friendship as well as a focus on enjoying the outdoors and making crafts through natural materials.