Cookies Early Learning Centre

Afterschool at Cookies

What can children and families look forward to?

The following is a sample of the variety of activities that your children will partake in during the afterschool programme here at Cookies.

• Group Project Work and Teamwork based activities

The children will be involved as much as possible in the planning, researching, carrying out and documenting of each stage (Use of ICT and Camera). Project topics will be based around the children's emerging interests throughout the year and we hope to expand and investigate these topics as much as possible.

• Lego Club

This activity is designed to challenge and inspire each child's creativity by exploring plans and building cool creations such as ships, helicopters and submarines or whatever their imagination leads them to. Lego club can be expanded to be included in role play and bringing stories to life in 3D creations.

• The Mad Scientist's Experiments

Here we spark imaginative learning and try and encourage the children to ask questions, probe for answers, conduct investigations and experiments and collect data. Experiments can be based on individuals or group experiments. Back yard volcanoes and 3D solar systems are just the beginning...

• Masterchef Junior and Cake Boss Classes

Children learn to appreciate a wider variety of food when they participate in preparation. Cooking and baking also lends itself to teaching children a number of skills such as weighing, grating, squeezing etc. They can help prepare food and cook. Cooking with kids provides practical experience with many essential skills such as reading, following directions, and measuring. Getting involved in cooking helps your child to develop fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and even early concepts of math and science.

• Arts and Crafts Creations

Children love doing a variety of arts and crafts as an outlet to be creative and have some   fun! Little do they know that it is so good for their development as well! Arts and crafts activities will allow children to express feelings and emotions through art. There are many benefits for children: 

Arts and Crafts Improve Their Coordination: Arts and crafts usually involve children working with both hands, and involve them moving their hands in a particular manner. This helps them develop their bilateral coordination and fine motor skills, which will help them learn and get used to a variety of other daily activities such as dressing, showering, tying their shoes, and so on. It may also help them in sports when they are old enough to play.

Arts and Crafts Can Hone Fine Motor Skills: Fine motor skills are nothing more than small movements. When you pick up tiny objects, hold a fork or spoon, or manipulate a pen or pencil to draw, you are employing fine motor skills. And with your child colors, makes a craft project at school or creates a macaroni and glue art masterpiece, he is improving his fine motor skills.

Arts and Craft Help with Important Visual Processing Abilities: You notice patterns, colors and physical improbabilities without thinking twice. That is because when you worked on crafts and your artistic efforts were promoted as a child, you were improving your visual processing skills. This cognitive development is very important in your child’s early years. And when you help your little princess create a construction paper tiara while reinforcing the names and identification of primary colors and objects, you boost your child’s visual processing capabilities both now and later in life.

Arts and Crafts Promote Executive Functioning: I am not referring to your child’s ability to become CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Not yet anyway. Executive functioning means focusing attention, controlling impulses and using working memory. All of those skills are effectively promoted when you break out the crayons, craft paper, scissors and glue and sit down with some arts and crafts quality time with your child. These skills guide planned behavior, and are very predictive of later professional and academic success.

Arts and Crafts Can Skyrocket Self-Esteem: One of the most important stages of child development is when toddlers learn to feel good about themselves. Arts and crafts activities empower children with positive emotional responses to learning. They understand that they created something, and when you encourage and promote this creativity, your kids enjoy a feeling of self-pride.

Arts and Crafts Teach Them to Express Themselves: Arts and crafts are a great way to allow children to express themselves, as children tend to be very visual about the things that happen around them and in their heads. For children who are shy and reserved, parents should have even more reason to encourage them to carry out arts and crafts activities as this will give the parents some insight into what their child is feeling, thinking, or experiencing.

Arts and Crafts Encourage Creativity: A child’s imagination has no limits, and arts and crafts are a great way for kids to explore their imagination and turn it into something productive. Arts and crafts encourage kids to be creative and innovative, which could further nurture other artistic talents down the line.

• Fun Bingo / Card Games / Charades / Board Game Bonanza!

Children will engage in fun filled, simple games to encourage team work, thinking skills, imagination, and creativity.

• Messy Stuff: Sensory, Creative and Plain Ol' Messy Play

◦ Slime

◦ Bubble Wrap painting

◦ Painting with apples

◦ Rainbow Foam play

◦ Straw Paining

◦ Milk Art

• Music

Music is a powerful tool that helps children learn new thinking skills. When children play with musical instruments, they explore cause and effect. They can see that pressing a key makes a sound. Additionally, they learn to pay attention to changes in sound, noting for example that certain keys sound deeper than others. Exploring musical instruments also helps children learn how different instruments work and the sounds they create.

• Gardening

Children will learn to sow plants and seeds for vegetables and herds in outdoor and indoor plots. Gardening is a fun activity which will also teach them responsibility and care. When children participate in gardening, the fruits and vegetables that they are inspired to eat will no doubt have a positive effect on their body. But the act of gardening itself can also promote a healthy body. Kids LOVE to get their hands and feet in the dirt, this activity is to go down a treat.

• Drama

Self-Expression Learned Through Drama Can Improve Your Child's Life Skills

That's right. Attending drama classes can provide your child with many skills that will be of use to them throughout life. It is certainly not all about acting and dancing, though of course these elements form the basics of a drama class. Perhaps one of the most important skills your child can learn from drama is self confidence.

Some children are obviously shy and not at all confident about coming forward and standing out. However, improving self confidence is something that many children can benefit from, even those who, on the surface, may already appear to be quite sure of themselves. Think how many adults are gripped with varying levels of anxiety when faced, for example, with giving a speech or hosting a meeting. Even being invited for a job interview can heighten the nerves of many of us, especially as it is not uncommon these days for some companies to undertake interviews involving role play and thinking on your feet.

Drama can help your child to acquire skills to help in these situations because games and exercises used in many drama classes nurture spontaneity and the ability to 'think on your feet'. For instance, when my child was in the class for 5 - 7 year olds, one of the exercises was to pass a large ball around a circle. Each child, upon being passed the ball, had to say what the ball actually was - the idea was to be as imaginative as possible and all ideas were worthy and accepted, even the most way out. In fact, in drama 'way out' is often the best.

Though a very simple exercise, and only one of many for the younger children, this procedure really does encourage a child to think on their feet and use their imaginations, which is something they can carry through to many elements of life. And let's be honest, how many adults would be lost for words when faced with a similar dilemma.

• Engineering

'Constructionism means learning by making something'

Model building, getting the children to develop their engineering, design and imaginative skills

• Fashion Club 'one for the girls……..and the boys'

The children get to design their own clothes and accessories on paper and fabric using glue, glitter, ribbon etc. They will get to imagine the designs, plan the process, draw the designs and execute them.

• Visit to the local library

Book review

Group poetry writing

Teaching children to read early has multiple benefits and is the key to children’s academic future.

• Adventure Playground

Children will be brought at least once a month to the local park which is also closely supervised by Cookies' members of staff. Trips to the park will include nature walks along the way and team games in the large green space.

• Extra Cool Activities

From time to time Cookies will organise and invite the children to take part in activities such as Stretch n Grow (children’s fitness programme) and other extra cool activities that make learning fun

• Indoor/Outdoor Physical Activities

◦ INDOOR ACTIVITIES

◦ Yoga (breathing techniques)

◦ Zumba (dancing to music)

◦ Stretching 'light exercises'

◦ OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

◦ Obstacle Course

◦ Hula Hoop

◦ Pathway Chalk

◦ Nature Walk

◦ Soccer

◦ Treasure Hunt

◦ Mini Golf

◦ Kite Flying

◦ Tag Rugby

◦ Wellie Boot Throwing

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