Zumbatomic

Zumbatomic is Zumba specially designed for kids, and it is best suited for children aged 7 – 12 years of age. It is a part aerobic and part salsa dance class, an exciting and new way for kids to exercise and have fun while learning to dance. It is the newest exercise craze sweeping the country.

During the April School Holidays I visited several programmes taking part in this form of exercise. The children seemed to enjoy themselves and had lots of fun. Instructors should have an official certificate in Zumbatomic to teach this to children, as the exercise has been modified.

It is similar to the adults version, but the movements have been toned down and changed to suit younger participants. The music is exciting and motivating. If you have not tried it, give it a go, you will have lots of fun.

Amanda

Community Max programme expanded

Last week it was announced that Community Max has been expanded in four target areas, Northland, Bay of Plenty, Waikato and East Coast, to make an extra 1500 places available. This is great news for organisations who have used Community Max to help with new developments and innovations including their OSCAR programmes.

Community Max provides a six-month placement for 16 to 24 year olds to work on community or environmental projects, where participants are paid at least the minimum wage and are eligible for training related to their project. It has enabled young people to gain experience, training, work and life skills.

Some young people have found that a taste of working with children at OSCAR and being engaged in their communities has set them on a new career path, launching them into training, education and an exciting future.

Check out whether you or someone you know could benefit from Community Max
http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/community/a-z-grants-and-other-help/community-max.html

Odette

Matariki

Matariki is a small but distinctive star cluster whose appearance in the north eastern pre-dawn sky in late May, early June marks the start of a new phase of life.

Matariki can be translated in two ways – Mata Riki (Tiny eyes) and Mata Ariki (Eyes of God). Either way the eyes are thought to watch over the land and its people.

As well as marking the start of a new year, Matariki also signals other new beginnings. The New Year is a good time to reflect on your place in the world, to reawaken old skills or try out new ones and to set new goals.

How can you plan or mark Matariki?

• Organise a gift to a charity (even 'time' is a gift).
• Do something nice for somebody.
• Gather food from your garden and give it away.
• Prepare a Matariki feast.
• Call family and friends together to celebrate.
• Organise a concert.
• Hold a dance or party to celebrate.

There are plenty of Matariki activities, celebrations and gatherings happening during June and July. Have a look at your local council website for more information.

Kelly

Supporting Our Sportspeople

Congratulations to the All Whites! Though they didn't make it into the second round they are still unbeaten and, as far as the country is concerned, winners who should be proud of the achievements they have made. Rock on Ricky and the boys!

We now head into another round of rugby with the All Blacks to play Wales again tomorrow and the NZ Maori's win again England. Oh and the signing of Sonny-Bill Williams to Canterbury (we saw that happening didn't we).

Perhaps it's time to once again get in behind our fellow sportsman and, no matter the outcome of next years Rugby World Cup, be proud of the fact that our country will be hosting perhaps one of the most watched sports events in the world.

The All Black Roadshow is a good way to get the kids out to see those All Blacks in your hometown www.mastercard.com/nz/personal/en/roadshow. Take advantage of this opportunity to support our boys as they work towards the goal of winning the prized Cup.

But reflecting on the All Whites and their return from their World Cup, lets show our pride in what they have done by cheering them on via the many social media channels that we use today. If you get to be at the airport when they arrive home, be sure to cheer them on that personal face to face stuff is still so very important.

Kia Kaha, Kia Toa.

Tania

Shopaholics Beware

My favourite store to find lots of barging gems at is… ‘Look Sharp’, I could spend hours in here! Believe it or not it’s not clothing store but more of an Emporium.

It’s up behind Whitcoulls on Victoria St West, Auckland CBD. If you can’t make it into town or don’t’ live in Auckland check out their online store.

www.looksharpstore.co.nz

Happy shopping.

Anastasia

'Leave' It All Up To You

The myriad of beautiful colours in the autumn/winter leaves is a highlight of this season. Colourful leaves may be even more attractive than flowers. Choosing which leaves to preserve is a great activity for the children and, being closer to ground level, they often have a better view.

To make a great indoor display from autumn leaves, it helps if you dry or preserve the leaves first. Luckily this is easy to do and here are a couple of basic tips for pressing and saving leaves.

1. Choose leaves that are relatively flat, not curled.
2. Look for leaves that aren’t spotted or bumpy.
3. Don’t be afraid to try leaves in various stages of changing colours.
4. The drier the leaves, the better they press. More supple leaves, like magnolia and rhododendron, are good candidates for silica gel preserving.

Silica gel is that white powder that looks like salt. It comes in tiny packets in everything from shoe boxes to vitamins to keep things dry. It is great at absorbing moisture and it speeds up the drying process considerably. You can find silica gel in craft shops like Spotlight or, if you’re like me, you can save and combine all those tiny packets of silica gel that come your way.

To dry leaves...

1. Select leaves that are still somewhat moist and supple. Silica gel will allow you to dry slightly thicker leaves too.
2. Place about a 3cm layer of silica gel in the bottom of a microwaveable dish.
3. Place the leaves flat on top of the silica gel leaving space between the leaves and the sides of the dish.
4. Completely cover the leaves with another 3cm layer of silica gel.
5. Place the uncovered dish in the microwave oven and microwave at medium for about 2 minutes.
6. Let it cool and remove the leaves.

It’s hard to give exact times for this because it depends on the size of the dish, how many leaves you have in the dish, how much silica gel is used and the power of your microwave. In my kitchen, 3-4 leaves in a microwaveable, recycled meat type pan with 1-2 cups silica gel takes about 2 minutes on medium.

Julie

Importance of taking photos

I have been in the OSCAR sector now for around 18 years and over those years there has been a lot of photos taken; some of these still exist in programmes today. Yes there are some very unfortunate hair cuts but a lot of good memories as well.

Taking photos is an ideal opportunity of marking important events that take place in your programme. They also give a visual impact to promote your programmes and hold a visual history of your programme.

Kids enjoy looking at photos of themselves and friends also children can relate to their friends in the photos. Some programmes I visit have a giant pin board covered in photos from the programme. Others have their photos in photo albums for people to flick through. Some programmes have a slide show of photos playing at their programmes for parents to look at when they pick up their children.

Keep a collection of photos on hand to use for promotions in the media and try and keep electronic copies also if possible. When using photos of children, and even adults, get permission to use them and let them know that you are using their photos. Keep all permission forms on file for as long as possible because 20 years down the track you may want to use that photo for promotional material.

Digital cameras are relatively cheap these days and easy to use so invest in some today and start clicking away.

Ariana

Museums

It is always difficult to find new and exciting places to take your children during school holiday programmes that do not completely blow the budget! One great place to visit is the museum.

There are many different museums and art galleries throughout the country that cater to different themes and exhibitions. Some museums only focus on one area and others have exhibitions changing constantly.

It is a good idea to keep tapped into your local museums, they will even send out email updates if you join their mailing list. This will keep you informed on any new exhibitions coming up. Children particularly love the interactive exhibits and most museums and galleries provide group tours as well.

http://www.nzmuseums.co.nz/ is an excellent site with all the different museums through New Zealand including a search programme, venue biographies with plus current exhibits. There may be some local museums that you haven’t even heard of! Check it out today!

Susannah

Go The All Whites

What a fantastic game, I have to admit though after Slovakia got their goal within the first 5min of the second half my heart dropped and I nearly went to bed but I am so glad I didn’t what a wonderful result.

It made me think how many times do we put our expectations both high and low on children and don’t see past what we believe they are capable of. Even the commentator last night was resigned to the fact that we were going to lose he was saying “well at least we made it to the World Cup this time” and “they did well to defend during the first half we just don’t have the experience to complete the game”.

How many times have we doubted the underdog in their ability to succeed? Maybe a child will surprise us, especially if we believe they can.

I will leave the last words to 28 year old striker Rory Fallon “We’ve been in the ashes for quite some time and we’ve been waiting to rise up, tonight we did”

Have a wonderful week in OSCAR everybody and bring on Italy!
Kelly

Play again tomorrow

Life’s full of those little moments where you think you’ve got it sussed and then something comes along and makes you think again.

I hadn’t watched a game of tackle bull-rush for a while – and watching one this week was full-on! I admit I had to grimace and look away on more than one occasion and whince and mumble “ aaargh! Oooo! Mmmm!” under my breath.

Our kids are tough little things. It’s blowing a cold southerly and yet they are out on the sideline in shorts and bare-feet ready for their turn to take on the tacklers and race to the other side. If they’re not fast or tricky enough they’ll be stopped and thrown roughly to the ground, with several bodies on top.

I watch as their eyes shimmer with terror and they start on a sprint faster than they knew was possible. Yep. There were tears, a few punches were thrown, calls of ‘unfair’ and bruised bodies dragged themselves from the field. Much as I struggled to watch those determined young ones throw themselves to the lions, they will no doubt line up to play again tomorrow.

Odette

Benefits of children having a pet

Pets can help children understand life’s big lessons, and having a pet forces us to care for another being. Here are five ways children can benefit.

1. Confidence. Some children feel pressure to conform and many feel judged on their appearance, personality etc. Pets do not judge, they are delighted to be in your company and its acceptance of you is unconditional.

2. Empathy: Children learn empathy via their pets, initially through curiosity about the way their pets feel. This leads to a greater engagement in the world around them.

3. Resilience: Children who experience traumatic events in their lives generally cope better if they have a pet to confide in. A pet can offer stability when people around them are in turmoil, and therefore help children cope with change.

4. Communication: Children learn to read and look out for their pet’s body language to determine whether it’s happy, sad, wants food or interaction. They can use this knowledge when dealing with people.

5. Nurturing Skills: Having a pet gives children a chance to learn how to care for another. Keeping their pet groomed, happy and healthy teaches them the importance of doing the same for themselves.

Amanda

Influenza

It’s the time of year when nasty bugs and illnesses are about. The following is Ministry of Health information about influenza, minimizing risks and who to contact should you have any queries or concerns.

Signs and symptoms of the Influenza virus can include: fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. If you have symptoms stay at home until essentially well, that is not sneezing and coughing as this is how the virus spreads (usually well again around three to four days after symptoms start).

Staff and children should not attend OSCAR programmes if they are displaying any of these symptoms, please be vigilant in informing parents and caregivers that unwell children can not attend while they are ill.

Reducing the risk of infection is very important; regularly clean flat surfaces such as bathroom sinks, desks and table tops where germs can live for up to 48 hours. Wipe them down with a household disinfectant.

Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze and put your used tissue in a bin. Remember to wash your hands afterwards and avoid touching your nose, mouth or eyes as germs spread that way. It is a good idea to have tissues on site and available for use, also displaying signage about Influenza and reducing the spread of infections are good reminders to everyone in the programme.

If you have any queries or concerns see your GP or contact The Ministry of Health for further advice:

• Phone Healthline toll free on 0800 611 116 or check out their website www.moh.govt.nz
• For immunization advice and details call the Immunisation Advice Line toll free 0800 466 863

Wishing you all a healthy winter
Sally

Attention all shoppers!

Programme providers in Auckland have been talking to me about a new and unique supermarket discount store that has opened up in Auckland and Wellington. Take a look at http://www.reducedtoclear.co.nz/

Now I take no responsibility for what you may or may not find in here, but it’s certainly worth a look. Happy shopping!

Anastasia

Quiz Time

Who loves quiz's? Most people like to think they know the answers to most quiz's and it is kinda fun to have a quiz and see if you get the answers right or not. So why not have a week of quiz's for the children at your afterschool programme, or if you run a holiday programme you could have a quiz day with funny fun facts or silly subjects.

Search the internet or your local library for your quiz question, or ask the children to submit some fun facts and perhaps even have some prizes for the best trivia or join the trivia to activities, like how many colours in the rainbow....now draw one.

All in all it will be a whole lot of fun for indoor activities at this time of the year.

Tania

Rainy Day Discoveries

Cleaning out my pantry ended up being quite a creative adventure with my 13 yr old. We found some gelatin needing to be used, and so we made some gelatin air fresheners in some small recycled baby food jars.

You need:
1/2 cup hot water
½ cup cold water
2 sachets gelatin
1 tablespoon of salt
A few drops of food colouring
A few drops of essences or fragrant oils – we chose vanilla essence, peppermint essence and lavender oil.

You mix the gelatin in with the hot water until all dissolved. Add in your 1 Tablespoon salt, 1/2 cup cold water, your food colouring and mix well. Then pour into your jar, add in your fragrance and stir. Let it sit 2-3 days. Do not refridgerate. Enjoy the smells.

I made one for my car as well and my daughter made one for her sports shoes bag and punched a few holes in the jar lid and voila.

Other ingredients we used for this rainy day adventure created raro sherbet, choc chip lip gloss, bath bombs and salt scrubs…

Julie

Emergency Procedures

We’ve had some pretty interesting weather lately with some areas experiencing some serious flooding. During a cluster meeting last week I got ‘the call’ from my daughter’s school. My husband and I were both an hour away. The school was sending children home due to flooding in the area, luckily we were easily contactable and we had a friend closer to home that was able to collect my daughter from school. Unfortunately not all parents where as easily able to be contacted and it has been a timely reminder to ensure that all emergency contact information is current and kept up to date.

Tips for emergency procedures

• Ensure all information is current and up to date
• You could test emergency contact information by doing a call around
• Keep contact details offsite just in case you cannot access your facility
• Do a threats analysis to identify potential risks
• Practice your evacuation and lock down drills
• Be prepared to care for children in the instant that parents are unable to collect their children
• Think about staffing and who and how children will be cared for if parents are unable to collect their children

Review your emergency procedures and be prepared for any emergency in the instance that it affects your programme this winter.

For more information see:
www.getthru.govt.nz
www.civildefense.govt.nz
www.whatstheplanstan.govt.nz

Ariana

Goals

In a recent blog I talked about setting goals and achieving them. Well I did it. I stepped outside my comfort zone and competed in my first Bodybuilding Competition in Australia. I trained hard, ate the right food and followed my amazing trainers guidance. I wore a bodybuilding bikini and stepped on stage in front of several hundred people and posed.

What an amazing feeling! I achieved my goal doing something I never thought I could do. But I loved it. I felt confident and made the most of the time I had on stage. If you are interested http://www.gofigure.co.nz/ has photos. (I am pictured in the Physique section and in the New Zealand team photos.)

My next goal is to compete again on the 25th September in Christchurch and placing in the top three would be amazing. So I am having two weeks off and then back into it. I am going to work hard to achieve my next goal.

Life is short so make the most of opportunities you have and set yourself goals and work towards them. Start small, you never know what you can achieve if you put your mind to it.

Amanda

Emotional Risks

I love the way that a simple comment from someone can set you thinking about something in an entirely new way. In a discussion at Conference, I found myself talking with a group about children’s safety and about our role in attending to children’s physical and EMOTIONAL safety.

We’ve talked a lot about children taking physical risks and the learning potential of these experiences. Within our social world and relationships we take risks too. Encountering risk is not always about stretching our physical limits. When children are taking risks with their social development there will be plenty of times when things don’t go quite as they planned. Perhaps as they attempt to resolve a conflict themselves or try a new way of approaching a group of children they wish to join there may be times that end in arguments, feeling left out, hurt, tantrums or simply not getting what they want.

From the outside things like this might look disruptive, unfair or even like misbehaviour, but if we think ahead to what we really want for our OSCAR children, we want them to be confident to manage themselves in whatever situation they find themselves in.

“Risk” is when the outcomes are not entirely predictable, and we learn to predict the outcomes with experience and understanding. Like most things in our life we learn from trying new things, from watching and listening, from reflecting on what worked and what didn’t and from “getting back on the horse” and trying again.

Odette

Riddles

Riddles are always a fun way to get the children thinking on a rainy afternoon. Do a riddle a day or the whole lot at once, whatever works for you!

http://www.teacherneedhelp.com/students/riddles.htm

Have fun!

Susannah

Out of the Box Activities

As I was trying to plan an interesting holiday programme with different activities and experiences for the children I came across a local access radio station that allows for groups to plan, produce and broadcast their radio programme.

How exciting for the kids, in week one we can start some planning, script writing and song selection then in week two we will do a trip to the station to learn how it is all done and broadcast our planned programme.

I am sure each area will have their own local access radio station which may offer the same type of deal but for Dunedin programmes visit http://www.toroaradio.co.nz/

I really enjoy finding different experiences for the children to add to my toolkit, email me if you have any more ‘out of the box’ ideas so I can share them with others.

Kelly