Wise Up News
Wednesday 4th November 2009 - Wednesday Club
Recycling fun today with Nigel the storyteller and his clay crafts. Our new under 8s toys were very welcome additions and bonfire night pictures were made in the art room. Blue screen techniques were explored in this week's film making session.
A very loud and raucous dodgeball session got people of all ages active and football skills, guitar and Spanish were also available.
See the photos here
Wednesday 28th October 2009 - Wednesday Club
Ghostly goings on at Wednesday Club this week as witches, vampires, ghosts and monsters of all sizes turned out for a Wednesday Club Halloween special! We also welcome Discovery's African visitors who gave us a fascinating insight into life in rural Africa and how children and young people learn, work and play without power and with veyr few resources.
A highlight of the workshop were kites and footballs made from carrier bags and the music and dancing was great fun! Jack was back making origami vampire bats, Gail made ghost puppets and there were sports, circus skills, guitar, film making, Spanish and lots of playing and hanging out.
See the photos here
Saturday 10th October 2009 - Autumn Sale
Our Autumn Sale was held today to raise money for equipment for our young people. Despite a lot of hard work from young people and their families, it was a disappointing turnout. The young people will be meeting at Wednesday Club to decide how to spend the money we did raise.
See the pictures
Friday 9th October 2009 - Forest Day at Afan Forest Park
We braved the weather forecast for heavy rain today and were rewarded with a lovely day in the forest. We split into 2 groups, the younger ones joining Amy fom the Forestry Commission for fire and forest activities and the older ones building dens by the river.
See the photos here
Wednesday 7th October 2009 - Wednesday Club
Thursday 1st October 2009 - Mentro Allan Activities re-start
Wednesday 30th September 2009 - Wednesday Club
A very busy day today - well over 100 people of all ages. Our first drama session was enjoyed by all ages, more to come! We were also delighted to welcome Circus Eruption back.
See the photos here!
Monday 28th September 2009 - Discovery Fair
Wednesday 23rd September 2009 - Funding News!
We had fabulous news today - The Ernest Cook Trust have offered us a grant to provide OCN courses in Greenwood Crafts and Coppice Crafts. We look forward to organising these in the near future - watch this space! A huge thank-you to all at the Ernest Cook Trust!
Wednesday 23rd September 2009 - Wednesday Club
Wednesday 16th September - Sports and Water Play Day
The sun finally shone on us for our sports day and water play after being rained off earlier in the summer. The sunshine lasted all day for fun and games including team game mini olympics, football, rounders and the ever popular water (and mud!) slide.
See the action shots here!
Wednesday 9th September - First Wednesday Club at Aberavon Community Centre
Our first day in the new venue was inevitably trial and error but mostly good fun! As well as the art room, toddler room and sports, activities included embroidery and belly dancing! Over the next few weeks we will be settling in to our new home and time slot and we look forward to Wednesday Club going from strength to strength.
See the pics here.
Thursday 20th August - Mentro Allan Activity
A day of team games and orienteering at Margam Park today.
Wednesday 19th August - Mentro Allan Activity
This week saw the Mentro Allan group take to the water for surfing lessons.
See the photos here
Tuesday 18th August - Meeting at Margam Park
A lovely day for picnicing at Margam Park today, the sun was out for play in the park, football, saying hello to the animals and willow weaving workshops.
See the photos here.
Thursday 13th August - Mentro Allan Activity
This week's Mentro Allan activity was mountain biking back by popular demand!
Tuesday 11th August - Meeting at Cosmeston Lakes and Medieval Village
This week's get together was at Cosmeston for a look round the Medieval village, tree climbing, den building and picnicing!
See the photos.
Thursday 6th August - Climbing with Mentro Allan
Our fearless adventurers gathered to tackle the daunting Dinas Rock today, the first time climbing outside for many of them. Warning, some of these photos may make knees knock!
Scary photos here!
Wednesday 5th August - Wise Up at Neath Port Talbot Play Day 2009
We enjoyed glorious sunshine for Play Day 2009 where we joined lots of other organisations in providing play oportunities for all ages on Aberavon Seafront. We had a lovely time mingling and loads of people came to play and chat with us.
See the rest of the photos here
Thursday 30th July - Mentro Allan Activity
Tuesday 28th July - Final Tuesday Club at the YMCA
A bumper turnout for our last Tuesday Club at the YMCA, well over 100 home educators joined us for some really exciting activities including.....
Climbing
The Techniquest Star Lab
Dance
Storytelling
and Circus Eruption!
Roll on September and Wednesday Club!
Friday 24th July - Wise Up guitarists in the RGT Summer Bash
Members of our guitar group took part in the annual RGT Summer Bash tonight alongside many other talented young people. It was a fantastic night, the boys were brilliant and it was a great chance to take part in this showcase of talent from the local community.
Well done boys, we are very proud of you!
See the photos
Thursday 23rd July - Raft Building and Canoeing
Mentro Allan delivered a whole day of raft building and canoeing today for a group of 10 Wise Up young people. 'One of the best days ever!' according to one 12 year old who took part.
See the photos here.
Tuesday 21st July - Tuesday Club
The Climbing wall was up and running this week with all ages scaling the heights. Lots of beautiful jewellery was made and there was yoga, sports, guitar group, artand lots more!
See the pictures here.
Thursday 16th July - Mentro Allan
Rain did not manage to stop play for this week's Mentro Allan activity which was nordic walking and mountain biking.
Tuesday 14th July - Tuesday Club
Unfortunately, the climbing instructor was thwarted today and couldn't join us, but he will be back next week. We had an interesting Tuesday Club nonetheless, with our first conversational Arabic class, embroidery with Ruth, circus skills, guitar, sports, dance including the boys' street dance class and
a refugee awareness workshop. Our fitness class today was planned and run by Alex who will be going on to college in September to study Sports Science. She did a great job and we know she'll have a fantastic time at college!
Saturday 11th July - Aberavon Beach Festival
The weather was not so kind for the annual Aberavon Beach Festival where for the second year, we held our tombola and information stall.
Luckily, we were inside the marquee, lots of people spoke to us about home education, useful contacts were made and we made over £100 for our unrestricted funds. Many thanks to everyone who helped out on the day and those who donated prizes.
Friday 10th July 2009 - Forest Activity Day
A lovely sunny day in the beautiful surroundings of Afan Forest Park was the setting for picnicing, playing and activities today.
Thanks to the Forestry Commission for providing tree identification, forest senses and story activities. Thanks to Playworks for lending us their nature study, movement and den building equipment.
We also used our new sports equipment provided by our Sport Relief grant. Great company meant for a fun day for all ages!
See the rest of the photos.
Thursday 9th July 2009 - Mentro Allan
This week's session for 11-25 year olds at Margam Park was Environmental Activities.
Tuesday 7th July 2009 - Tuesday Club
Our last visit for the time being from Dragonfly Creations. The remaining three legged stools were finished and we made brooms and bird feeders.
We hope to identify funding to have Scott and Natalie back to our new venue in the autumn and to work with them on other projects wherever the opportunity arises.
Their enthusiasm and patience have enabled our members of all ages and abilities to produce some fabulous things over the last four weeks and we have thoroughly enjoyed their workshops.
We also had a visit this week from XLWales who bought us another engineering challenge to get our teeth into. We also enjoyed yoga, dance, origami, guitar group and sports including football, hockey, dodgeball and fitness class.
See the photos here.
Saturday 4th July 2009 - AGM
Download the Minutes
See the photos
Thursday 2nd July - Mentro Allan
This week's activity for 11-25 year olds was team building. By all accounts, great fun was had by all trying to fill pipes with water despite the holes and making and using team walking boards.
Tuesday 30th June - Tuesday Club
Our guitar group are in full practice mode for their appearance at Tai Bach Rugby Club on 24th July where they will be performing with tutor Terry Curran's band RGT.
In our third session with Dragonfly Creations we made beautiful necklaces, more flowers and carved sticks and the first lot of stools were finished.
We also had more origami, football, hockey, dodgeball, fitness, lots of arts and crafts and a visit from Ruth to make felt shapes. The afternoon was full of activites for those who still had some energy left, including skipping in the dojo and Circus Eruption in the hall.
It was just too hot for some of our younger members however who opted to snooze the afternoon away instead!
See the pics here.
Thursday 25th June - Mentro Allan
This week's activity for 11-25 year olds was Environmental Activities which included pond dipping and a nature walk in the beautiful grounds of Margam Park.
Tuesday 23rd June - Tuesday Club
The weather was kind to us again for the second session with dragonfly creations when we made some beautiful wooden flowers. The flower theme continued with petal coasters in origami.
Football and hockey, along with fitness, dodgeball and yoga made up todays physical activities while knitting, guitar lessons and arts and crafts were available for those wanting to be creative. Our last Spanish session until September took place and we are all looking forward to Maite's return.
See the photos here.
Thursday 18th June - Mountain Biking
The first of our regular Thursday sessions with Mentro Allen saw 10 of our young people taking part in Mountain Biking.
This was enjoyed by all but resulted in some very tired legs!
Tuesday 16th June - Tuesday Club
The first of 4 weeks with the very wonderful Dragonfly Creations in the yard. The mobile greenwood craft workshop is visiting us to give everyone the chance to make something beautiful.
This week there was the chance for everyone to make a mobile in the morning, while the over 12s started work on a three legged stool in the afternoon. We are hoping for sun like today for the next 4 weeks!
As well as woodwork there was football, dodgeball, fitness, arts and crafts, embroidery, Spanish and the last of the film making sessions with Sub Real - well, for now anyway! The dojo was free all day for the toys which meant the building of an enormous train track and some very noisy parachute games!
See the photos here.
Tuesday 9th June - Tuesday Club
(photos coming soon)
Monday 8th June - Visit to Swansea Bay 1940s Museum
We had a fascinating visit to the Swansea Bay 1940s museum today where we listened to talks from staff about rationing and daily life for ordinary people during the second world war. We had great fun trying on clothes from the period. There was plenty
of time to examine the many exhibits from packets of food to vehicles and the staff were extremely helpful and informative. We would like to thank the staff for making us feel welcome and patiently answering our many questions!
See the many photos here.
Tuesday 2nd June - Naomi and Mwansa's Last Day
We said goodbye to our exchange volunteers Naomi and Mwansa today with sadness after 10 weeks. The girls have been a lovely presence at Wise Up in the past weeks, sharing some Zambian culture with us, organising workshops,
making friends and treating everyone with kindness and interest. They have always been willing to help out wherever possible and will be missed by the children, young people, parents and volunteers alike. We presented them with some framed photos, cards and a Welsh dragon each to remember us by. We wish them well as they embark on the next part of their adventure
in Mwansa's homeland, Zambia where they will be volunteering at local projects and we are sure they will be a great asset. We hope they will drop us an email from time to time to let us know how they are doing and maybe the odd photo too! Good luck girls!
See the photos of Naomi and Mwansa here
Tuesday 2nd June 2009 - Tuesday Club
A very sunny Tuesday Club today meant we could sit in the garden when we found a short break between circus skills, football, softball, dance, fitness, film making, card making, art, guitar and our new Spanish class!
Friday 29th May 2009 - Canoeing
A group of our young members tried their hand at canoeing today in the beautiful surroundings at Margam Park. This was a great success and was the first of what we hope will be regular outdoor activities arranged with Mentro Allen for our 11-25 year olds. Keep an eye on our 'Coming Soon' page and contact us for further information if you are a home educated young person interested in taking part.
See the rest of the fun here!
May 2009 - Tuesday Club photos
The rest of May's Tuesday Club photos are here . It's been an exciting month with the climbing wall up and running, Motor Mango, Film making, origami, dance, sports, circus and arts and crafts.
Tuesday 5th May 2009 - Tuesday Club
This morning the dojo was given over to dance, dance, dance! Zambian dance, funky dance for all and street dance for boys. Members of all ages and abilities enjoyed these workshops as our photos show.
The second film making session with Sub-Real film company took place in the afternoon and we had a visit from Dynamix who provided a Youth Participation workshop.
The paper mosaic logo is shaping up nicely, all the usual guitar groups, arts, craft and sports and fitness activities took place as well as a playgroup session and a visit from Ruth Burbery.
See this week's photos
Tuesday 28th April 2009 - Tuesday Club
This week saw the debut of our new film making and photography equipment bought with the grant from Neath Port Talbot CVS Capital Grant Scheme. Many of us have new sympathy for Madonna and Tom Cruise as
we found ourselves filmed and photographed from all angles at once! We had our first of 8 planned sessions with Sub-Real film company. This exciting young company will help us learn to use our equipment and run workshops on many aspects of film making
including animation, lighting, editing, live action and set design. We hope to present a mini film festival at the end of the project. Another new activity today was a Zambian Dance workshop. We are currently playing host to exchange students Naomi (UK) and Mwausa (Zambia) who will be helping out and organising a variety of projects and workshops. The Zambian dance was great fun for all ages
and will be back next week by popular demand. The garden project is coming on nicely and today a fruit tree was planted amongst the stones which were painted last week. In the art room this week we ran workshops in glass painting and paper mosaic making. Other activities incuded sports, fitness, art and craft, playgroup, knitting group, yoga and guitar group.
Tuesday 21st April 2009 - Tuesday Club
Click here for this week's photos.
Tuesday 14th April - Outdoor Playday, Margam Park
Our first outdoor play day of the year took place in stunning surroundings at Margam Park today. The weather was kind once again and the sun on the castle was a beautiful sight.
Playing football while a herd of deer looked on from only metres away was magical. PlayWorks play workers provided a range of activities including den building, clay faces, bridge building,
outdoor collage, junk modelling, bug hunting and outfit making. It was a really great day with kids of all ages and adults enjoying each other's company and having fun together!
Tuesday 7th April - Tuesday Club - with added bite!
We were all bowled over today to meet Cody, his handler and two of his fellow police dogs. We were fascinated to hear all about their training, work and what they like to do in their well earned time off!
It was also Rob Wix from SCIntillate's last session with us for a while.
We have all thoroughly enjoyed the last 4 weeks of science with Rob and we hope to identify funding to bring him back in September. Here's some of the feedback we've recieved..
"I for one enjoyed his sessions and learned a lot, and both of my kids came home teaching their Dad all about what they had learned. I think this is a really good way for us to incorporate Science into Wise Up. Rob takes a very laid back approach to teaching and uses lots of hands on activities. He teaches Science with regard to real world environmental concerns instead of using boring charts and memorization techniques. "
"SCIntilate was a great find! Rob’s workshops were well presented, informative, coherent and relevant to current issues. There were plenty of opportunities for the children to participate if they wanted to which they did with enthusiasm."
"I really liked them, I would like Rob to come back and teach some
more. I missed some of his work shops due to clashes and missing a week
so I'd like him to come back. His workshops are really interesting."
As if police dogs and marine biology weren't enough for one day, we also had a visit from Circus Eruption, Ruth Burbery, origami, sports, art and an Easter craft, story and chocolate nest making session. Another great day for all ages.
Tuesday 7th April - Funding News!
Wise Up has been given the generous sum of £300 from the South Wales Police Blue Light Fund. Huge thanks to School Liaison Officer PC Norris for his help in getting this money which will pay for guitar lessons and volunteer expenses.
As you can see, PC Norris is always guarunteed a warm welcome at Wise Up!
Friday 3rd April 2009 - Visit to the Natural History Museum
Our visit to the Natural History Museum, London started very early for Swansea people who were the first to be picked up at 6am, followed by pick ups at Port Talbot, Cardiff and Newport where people got to stay in bed an extra hour!
The long journey was well worth it however as we had a fantastic and fascinating time among the dinosaurs, mammals, earth galleries and human biology exhibitions. We also had an Investigate session where we could study specimens up close and a tour of the Darwin Exhibition where we got to see original notes, diaries and specimens.
It was a great way to learn about ourselves and the world around us, with favourites being the animatronic T Rex and the earthquake room.
Thursday March 26th 2009 - Funding News!
More good funding news today with the success of our Communities First bid for volunteers expenses, First Aid training, Sign Language course and money for the gardening project.
This will make a big difference to Wise Up and will expand the activities we are able to offer and increase the number of volunteers we can recruit. So, a big thank-you to the Communities First Team!
Wednesday March 25th 2009 - Forest Activity Day
Our first forest activity day at Afan Forest Park was a great success. The weather was largely kind to us throughout the day, if a bit cold in the wind! We split into 2 groups in the morning. Forestry Commission education officers provided forest school activities for the over 10s including mini shelter building and lunch round the fire.
Meanwhile, the under 10s and parents took part in many activities including bug hunting, bird watching, clay modelling, pebble painting, art with gathered materials, making 'god's eyes' and the Afan animal sculpture trail.
A great time was had by all and some beautiful creations were taken home. We look forward to more forest days throughout the year.
See the photos!
Tuesday March 24th 2009 - Tuesday Club
SCIntillate's second session with us covered global issues with The Sustainability Show. In the afternoon we took part in two SCIntillate workshops,
Re-use It - Switches, followed by Recycle It - Hand Made Paper . Other new activities included the first gymnastics class, the start of our gardening project and the first of our playgroup song and story sessions.
As well as all this, Ruth Burberry visited us to make some delightful little creatures and there was the opportunity to take part in guitar groups, family yoga, sports and fitness sessions (including the exciting 'Run the Gauntlet'!), computers and buzz quiz and Circus Eruption!
We also had a visit from Ian from Cardiff Conservation Volunteers. Ian gave a very entertaining talk about the group's work including many slides explaining the variety of conservation projects they carry out throughout South Wales including Pembrokeshire, Llantwit Major and Kenfig. Ian brought a selection of tools to show us and explained how they are used.
Cardiff Conservation welcome volunteers aged between 14 and 18 when accompanied by an adult and anyone wanting to get involved in this challenging and fascinating work can get further details from the website.
See this week's photos
Wednesday March 18th - Funding Success!
Huge thanks to the Neath Port Talbot CVS Capital Grants Scheme - for awarding Wise Up £3,000 to buy our own film making, photography and editing equipment as well as a powerpoint projector and screen.
This will be a great boost to talks and presentations at Tuesday Club and means we will be starting a variety of film making activities with the aim of holding our own mini film festival!
Tuesday March 17th - Tuesday Club
Rob Wix, Creative Director of SCIntillate Education Services paid the first of several planned visits to Tuesday Club today. In the morning he gave a very enjoyable science show entitled 'Now Hear This!'. The session explored the science of sound in a very entertaining, interactive
and engaging way. In the afternoon Rob delivered the 'Music Maker Workshop' where we used the science of sound to make musical instruments from household items, followed by a renewable energy workshop. All these workshops were really enjoyable and informative and all the feedback was very much in favour of Rob returning with more of the same. We look forward to
lots more science from SCIntillate over the next few weeks!
As well as the exciting science activities, we had all the usual sports, dance, arts and crafts, knitting group, guitar groups, computers, playtime and PS2, so a very busy day was enjoyed by all.
See the photos
Saturday March 14th - Wise Up in the papers
Our Red Nose Day antics made it to the Evening Post website and today's Paper featured this fab picture!
See the website
10th March 2009 - Brainiac Trip
After today's Tuesday Club, a group of young people from Wise Up travelled to Cardiff to see Brainiac Live at St David's Hall. A night of explosions, mess and amazing scientific experiments was enjoyed by all
- a caravan, a hot water bottle, balloons filled with various gases and a microwave were just some of the things blown up in the name of science!
10th March 2009 - Red Nose Tuesday Club!
To celebrate Friday's Red Nose Day, Wise Up members were invited to wear something funny or something red to Tuesday Club today and to make a donation to Comic Relief.
Our efforts raised £24 for a great cause and gave us all a giggle as well. We were delighted to welcome another 4 new families this week. Children of all ages took part in another XLWales Challenge, using knex to design and build a fairground ride for mice in the morning and some amazing dragons in the afternoon.
Ruth Burberry visited us again, this time using a wonderful twirly gadget (which probably has a proper name!) to help us make woven bookmarks and necklaces. Football, softball, dodgeball and fitness class made up today's sports provision, as well as yoga and massage to chill us all out. The art room was free for wonderful creations to be made all day and Circus Eruption joined us in the afternoon for
stilt walking, plate spinning, flower sticks, juggling, unicycling and much more!
See the photos!
4th March 2009 - Birdwatching Activities at Blackpill
RSPB volunteers laid on activities for us today at Blackpill Hide on Swansea seafront. We tried lots of activities including using the telescopes and binoculars, making bird boxes, beach art and the migration game. The weather even stayed dry long enough for a play in the park and a spot of dam building before the snow and sleet arrived!
A huge thanks to the RSPB volunteers for a very informative and enjoyable day!
3rd March 2009 - Tuesday Club and Wise Up 1 Year old!
A very busy Tuesday Club this week and Wise Up is now 1 year old. We have gone from 16 families at our first pilot meeting to regularly filling the YMCA with 25-30 families and a membership of nearly 200 people.
To celebrate, the Chair was presented with beautiful flowers, gifts and many home made cards expressing the difference Wise Up has made to the lives of home educated children and young people and there were speeches and thank-yous all round. With our recent funding success, Wise Up is going from strength to strength and future plans are very exciting so watch this space!
Today was a very creative day with Japanese braiding, memory wire bracelets and the first meeting of the knitting group. Tan Dance, sports and guitar groups and the art room was packed all day.
24th February 2009 - Tuesday Club
A very active day this week - Interplay led games for older kids in the hall, while messy play took place in the art room.
Pancake day activities, yoga, football, dodgeball, fitness and games for under 8s saw everyone worn out by the end of the day!
17th February - Tuesday Club
African drumming was a big attraction with all ages this week, all morning the building echoed with exotic rhythms. The afternoon saw another popular origami workshop with Jack. The clay was out in the art room, there was a film making session and plenty of time to play and chat.
See the photos here
10th February - Tuesday Club
This week we were joined by Ruth Burberry who showed us some of her beautiful embroidery and led a workshop. We hope Ruth will join us on a regular basis. See Ruth's website here.
Meanwhile, the younger children learnt to finger knit in the art room, with the result that many teddies now have wonderful new scarves!
PC norris also joined us once again - this time to discuss drugs with our over 10s who were very interested in his talk and had plenty of questions for him. As usual, he managed to get beaten at pool afterwards!
Circus skills, art and crafts, dance, sports and guitar lessons meant there was something for everyone and we had another great day!
See the photos here
4th February - Launch of Swansea City of Sanctuary
Gail and Keira Evans had been invited to attend the Swansea
City of Sanctuary Launch at St. Helens Primary school, Swansea.
‘We arrived just on time after getting lost a couple of times, but we were
by no means the last to arrive. We signed in and stuck on our name badges
and were directed to the ‘education’ table. The organisers said they had
expected around 30 visitors but by the time the meeting started there were
more than 150 people in the hall! Joining us on our table were other
representatives from educational establishments around Swansea, and
representatives for asylum seekers and refugees in Swansea. There was an
introduction by the Lord Mayor, Gareth Sullivan and this was followed by
various speeches from different people who explained what a City of
Sanctuary is. They explained that other cities who had joined up to the
project had helped to integrate refugees into communities, helped them with
education and legal problems, housing and money problems. There were many
stories throughout the night of unbelievable hardship and terror, yet the
overall feeling was one of hope that Swansea can offer a safe refuge to
people escaping persecution in their own countries. After the speeches, each
table held a group discussion about how barriers can be broken down in
Swansea for refugees, how our organisations can help them and it was agreed
on our table that much education was needed throughout the younger
population of Swansea and surrounding areas regarding the plight of refugees
and the different classifications of people coming into the country, from
migrant workers to asylum seekers. It was felt that too many people were
ignorant of the different classifications and that if children could reach
out and help refugees then they would spread the word at home to their
families. I was asked what our organisation could do to help refugees and I
told them a little about Wise Up and how we were in a position to offer help
and support to migrant families whose children could not or did not want to
attend mainstream schooling, and that we would benefit greatly from the help
of any refugees who would like to volunteer for our organisation as they are
unable to work for money while their cases are being considered by the
government. Each table then spoke to the crowd about their ideas. Time was
running out by now as we could have all chatted throughout the night about
how we could help. The story the lady on our table told us about a friend of
hers who is widowed and who lost two of her 5 children before escaping her
war-torn country in Africa moved me to tears. She explained how this
professional lady, highly educated, is not allowed to work, and because of
this she cannot afford to send her very bright teenage sons to university as
they are ineligible for help with fees as they are classed as overseas
students. The family cannot work, cannot further their education and cannot
return to their homeland for fear of torture of murder, which is what
happened to her husband. They have lost everything, and are facing an
uncertain future. We then queued up for some lovely ethnic food. How the
caterers fed so many people when they were only expecting 30 was nothing
short of miraculous, and we enjoyed gorgeous food including chick pea dal,
various curries and rice and bread. The food just melted in your mouth! I
would like to thank everyone for the opportunity of visiting this
enlightening meeting, and am looking forward to working more with refugees
in the Swansea area.’
3rd February - Fun in the snow!
Tuesday Club had to be cancelled today due to the sudden snowy spell. Instead, everyone sent us their pictures of what they got up to in the snow!
1st February 2009
It's been all ups and downs so far in the new year - our first Tuesday Club on 6th January had to be cancelled at short notice when the heating broke down at the YMCA. This meant we missed out on a visit from the Gower Power Team before their amazing rally across Europe and Africa with our logo on their fabulous orange car!
We were back in the following weeks however for all the usual activities as well as coconut ice making and the start of our family yoga classes. 27th January saw a bumper Tuesday Club, welcoming several new families for sports, circus skills, pebble painting and much more.
16th December 2008 - The Wise Up Christmas Party
See the Photos
9th December 2008 - Tuesday Club
Today was the last full day Tuesday club of 2008, next week will be the Christmas Party from 12-3pm in the hall.
Maggie from the RSPB joined us today to talk about how to help the birds in our gardens at this time of year. We made a variety of bird feeders in a very enjoyable session. We hope Maggie will join us again soon.
Once again, Phil and Dave from Circus Eruption brought us all the excitement of the circus with bouncy stilts, juggling, unicycling and even juggling with knives! The art room was busy with many festive creative happenings, and the dojo was the place to be for rehearsals for next week's Christmas Show.
See this weeks photos, many great action shots!
2nd December 2008 - Funding News!
We had fantastic news from Sport Relief today - our funding bid has been approved which means we have money to continue having Jon the sports coach as well as more Tan Dance, Yoga, venue hire and some equipment. We are absolutely delighted, what a great way to end the year!
2nd December 2008 - Tuesday Club
The film making has now got to the editing stage so hopefully, the finished product is not far off and we will all be delighted with he results I'm sure! Julie and Anne joined us today to talk about their amazing adventure, cycling across the USA. Christmas crafts were well underway in the art room with some fantastic results and a full programme of sports and fitness was enjoyed by all ages and abilities.
Tan Dance visited us once again - we are told the dances learned will be performed at our Christmas do on the 16th so we look forward to that! Guitar lessons continued as did playtime in the dojo.
This week's photos
25th November 2008 - Tuesday Club
This week we were visited by Brace's Bakery who provided 2 sessions of a breadmaking demonstration, a fascinating insight into a bread making factory and a talk on healthy eating. All ages enjoyed the sessions and the bread was later baked in the YMCA kitchens so we could all try a bit - and very nice it was too!
Elsewhere, the guitar group met in the music room, toys for younger families were in the dojo all day and a wide variety of art works were created in the art room.
The reading group met for the first time to decide which books to start with for each age group. They will meet again in January to discuss the books they have chosen. The Youth Forum girls had a visit from Janet Weaver who discussed her work with the Youth Council and how young people can get their voices heard in their communities.
Circus Eruption were with us once again with a variety of equipment from the humble juggling ball to the impressive 'bouncy stilts'! With pool, table tennis, chess, the Buzz quiz, computers and the resource library as well as all this, everyone was kept busy all day!
See this week's photos
11th November 2008 - Tuesday Club
There was a party atmosphere in the hall today with the folks from Interplay bringing us group games all morning and Circus Eruption all afternoon. Alongside this we helped Josh celebrate his birthday with a birthday buffet and party bags laid on by his mum with help from YMCA staff.
The party was rounded off with Phil's fire eating antics in the yard - Don't try this at home, this man is a trained professional! Elsewhere, the guitar lessons and practice carried on and the next session of film making took place - there was much giggling coming from behind the camera as it made it's way around the building so we look forward (I think!) to seeing the results!
The dojo hosted the under 8s toys today and in the afternoon's Youth Forum meeting, the girls decided they would like a trip to a Space Centre and lunch out - no boys allowed! We wish them every success with their application to the Youth Opportunities Board.
This week's photos
4th November 2008 - Tuesday Club
All the usual activities this week - guitar lessons, dodgeball, football, volleyball, fun and games in the dojo, pool, table tennis, tile painting, puppet making, drawing lessons, talking, eating and playing! We had a visit from Amy from the Forestry Commission who talked to us about booking some very exciting forest days for our members at Afan Forest Park.
We were also thrilled to meet our youngest ever member who, at 10 days old took all the cuddles, cooing and fussing in very good spirits!
More photos!
2nd November 2008 - Heartstart Course
One of our families attended the 'Heartstart' Course to learn how to help someone with cardiac arrest. Congratulations to Christine, Thomas and Josh for completing the course and gaining this important qualification!
See the photos
29th October 2008 - PlayRight Logo competition won by Wise up Member!
Swansea's Play Right ran a competition to design a new logo for them to use on all their materials. They wanted something that would show all the different play services they offer for the children and young people of Swansea. The competition was open to all children in Swansea and Wise Up member, Thomas came up with just the thing. His design was chosen as the winner and he was presented with 2 tickets to watch the Swans play and a huge box of craft goodies.
A school's prize of a year's free membership to Play Right was also on offer and Thomas chose for that to come to Wise Up. We are very lucky to have such a talented member! To top it all, Thomas' cousin Josh, also a Wise Up member, won a runner up spot with his design. Congratulations to both boys, we are very proud to have you as Wise Up members and look forward to seeing you in the art room soon!
See more photos
28th October 2008 - Tuesday Club
Half term meant a busy week this week as we were joined by schooled siblings and by our formerly home educated, now college going teens. Their skills were put to good use as they delivered the sign language and origami workshops, both of which were enjoyed by all ages.
The second film making session took place. After the brain storming session of two weeks ago when the concept was developed, filming began with various members taking turns with the camera. In two weeks work will be started on the voice overs and music. Guitar lessons continued as did the bite size drawing sessions.
The art room was packed with people continuing tile painting, puppet making and starting halloween crafts - we even spotted a werewolf in there at one point! Several parents enjoyed a game of volleyball - even letting the kids join in at times!
There was another visit from Tan Dance as well as plenty of playtime in the dojo. There was also news and pictures of a new baby in the group to send us all ga-ga, huge congratulations and we can't wait to see her in person!
See this week's pictures
25th October 2008 - Autumn Fair
The Autumn Fair was a great social occasion as well as a fundraiser and it was lovely to catch up with old friends and meet extended families and supporters as well as the local community including the Community Support Officers who popped in to buy a banana loaf! We had all manner of items to sell as well as tombola, face painting, circus skills, guess the penny jars, toy raffle, guess the elephant's name and loads of home made cakes and coconut ice. A big thanks to everyone who helped out on the day and to everyone who donated and bought stuff. We made £300 for our funds.
See the photos from the Autumn Fair
21st October 2008 - Tuesday Club
The art room was busy all day today with people of all ages producing beautiful painted tiles as well as the usual artistic creations and more puppets.
Tan Dance paid us another visit as did PC Norris who talked about his work, showed us his handcuffs and tried his hand at circus skills, pool and tiger wrestling!
Parents stepped in to supervise practice sessions in the music room in the absence of Terry - we hope Terry will be feeling better and back with us next week. A lively game of volleyball as well as basketball, football, the Buzz quiz, playtime in the dojo and the Circus Eruption volunteers kept everyone busy and we were pleased to welcome more new families.
The question has to be asked though - Who ate all the chocolate cake? You know who you are!
Some feedback from this week
Many thanks to everyone for such a lovely day at the YMCA.
T and J were really happy playing with all the other children
today :)
T loved the session with the policeman he told J all about it on
the way home, J wishes he was 10 years old now lol..
J really enjoyed the tile painting and made a lovely coaster for
his daddy; and both of the boys enjoyed
using the circus equipment :)The circus guys are great!!!
See this week's photos
See the Drawing with Light Pictures
14th October 2008 - Tuesday Club
There was a packed programme today. We celebrated Big Draw Week 2008 with a visit from Community Arts who brought us 'Drawing with Light'. Coloured torches were used in a blackout tent to create fantastic works of art which were captured using digital photography.
We hope to add these pictures to the website soon and everyone who took part will get a print out of their creation. Guitar lessons continued, feedback about Terry's teaching style is great - even those previously bored by learning endless chords have been inspired by his prefered method of getting his students playing what they want to play as soon as possible!
Jon delivered a varied programme of sports including volleyball, football, fitness class and the ever popular dodgeball.
Karen and Jason began their film making workshops with a productive ideas session. We look forward to seeing the draft script on our email list and starting the filming in two weeks' time.
We also had a visit from Janet Weaver, Youth Council Outreach Development Officer. Janet helped us set up the Wise Up Youth Forum and began discussions about what projects, trips and activities our young people would like to bid for funding for. Several willing volunteers agreed to do some research into costing the projects suggested and Janet will be returning to help them fill in the relevant funding forms.
The art room was busy as usual, Susie's bite size drawing session was mouths and chins this week. Puppet making added some variety to the usual art activities with some delightful results!
See the latest photos
8th October 2008 - PlayRight Training
Juliet took part in the PlayRight Halloween Crafts training session so now has loads of great ideas for the art room on the 28th October. here's a preview!
7th October 2008 - Tuesday club
A bumper day with nearly 100 people of all ages attending. Unfortunately there was some double booking of rooms this week by YMCA staff.
These problems have now been sorted out so we are back to using all rooms next week. Guitar lessons started for all ages, apparently some of the
new players learned to play Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, which is pretty impressive! The art room was busy all day, learning to draw noses in the morning,
and all manner of creative happenings throughout the day including using face paints to mock up terrible wounds! Karen's storymaking for younger people was very popular in the dojo.
The hall was used for circus skills, football, basketball, touch rugby, pool, table tennis, short tennis and lots of playing and chatting! We were pleased to welcome more new families and look forward to meeting them all again next week!
See this week's pics
3rd - 5th October 2008 - YMCA Youth Forum Residential
6 Wise Up teenagers joined young people from all over South Wales to take part in the YMCA's Youth Forum residential at YMCA Newgale this weekend. A great time was had by all, but not much sleep apparently!
As well as discussing the future of YMCA in South Wales, the young people took part in various activities including coasteering, cliff walks and telling ghost stories!
2nd October 2008 - First Aid Training
Juliet completed the First Aid course 'Emergency First Aid for Appointed Persons' along with YMCA staff.
The course covered What to do in an emergency,
Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation,
First Aid for the unconscious casualty and
First Aid for the wounded or bleeding. Congratulations to all and thanks for the increased peace of mind of having so many up to date first aiders around!
30th September 2008 - Tuesday Club
Lots of people managed to avoid the current lurgy that's going round and enjoy another busy programme at Tuesday Club. Susie started her bite size drawing basics with how to draw eyes. Ceri brought us an innovative creative writing session which inspired all who took part in it.
As usual, Jon delivered a packed programme of sports and activities for all ages and abilities. The day was rounded off by a visit from schools liaison officer PC Norris, who proved very popular with parents and children alike! There are plans for PC Norris to bring us many exciting things in the future including police horses and dogs and crime scene investigators - and apparently he's not bad at tennis either!
Those of us who were confined to our sofas with exploding heads look forward to meeting both Ceri and PC Norris in the not too distant future!
Feedback from today..
"Just wanted to say a huge thank you to all who organized yesterday's
events. It was another great Tuesday for us and the kids are already
counting the days to next Tuesday. I should add that the creative
writing session was lovely. Even my son seemed to like it. When asked
about it he said (and I quote) "It's not as awesome as dodge ball, but
it's kind of fun" LOL. For a rough and tumble boy I'd say that's a step
in the right direction. See you all next week!"
"What a find PC Norris was. S didn't want to go but I insisted. Afterwards she said she really
liked him and wanted to do his classes!"
"The program with PC Norris seems like a win-win for the group. Investigating crimes, trained police dogs, and horses - what kid wouldn't love that?"
This week's photos
23rd September 2008 - Tuesday Club
Well we didn't frighten everyone away with our membership packs and once again Tuesday Club was buzzing. 5 new families joined us and it was delightful to meet them all. Last week's clay models were painted, as well as plenty of creations on canvas.
The very popular Tan Dance returned and led an energetic street dance session in the dojo. The Circus Eruption boys were back with diabolos, plate spinning, stilts, juggling and unicycles. Our new Buzz! Quiz on PS2 got brains working as people of all ages honed their general knowledge and reaction times.
As usual there was pool, table tennis, music jamming, toddler playtime and plenty of time to hang out, catch up and have a giggle. Our membership meeting went very well, everyone seems happy with the new packs and we are very relieved to find we have many offers of all kinds of help to follow up. We know that it's going to take strong membership contribution to keep Wise Up (and us!) going and the signs are pretty good!
Love the dancing pics!
16th September 2008 - Tuesday Club is Back!
Our first Tuesday Club after the holidays was great fun with activities for all ages and abilities. Jon, the sports coach was back and led sessions of football, basketball, circuits to music and a very noisy game of dodgeball! The art room was busy all day with various arts and crafts and Susie led a clay modelling session showing how a variety of techniques could be used to create different effects. This was a very popular lesson for all ages and several parents were spotted concentrating hard on wonderful creations. See the photos of the results below!
The dojo was buzzing with our younger members and their folks with all the toys and dens out and space to play on the mats. Our new home education books made their debut in the resource room. XL Wales brought us 2 engineering challenges in the afternoon. Firstly, the under 8s used knex to build playground rides for mice! Later on older members got their chance, using knex to solve a bridge building challenge.
As well as all this, it was great to catch up with old friends and make some new ones as we were delighted to welcome new families. Here's some feedback from the day...
'That Knex challenge was so sweet. J was fascinated with the
little mice (for anyone who didn't go, we're not talking real
mice!!!), he said 'the mice will have a lovely time going on this'
after he'd made his little mouse slide!'
'K and L really enjoyed that challenge, and the biggest
challenge is getting L interested in anything that doesn't involve
anime, so well done!'
'We all loved Wise up - M had lots to do - she even did Dodge ball after adamantly refusing to do any sport - because she could hear all the children having so much fun. Even baby S had a great time in the Dojo - loads of space and toys to play with. So thank you all.'
1st August 2008 - Evening Post Story
Our success with Awards 4 All funding has made the papers at last!
The story has also made the national home education lists and prominent home education blogs.
22nd July 2008 - Fun Day in the Park
52 kids aged from 9 months to 17 bought their parents along to the park for our final get together before the holidays. Some of our newly trained volunteers helped out with a den building workshop in the morning and the afternoon saw the return of the waterslide.
All day there were games of cricket, rounders and football as well as play in the park and endless picnicing! We had a great time and went home exhausted but happy.
Thanks once again go to Lisa from Play Works for facilitating the day. The next organised activities will be in September, but if you need information on home education, want support or to make some contacts over the summer please explore the rest of the site and contact us.
We will continue to fund raise and get together informally over the holidays and you are more than welcome to join us!
See the pictures here.
19th July 2008 - Play Works Training
Congratulations to our 5 volunteers who took part in the Play Works training for Youth Workers at Gnoll Park today. They learnt about health and safety and how to run a den building workshop and gained a certificate for their efforts. We look forward to you using your new found skills at the Wise Up Den Building and Water Play Day on Tuesday!
15th July 2008 - Beach Fun Day with Play Works
A chilly start to our beach fun day (in July - what were we thinking?) didn't deter 18 families turning up to take part in digging, kite flying, splashing, footballing, rounders, building and games. There was enough sun for some of us to go home glowing despite being bundled up in coats most of the day and the afternoon was rounded off for many with a dip in the paddling pool and fun in the water splash park.
Thanks once again to Lisa for facilitating a 'real treat' as one family put it!
More photos of a cold July beach day!
12th July 2008 - Aberavon Beach Festival
Despite changeable weather there was a constant stream of visitors to our tombola and information stand at Aberavon Beach Festival today. We spoke to dozens of people about home education and made over £250 for the group. Many thanks to everyone who helped out on the day and to everyone who donated prizes including Lush, Suma and Morrisons as well as many group members. Special thanks to all the young people who helped out to raise money for their group today - you were all great ambassadors for Home Education!
Other highlights of the day included the flypast of a Lancaster Bomber, the RAF's parachute team, local bands and all the fun of the fair. An exhausting but enjoyable day all round!
More pictures from the beach festival
8th July 2008 - Last Tuesday Club before the holidays
A bumper day saw over 85 home educators get together at the YMCA for the last Tuesday Club before the holidays. Although things didn't go exactly to plan and some activities had to be cancelled due to illness, there was an exciting atmosphere and we had lots of fun! The music teacher attended to chat to people and find out what lessons are wanted. We hope to secure funding for him to start in September as music lessons can be difficult for home educators to afford and
arranging them as part of Tuesday Club will give children and young people the chance to learn together. Face (and arm!) painting was popular in the art room, with young people painting their own beautiful (and scary!) designs on each other.
The art room was also the venue for drawing, plasticine modelling, glitter pictures, hama bead creations and an experiment about surface tension. Meanwhile in the dojo, there was the Play Works music box, our new Cranium den building kit and all our other toys for younger people. The main event of the day was the Team Challenge which saw toddlers, grandma and everyone in between playing bed sheet ping pong, suspending marshmallows, learning to juggle, flinging balloons, designing posters, answering quiz questions and wrapping their mummies!
Somehow enough order was maintained for our six teams to take part in all the fun and games. The Dinosaurs, The Cleverclogs, The Conner Combo and Team Shark all won prizes for successfully completing all the challenges. The Wise Up Whizz Kids were deserving runners up and our fabulous winners, sporting winners medals were The Funky Monkeys!
Helping out with the learning to juggle challenge and then taking the circus skills workshop were Circus Eruption volunteers who have supported us throughout the last few months. We then had a sign language workshop which everyone who took part really enjoyed. We hope to have a more in depth course of sign language when we start back in September. Thanks to everyone who attended, helped out and took part in the events - we are looking forward to seeing you all when we start back weekly from September!
Here's what one family had to say about today
"The boys are still buzzing from
today, and have been telling their dad all about it, they can't wait
to see the photos on the website so they can show him. I can't
believe how you managed to organise everyone so well. They all love
their prizes, J's been happily decorating his chest of drawers
with loads of the stickers, and now he's merrily playing with a couple
of the bouncy balls.
Thank you soooo much, for giving the children such a lovely day to
remember."
Click here to see the photos!
1st July 2008 - Tuesday Club at the YMCA
What a fantastic day today was! The sun was shining for woodwork in the yard with Dragonfly Creations setting up their mobile workshop and teaching a never ending stream of people of all ages.
We were innundated with people wanting to know if they were coming back next week and when they can do more woodwork! Various wands, rounders bats and other impressive creations were taken home. Huge thanks to Scott and Natalie for their patience and enthusiasm with everyone. We hope we can find the funding for much more of this!
As well as the woodwork we had a dance session with Tan Dance returning by popular demand and Jon ran sports sessions all day including football, mums and toddlers fitness, martial arts and sports massage. The art room was busy all day, with activities including coming up with designs for the climbing wall, more manga drawing, chromatography and liberal sprinklings of glitter!
There was a music session, pool, table tennis, lots of playing in the hall and outside in the sun and some cooperative ball games broke out spontaneously in the hall. With 2 more new families to welcome there was good company, lovely weather and interesting activities all day.
24th June 2008 - Tuesday Club at the YMCA
Another successful Tuesday, slightly quieter with lots of people on holiday before the schools break up, but with 3 more new families to welcome! Our activities have now been attended by 50 different families totalling 156 individuals - the day they all come together will be a busy one! This week the staff from YMCA's Outdoor Education Centre at Newgale visited us to talk about what they can offer us in the way of residential education courses. There was a great deal of enthusiasm on both sides
with many ideas discussed including team building, extreme sports, survival skills and wildlife watching. We will begin research into funding possibilities for some of these opportunities as the cost is well beyond the reach of most of our families and our aim is to provide opportunities to all regardless of income. Susie ran 2 very successful art workshops, designing T shirt logos and drawing manga. Some young people brought in their manga art portfolios to share and we were all very impressed with the talent on show.
Several members enjoyed a Welsh taster session and discussion continues about which languages the majority of people in the group want to learn and how to go about facilitating this. The more feedback the better from all ages so that we can target our resources effectively. Jenny continued the cross stitch bookmark project with the group who started this last week. Circus Eruption volunteers were with us for the afternoon, complete with bouncy stilts as well as juggling, diabolos, unicycling and plate spinning.
The dojo was used for a really popular singing and yoga session in the morning with Carole. Many parents commented on how they saw their children increase in confidence very quickly during the session. This is definitely one to repeat when funds are available. In the afternoon, the toddler toys were taken up to the dojo for a lively play session and chance for parents of younger children to chat.
See photos from 24th June
17th June 2008 - Tuesday Club at YMCA
An extremely busy day at the YMCA with 26 families attending - 79 people in total including 4 new families.
Jon the sports coach did his first full day with us and everyone was extremely pleased with his sessions which included dodgeball, football tournament, mums and toddlers workout and some individual fitness consultations.
The Science and Engineering show from Cardiff University was very well received and all ages seemed to enjoy learning about 'Science Superstars' and their work. The new under 8s toys had a good workout and people were busy in the art room all day. Jenny ran a cross stitch workshop making bookmarks which will be repeated to finish the projects. A noisy jamming session was held in the music room.
Scott from Dragonfly Creations came to see us and has lots of exciting ideas about how he can work with us. We have booked him for an all day taster session on 1st July when he'll bring his mobile workshop and set up in the yard. We will start work on finding funding for him to come and do a long term project with us from September. The raffle, booksale and sale of Lush soap raised over £60 for our funds.
See photos of the Science Show, toddler toys and music room
3rd June 2008 - Water Play Day
The weather was kind to us again for our second Play Works day - this time Water Play! Lisa built a giant water slide and provided water pistols, water bombs, sponges, bubbles, containers and all sorts of other toys and a hose! The resulting chaos was described several times as 'the best day of my life' and there were cries of 'I hope this day never ends!'
Those of us who didn't want to end up looking like we'd spent a week at a rock festival took shelter among the standing stones for picnicing and chin wagging and managed to stay remarkably dry! Again, a huge thank-you to Lisa for all her hard work in setting this up and running it for us and for being such a good sport when she inevitably got drenched! Much shivering, a few lost t-shirts and some aching muscles, but what fun!
The Best Birthday Ever!
See more Water Play Pics
30th May 2008 - Volunteer Fair
We attended the Neath Port Talbot Council for Voluntary Service Volunteer Fair in Victoria Gardens today. We ran a successful tombola stall to raise money, an information display and Jack ran some origami activities. A bit more in the bank and more awareness about our work spread - and the rain stayed off!
27th May 2008 - Den Building Day
A fabulous day was had by all at our den building day at Margam Park today, put on by Neath Port Talbot PlayWorks team.
Despite a terrible weekend weather wise, 16 families with 36 kids between them turned out and were rewarded with brightening skies, great company and loads of good old fashioned fun!
The day started with a mini scavenger hunt, then we split into 4 teams to have a go at 4 types of den - teepee, natural materials, a lean to and a free standing den. All ages joined in from toddlers to teenagers to adults and there was some serious thought put into special design features!
All the dens looked great and were very sturdy and imaginative. We broke for a massive picnic lunch on the parachutes then everyone joined in to pool all the materials and build one enormous den in the woods. The building didn't stop at dens - by the end of the day we had a complex of hideouts, rope swings and hammocks too. The day was also punctuated by impromptu football games, team games and mock battles with the cardboard tubes, as well as some parachute games.
Some of us even had energy left to visit the playpark on our way back to the cars! We would like to say a massive thank-you to Lisa from PlayWorks who facilitated a really fantastic day for us all!
See more den building photos here.
24th May 2008 - Major Funding News!
We have just heard that we have been granted £5,000 from the lottery funded Awards 4 All scheme. This money is to pay for venue hire and resources for the library as well as some locking cupboards to keep our stuff in. This means we will definitely be able to go weekly from September with Tuesday Club at the YMCA. We can't wait - better get planning!
20th May 2008 - Meeting with Playworks
We met with Lisa from Playworks today and have arranged a couple of outdoor play sessions - den building and water play. If these go well and everyone is happy we hope we can follow them up with some more later on in the year.
14th May 2008 - Funding Success!
We have just heard that our application to the Children's Network Under 8's fund has been successful. We now have a pot of money to buy toys and equipment for our under eights. This will mean that we can cater better for younger siblings of home educated children and for younger families who want to build up a network of contacts before their children reach school age. We will be buying some equipment to encourage active play in the dojo as well as making up some toy boxes that can be taken to whichever room they are needed in to keep a little one occupied - maybe while mum reads in the resource room or takes part in a workshop.
13th May 2008 - Tuesday Club at YMCA
Our third meeting was the best yet - even though slightly fewer families came - 20 in all. It was a beautifully sunny day so we think many who had said they were coming went to the beach instead! Again, we had several new families who hadn't been before. For some of these, today was their first taste of home education groups. As usual, we had Circus Eruption volunteers, pool, table tennis, basketball and football. Susie did a great art session about portraits. 'Tan Dance' came and led a taster hip hop session which proved extremely popular with all ages. Everybody was keen for them to come back and they are keen to work with us. Hopefully we can get some funding for them to run some courses for us. Also giving us a free taster were 'Immediate Action' first aid trainers. They were a big hit - the kids had great fun learning how to deal with emergencies and bandaging up willing parents. We were extremely impressed when one of the guys even took the time to show a toddler how to move the dummy's head - he agreed with us that you are never the wrong age to learn something you are interested in! We very much hope that we can locate the funding for these guys to come back again and give us a longer course. We had another jamming session and set up the resource room which was helpful for some of the new home educators. We also borrowed the 'role play' and 'movement' boxes from Playworks which were well used in the hall! Jonathan Evans, sports coach came along and met everyone to discuss what sessions he is going to provide for us using the community chest grant. He enjoyed the atmosphere and had lots of feedback so he could get planning! Carol Sheppard, voice coach and yoga teacher also called in and was impressed by the dojo which would be suitable for both singing and yoga. She has sent a proposal for a series of workshops she could do with us. Some of the group have worked with Carol before and are keen to do so again. It was a lovely day to chill in the garden with a drink when it got a bit noisy inside and we also had a book sale to raise some much needed cash for the group.
5th May 2008 - Tombola at Swyn-Y-Mor Care Home
We raised nearly £100 by running a tombola at Swyn-y-Mor's dog show and fete.
3rd May 2008 - Lush!
Juliet has won us 15.752 kilos of Lush soap. Staff at the Swansea shop are very keen to help us package the soap and promote our group. The car smelt wonderful on the way home!
22nd April 2008 - Community Chest Grant
We have just learnt that our application for funding for a sports coach has been successful! This means we will be able to have 10 x 4 hour sessions at the YMCA covering all sorts from basketball and football to fitness training, yoga and lots more!
11th April 2008 - Display for YMCA Cafe Launch
The YMCA's new cafe 'Indulge' was officially launched today in the presence of the Mayor of Neath Port Talbot, The Sherriff, Assembly Member for Aberavon, Brian Gibbons and other local dignitaries. Along with other YMCA users, Wise Up put on a display of information, feedback and work by our young people. Juliet met the manager of the YMCA's Outdoor Education Centre at Newgale who expressed a keen interest in working out a programme of activities for us, so watch this space!
20th March 2008 - Wise Up yahoo group launched
The Wise Up HE yahoo group and email list was launched today. We hope that those who have been to our events will join the group to give us feedback, keep up with developments and discuss activities they would like to take part in. We also hope group members will offer whatever time or skills they have to help us organise events, fundraise and spread the word about our work.
18th March 2008 - Tuesday Club at YMCA, second pilot day
This time we tried out several activities using different rooms in the building and it worked really well. 23 families attended. One of the previously home educated teenagers gave a sign language workshop which was very well attended and the feedback was extremely positive. Susie and Sonia gave 2 art workshops which went down equally well. Sonia also gave an introduction to Tai Chi session in the dojo which was thoroughly enjoyed by all ages. Sonia I led a creative writing session and Louisa a web building introduction. We also held an informal jamming session in the music room. Pool, table tennis, football, basketball and chess were available and Circus Eruption volunteers attended again. It was a packed day, all feedback was positive and everyone seemed to really enjoy everything they took part in.
19th February 2008 - First Meeting of Tuesday Club at Port Talbot YMCA
Our first meeting at YMCA was a great success. 16 families attended with children of all ages. We had a tour of the building, played pool, table tennis, football and basketball and chess, board games and drawing in the cafe. Circus Eruption volunteers came along and gave juggling, diabolo, plate spinning and circus tricks workshops in the hall. We took plenty of feedback and chatted about how we could make the most of the venue. The Evening Post sent a reporter and photographer along.
See Evening Post Story
See what activities are coming up soon!
Home
There was a party atmosphere in the hall today with the folks from Interplay bringing us group games all morning and Circus Eruption all afternoon. Alongside this we helped Josh celebrate his birthday with a birthday buffet and party bags laid on by his mum with help from YMCA staff.
The party was rounded off with Phil's fire eating antics in the yard - Don't try this at home, this man is a trained professional! Elsewhere, the guitar lessons and practice carried on and the next session of film making took place - there was much giggling coming from behind the camera as it made it's way around the building so we look forward (I think!) to seeing the results!
The dojo hosted the under 8s toys today and in the afternoon's Youth Forum meeting, the girls decided they would like a trip to a Space Centre and lunch out - no boys allowed! We wish them every success with their application to the Youth Opportunities Board.
All the usual activities this week - guitar lessons, dodgeball, football, volleyball, fun and games in the dojo, pool, table tennis, tile painting, puppet making, drawing lessons, talking, eating and playing! We had a visit from Amy from the Forestry Commission who talked to us about booking some very exciting forest days for our members at Afan Forest Park.
We were also thrilled to meet our youngest ever member who, at 10 days old took all the cuddles, cooing and fussing in very good spirits!
More photos!
One of our families attended the 'Heartstart' Course to learn how to help someone with cardiac arrest. Congratulations to Christine, Thomas and Josh for completing the course and gaining this important qualification!
See the photos
Swansea's Play Right ran a competition to design a new logo for them to use on all their materials. They wanted something that would show all the different play services they offer for the children and young people of Swansea. The competition was open to all children in Swansea and Wise Up member, Thomas came up with just the thing. His design was chosen as the winner and he was presented with 2 tickets to watch the Swans play and a huge box of craft goodies.
A school's prize of a year's free membership to Play Right was also on offer and Thomas chose for that to come to Wise Up. We are very lucky to have such a talented member! To top it all, Thomas' cousin Josh, also a Wise Up member, won a runner up spot with his design. Congratulations to both boys, we are very proud to have you as Wise Up members and look forward to seeing you in the art room soon!
See more photos
Half term meant a busy week this week as we were joined by schooled siblings and by our formerly home educated, now college going teens. Their skills were put to good use as they delivered the sign language and origami workshops, both of which were enjoyed by all ages.
The second film making session took place. After the brain storming session of two weeks ago when the concept was developed, filming began with various members taking turns with the camera. In two weeks work will be started on the voice overs and music. Guitar lessons continued as did the bite size drawing sessions.
The art room was packed with people continuing tile painting, puppet making and starting halloween crafts - we even spotted a werewolf in there at one point! Several parents enjoyed a game of volleyball - even letting the kids join in at times!
There was another visit from Tan Dance as well as plenty of playtime in the dojo. There was also news and pictures of a new baby in the group to send us all ga-ga, huge congratulations and we can't wait to see her in person!
The Autumn Fair was a great social occasion as well as a fundraiser and it was lovely to catch up with old friends and meet extended families and supporters as well as the local community including the Community Support Officers who popped in to buy a banana loaf! We had all manner of items to sell as well as tombola, face painting, circus skills, guess the penny jars, toy raffle, guess the elephant's name and loads of home made cakes and coconut ice. A big thanks to everyone who helped out on the day and to everyone who donated and bought stuff. We made £300 for our funds.
See the photos from the Autumn Fair
There was a packed programme today. We celebrated Big Draw Week 2008 with a visit from Community Arts who brought us 'Drawing with Light'. Coloured torches were used in a blackout tent to create fantastic works of art which were captured using digital photography.
We hope to add these pictures to the website soon and everyone who took part will get a print out of their creation. Guitar lessons continued, feedback about Terry's teaching style is great - even those previously bored by learning endless chords have been inspired by his prefered method of getting his students playing what they want to play as soon as possible!
Jon delivered a varied programme of sports including volleyball, football, fitness class and the ever popular dodgeball.
Karen and Jason began their film making workshops with a productive ideas session. We look forward to seeing the draft script on our email list and starting the filming in two weeks' time.
We also had a visit from Janet Weaver, Youth Council Outreach Development Officer. Janet helped us set up the Wise Up Youth Forum and began discussions about what projects, trips and activities our young people would like to bid for funding for. Several willing volunteers agreed to do some research into costing the projects suggested and Janet will be returning to help them fill in the relevant funding forms.
The art room was busy as usual, Susie's bite size drawing session was mouths and chins this week. Puppet making added some variety to the usual art activities with some delightful results!
A bumper day with nearly 100 people of all ages attending. Unfortunately there was some double booking of rooms this week by YMCA staff.
These problems have now been sorted out so we are back to using all rooms next week. Guitar lessons started for all ages, apparently some of the
new players learned to play Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, which is pretty impressive! The art room was busy all day, learning to draw noses in the morning,
and all manner of creative happenings throughout the day including using face paints to mock up terrible wounds! Karen's storymaking for younger people was very popular in the dojo.
The hall was used for circus skills, football, basketball, touch rugby, pool, table tennis, short tennis and lots of playing and chatting! We were pleased to welcome more new families and look forward to meeting them all again next week!
Juliet completed the First Aid course 'Emergency First Aid for Appointed Persons' along with YMCA staff.
The course covered What to do in an emergency,
Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation,
First Aid for the unconscious casualty and
First Aid for the wounded or bleeding. Congratulations to all and thanks for the increased peace of mind of having so many up to date first aiders around!
Our first Tuesday Club after the holidays was great fun with activities for all ages and abilities. Jon, the sports coach was back and led sessions of football, basketball, circuits to music and a very noisy game of dodgeball! The art room was busy all day with various arts and crafts and Susie led a clay modelling session showing how a variety of techniques could be used to create different effects. This was a very popular lesson for all ages and several parents were spotted concentrating hard on wonderful creations. See the photos of the results below!
The dojo was buzzing with our younger members and their folks with all the toys and dens out and space to play on the mats. Our new home education books made their debut in the resource room. XL Wales brought us 2 engineering challenges in the afternoon. Firstly, the under 8s used knex to build playground rides for mice! Later on older members got their chance, using knex to solve a bridge building challenge.
As well as all this, it was great to catch up with old friends and make some new ones as we were delighted to welcome new families. Here's some feedback from the day...
52 kids aged from 9 months to 17 bought their parents along to the park for our final get together before the holidays. Some of our newly trained volunteers helped out with a den building workshop in the morning and the afternoon saw the return of the waterslide.
All day there were games of cricket, rounders and football as well as play in the park and endless picnicing! We had a great time and went home exhausted but happy.
Thanks once again go to Lisa from Play Works for facilitating the day. The next organised activities will be in September, but if you need information on home education, want support or to make some contacts over the summer please explore the rest of the site and contact us.
We will continue to fund raise and get together informally over the holidays and you are more than welcome to join us!
See more Water Play Pics
