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Wise Up News

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 Ł250 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.

See more photos of the woodwork, dance, sport and the rest of today!

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 Ł60 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 Ł5,000 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 Ł100 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!

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