Wee Skelfs holiday club
School holidays can be tricky times, juggling child care with the knowledge that your wee one just wants to run around in the fresh air. We might just have the answer!
Our Wee Skelfs holiday club is designed to let kids play in the woods and explore their natural surroundings. Our club is a little different than you might expect. We believe in risky play. That means that we let our Skelfs run free in our woodlands - within a defined area - and find their own ways to entertain themselves. They might choose to play in the Ewok village and build new dens, make something in the greenwood workshop, or simply run riot in the mud. Why? Because it encourages them to use their imaginations, assess risk, and solve problems. This helps in all areas of childhood development. And it's great fun!
The holiday club is also child-led, meaning that we don't pre-plan what each day will look like - the kids decide what they want to do. We do not supervise the Skelfs 100% of the time, or provide one-to-one support. Instead, our leaders are on-site to provide inspiration, support creativity, and to make sure everyone assesses the risks involved in activities they are doing. They bring experience in the full range of green woodworking, arts and crafts.
Wee Skelfs is for kids aged between 6 & 12 and runs from 9.30am - 4.30pm weekdays throughout the school holidays.
What is risky play?
Risky play is simply defined as activities that could contain an element of risk for children. This might be using sharp tools, climbing a tree, or mixing with a new group of people. Risky play introduces children to risk in a managed way, which helps them develop confidence and resilience, enhance their motor skills, and build their decision making and problem solving skills. We firmly believe that risky play is an excellent way to engage children and young people to nature, and to make them interested in the world around them.
You can find out more on the Play Scotland webite.
