And just like that, the summer holidays are over! We aren’t too sad though because we were able to squeeze tons of fun into our five-week programme of holiday activities (even when the Great British weather tried to spoil things!). So instead of feeling gloomy, join us as we look back at all of the fun activities our young people took part in this summer!
Week 1: The first week kicked off with our amazing Storybomb workshop. Young people got very creative as they put together some whacky yet wonderful stories, including one about an evil badger ready to take on nature with its new teeth! As always, the Storybombs were put together expertly, thanks to our friends at Hybrid3 Studios, with one parent saying “[I] have listened to the recordings WHAT BRILLIANT WORK. Love it!”.
Our Storybomb workshop was followed by an amazing photography workshop, which saw young people take some jaw-dropping snaps whilst on their photography ‘missions’. Their task was to find particular things to picture, which clearly went down well with those taking part: “I loved looking around the park for things to take photos of”.
Week 2: This was the week we visited Hesley Wood Activity Centre, which definitely didn’t disappoint. Whether it was zipping through the air or conquering the climbing wall, our young people got stuck into everything, showing great bravery as well as self-belief. One young person said, “I was one of the only ones to get to the top and it felt amazing, I managed to do both sides of the climbing wall too!". Everybody gave it their all and the two days couldn’t have gone any better.
Week 3: Next up were picnic in the park and craft activity days. Our young people were lucky enough to avoid the rain, so no soggy sandwiches! Instead, we all got creative, with many young people showcasing their amazing art and craft abilities. Just as we’d hoped, both days (in the north and the south of Sheffield) were super chilled - as well as super fun! - for all those who came along!
Week 4: Our second-to-last week gave young people the chance to go canoeing. Our older group went back to Hesley Woods for some raft building as well as canoeing, and our younger age group headed to Victoria Quays. Everyone did well in the water, showing great control and ability in their canoes. Both days were great fun, with the majority of our young people avoiding getting soaked. Doesn’t that make a change from our usual day at the Hathersage outdoor pool?!
Week 5: Last but not least, during week 5 we visited Mayfield Alpacas Animal Park and Holly Hagg Farm, days out that certainly won’t be forgotten. Not only did we visit the farms, but we were able to get up close to llamas, alpacas and other animals that you don’t usually see in Sheffield, like armadillos and bearded dragons!. The day was epic and everybody had a brilliant time, as well as learning lots of interesting facts about all sorts of different animals.
This summer of activities at SYC has been an absolute blast! With the pandemic disrupting so many of our holiday plans last year, being able to deliver such a great set of face-to-face activities has been just incredible. Massive thanks must go to everyone who worked so hard to set up and run each activity, particularly our funders who make it all possible with their financial support. The fantastic staff at the different venues we used and our own support workers deserve huge credit too - hopefully you have all recovered now?!
Above all, we hope everyone who attended our activities enjoyed themselves and had a well-deserved break. We certainly enjoyed having you! And if you didn’t manage to come along, we hope you found other ways to have fun, relax and take a good break, ahead of the new school year. (Roll on October half term!).
