• Vacation Care - Week 1 Monday 9th January - Thursday 12th January 2012

Vacation Care - Week 1 Monday 9th January - Thursday 12th January 2012

Monday 9th January - Bents Basin Trip

On Monday 9th January our group travelled to Bents Basin and met with Aunty Pamela, a Discovery Ranger with National Parks & Wildlife Services. The first exciting moment of the day was to see an Echidna enjoying the sunshine and going for a wander into some branches on the ground nearby. The children then learnt the new skill of pond-dipping and found out the Basin is very healthy with lots of interesting creatures being caught and released. This was also an excellent way to get our feet wet and cool down. Aunty Pamela then taught the children how to do clay modelling and they made either models of what they had caught while pond-dipping or something culturally important to them. The children also did some Indigenous Art, drawing and painting on boomerangs. After a sausage sizzle for lunch it was time to head home with everything they had made.

Tuesday 10th January - Fast Lane Go Karting, Minto

Fast Lane Go Karting at Minto had their track taken by storm by our KARI vacation care group! The karts were whizzing past at incredible speeds as our 8 drivers raced against the clock. Our speed racers were rewarded with hot dogs and slushies as a refreshing end to the day.

Wednesday 11th January - Aboriginal Heritage Museum, Berry Island, Nutcote Cottage

The Home of Author May Gibbs

Our three stop trip to North Sydney began with a visit to The Aboriginal Heritage Museum. There, our vacation care group got the opportunity to look at artefacts and learn about the Aboriginal way of life before and after colonisation. Berry Island's Bushwalk was extremely popular with each child eager to trek through the bushland and learn something about our rich natural history. Our final stop was to the home of Gumnut Babies author May Gibbs. Here the children got a chance to walk through her home 'Nutcote Cottage' and see where May and her husband lived throughout the years her stories were written, published and made classics. Overall this jam packed day was a great success!

Thursday 12th January - Bunnings Warehouse DIY Workshop

Thursday 12th January a group of 11 children went to Bunnings at Villawood to participate in a D.I.Y. Workshop. The group first had to choose and decorate PVC pipes of all shapes and sizes, which would become pots for their plants. Once the artistic side had been completed we had a quick trip to McDonalds for some lunch while the paint was drying. After heading back into the workshop it was time to get dirty by putting the potting mix & plants into the pots. After a quick spray of glitter to finish it off everyone was ready to head home. This proved to be a very hands-on experience and all the children involved were extremely proud to show off their creations to their parents. Great work!

Images from Vacation Care are available in our gallery.