Ideas for club days

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What works and what doesn’t!

What works:

• Crafts – Art, embroidery, Zen gardens, lanterns, scrapbooking, candle making, costume making, etc.
• Techno junk – Taking apart any old appliances to see how they work and perhaps making them into other things, e.g. telephones, fax machines, computers (not screens), toasters, etc. (Be aware of safety issues here with regard to tools/electricity.)
• Outside speakers – Science subjects, history, doctors, vets, funeral director, local historian, anything they are passionate about and can impart to the children.
• Approaches to educational institutes to see if they are prepared to give a summary of what they teach to the children.
• Member parents – Look through parents’ occupations or hobbies and pick some unusual ones and ask them to come and talk about them.
• Creative Writing sessions - Can be run by the parent group.
• Martial Arts demonstrations - Always ask for them to give a bit of history and explanation as well.
• Cultural Group demonstrations
• Behind the scenes tours of picture theatres, McDonalds, museums, etc
• Visits to local industries or attractions.
• Dissection of animal organs or perhaps full animals, particularly good if you have “medical” members
• Maths/physics/science extension type sessions – An understanding local teacher could be good for this, especially if he/she can arrange access to labs.
• Introducing learning another language
• An activity in your area that is recreational rather than educational - This can work well if you ask along an expert to explain more eg. cave trip with a geologist, island restoration/planting with an ecologist. Often the children enjoy the chance to socialise as well as learn from the expert.

Note: Read in Tall Poppies or branch newsletters about activities that other branches do. Contact other branches for specifics of particular activities.

What doesn’t work:

• Usually an activity that the family could and would have done on their own, (unless you can add another dimension with an expert - see above).
• Speakers who are not able to cope with lots of questions, distractions.
• Speakers who use no visual aids or no props at all. (Can be exceptions.)