9th April-11th April 2024
Shirrell Heath Methodist Church Holiday Club
About Shirrell Heath Holiday Club
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Helpers come from Shirrell heath, Waltham Chase and Swanmore Methodist Churches and from St John the Baptist Parish Church come together to run this club and are all DBS checked.
In previous years we have had upto 100 children come along to share an enjoyable time of fun games, stories, quizzes and activities which are centred on the Christian faith. This year numbers will be limited, so please do sign up early to avoid disappointment.
The children are divided into 3 age groups (or teams) so that the children get to know their helpers. Some teenagers who have been members of the Holiday Club in previous years also help with the activities.
Our History
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It was in 1980 that a small group met and decided that it would be great to run a Holiday Club for children at Shirrell Heath. The nearby churches – Swanmore and Waltham Chase Methodists and St John the Baptist Anglican Church were approached and a team of helpers gathered. Harry Hooker, from Portsmouth agreed to head the “up front” morning sessions and his wife came to play the piano.
The children had stories, songs, quizzes and games, then a drink and biscuit before embarking on many and varied craft projects. Monday to Thursday afternoons saw a games, sports, treasure hunts and walks at different venues, including the vicarage garden, Shedfield House, the recreation ground, Highfield and others.
That first year saw about 40 children attending and from there it grew! In those days of children just turning up with no pre-registration, 150 children attended one year! Increasing awareness of safeguarding and safety led to pre- registering and a sensible cap on numbers.
Some memorable afternoon activities included fancy dress competitions, hunt the leaders in Bere Forest and a walk in Droxford water meadows, when the route had to be drastically shortened because of the time it took to get over 100 children and about 40 adults through each of the kissing gates and over the stiles! On a few occasions we went out for the day and had a picnic – one at Upper Hamble Country Park, one at Queen Victoria Country Park and one at Meon. The leaders would act out a Bible story, and then there were scavenger hunts and games.
The oldest children and teenagers enjoyed a BBQ event and ended the evening quizzing a leader or helper about their faith and how it had influenced their life.
Over the years the club changed and developed. The church was decorated more and more to reflect the theme; chairs were moved out to allow the children to move around and do a daily warm-up session; the length of the morning session was increased and the afternoon session dropped. The basic idea, however remains the same – that the children should come and have fun together and learn more about Jesus and the Christian faith.
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