Lewisham Family Information Service

Apr 7, 2011 by Admin

Easter activities for kids 
There’s plenty on offer in Lewisham to keep children of all ages amused over the Easter holidays. Whether they like playing football, exploring nature, hunting for Easter eggs or playing in a rock band, Activities for kids in the Easter holidays

From toddlers to teenagers, there’s plenty to do over the Easter holidays in Lewisham. Whether your children want to explore nature, play football, hunt for Easter eggs, see a play or even form a rock band, read on for where to go.

Sporting activities

Lewisham Community Sport

Lewisham Community Sport will be running its holiday sports sports camps at Prendergast Hilly Fields College. A range of sports are offered including football, cricket, basketball, tennis, as well as indoor activities such as football, cricket, basketball, tennis, trampolining, dodgeball, dance, table tennis, gymnastics and speed stacking. This year children can also do creative arts and drama.

In the morning, children are put into year groups and choose which activity they would like to do. They can choose to do another activity in the afternoon, or stick with the same one. There are prizes at the end of every day, and a presentation ceremony at the end of each week, with 25 awards.

Dates: Monday 11 to Friday 15 April and Monday 18 to Thursday 21 April. 
Times and prices: 10.30am–3.30pm: £10 per day or £45 per week; 8am–6pm: £17 per day or £80 per week.

Children can either bring a packed lunch, or pay for a cooked lunch.

Go to the Lewisham Community Sports website for more information or call Josh Franklin, on 07951 251 332.

St Dunstan’s College Easter Activity School

St Dunstan’s College in Catford is running an activity school during the Easter break. It is open to both pupils and non-pupils.

Activities include rounders, dodge ball, inflatable sessions in the pool, cooking, football, orienteering, trampolining, indoor hockey, an Easter Egg Hunt, and games such as pirates, man the lifeboats, Twister and Monopoly. Arts and craft activities include Easter-themed activities, such as decorating an Easter Egg. Children can play on computers and watch films too. For an additional fee, children can go horseriding or tour Wembley Stadium, among other activities.

Prices: £35 per day or £140 for the week. There are discounts for additional siblings and friends who are not students at the college.

For more information go to the Activity School website, call 0208 516 7204 or email collegehire@sdmail.org.uk. 

Millwall Community Scheme

Aspiring footballers can get professional training over the holidays with the Millwall Community Scheme. Open to both boys and girls, the sessions are held at a variety of venues, including Millwall Lions Centre, SE16, and Bridge Leisure Centre, SE26.

Cubz kickers is for children aged 3 to 6 and focuses on developing balance, co-ordination and social skills, while Soccer School, for 6 to 14 year olds, focuses on skills development, fun challenges and mini tournaments. There are also striker and goal keeper master classes as well as multi-sport camps, which include other games such as tennis, rugby and judo.

The scheme is also running football camps from 11 to 15 April at Downham Playing Fields, Glenbow Road, Downham, BR1 4NL which include coaching and tournaments. To book these camps, go to Downham Health and Leisure Centreor call 020 8461 9200.

Prices range between £4 and £10 a day and discounts are available if you book for a week. For full details, see theMillwall Community website.

Leisure centre activities

All Lewisham’s leisure centres are offering free swimming over the holiday period for the under 16s. And there are plenty of other activities at all the leisure centres. Check with your local centre for their timetable.

Libraries

As usual, Lewisham’s libraries are not only a great source of holiday reading material but they put on a range of Easter-themed art and craft activities for children in the holidays. For example, you can decorate an Easter egg, make an Easter card, make a bunny mask and hunt for eggs at various libraries. Downham library has some non-Easter related activities, including a circus skills workshop, an animal encounter show, a magic and ventrioquism show and face painting. 
Check with your local library for dates and times.

Music

Felix’s School of Rock

Felix’s Rock School is a four-day rock experience for 9-16 year olds. With support from a tutor, they form a band, learn covers and some write their own songs. The last day culminates in a gig played to friends and family.

Dates: The course runs 11–14 April 
Price: £165 
Venue: Thomas Tallis School, 154 Kidbrooke Park Road, London SE3 9PX

For more information see the Felix’s Rock School website or call 07976 689 903. 

Animate Orchestra Easter course

Animate Orchestra is run by Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Greenwich and Lewisham Music Services. It is looking for local young people aged 10 to 13, who play an instrument, and who wish to contribute their musical ideas to a new ensemble.

Animate Orchestra will not be a traditional orchestra, but will welcome a wide range of instruments, from any cultural background, to reflect the skills and interests of its members.

You must either live or go to school in the borough to join and have access to your own instrument. For further information, visit the Trinity Laban website, download a booking form or email h.hendry@trinitylaban.ac.uk.

Venue: Sedgehill School, Sedgehill Road, London, SE6 3QW 
Dates: 18 and 19 April 2011 
Time: 9.30am–4pm 
Cost: £15 (or £5 for applicants in receipt of free school meals)

Art, craft, drama and learning

Horniman Museum

Family Art Fun

Celebrate world cultures, the natural world, festivals and the changing seasons through fabulous art and craft.

Dates:
Mon 11, Tues 12 Apr – Easter Garden Hats 
Wed 13, Thurs 14, Fri 15 Apr – Scrunchy Eggs 
Mon 18, Tues 19 Apr – Masks from Bali 
Wed 20, Thurs 21, Fri 22 Apr – Balinese Headdresses 
Times: 11am–3.30pm (last entry 2.45pm)

Discovery for All

Explore thousands of objects from around the world in these special sessions. Find out how sharp shark’s teeth are, how you wear a sari, play a West African thumb piano, balance a gourd on your head, stroke a badger and more.

Dates and times: 11 April–14 April and 18–21 April, 2–3.30pm

Blackheath Conservatoire

A range of art, craft and drama workshops are running throughout the holidays. Download a brochure from the Conservatoire website.

Spring Uni 

Lewisham Council’s Spring Uni will run over the Easter holidays. Courses include First Aid, Athletics leaders, drama, dance, lyric writing multi-sports and clay. Applications close early in April, so you need to be quick off the mark!

Haberdasher Askes Knights Academy will host the programme for 13 to 18 year olds on 12-15 April. Kelvin Grove will host this year’s activities for eight to twelve year olds, on 18–21 April.

See the website for further information. 

Nature

Horniman Museum 

Nature Trail Discovery

Join Jim Murphy from the Trust for Urban Ecology for a nature trail and discover a spring and early summer environment alive with insects, animals, birds, trees, plants and amphibians.

Passes are available from the Information Desk 30 minutes before the session. Access to the Nature Trail is stepped.

Children must be aged 3+. Free admission.

Dates: Wednesdays 13 and 20 April
Time: 2–3.30pm

Nature in Focus: Mammals

Take a closer look at the mammals that live around us in London and find out how you can help to protect them. 
Natural History Gallery, Nature Base. Free admission.

Dates: Thurs 14 Apr
Times: 11.30am–4pm

River walks

Low tide walks up Deptford Creek. Look out for migrating flounder and hear stories of sewage! Walking poles and waders (smallest size is 3) provided.

Meet at Creekside Centre, Deptford
Date and time: 11 April, 10am–1pm and 29 April, 6–8pm

Contact Chris McGaw on 07850 713 974 or email 
chris.mcgaw@lewisham.gov.uk.

Theatre

Flyaway Katie

An inspiring flight of fancy about the power of imagination. Based on the best-selling book by Polly Dunbar, with music by Tom Gray of Gomez.

Ages 5 +. Tickets £5.50.

Date: Sunday 17 April 
Time: 1-3pm,

To book, go to the Albany website. 

Past Tense

A collaboration with Lewisham youth Theatre, Age Exchange and The Council about the memories and life experiences we share whether young or old. The cast range in age from 8 to 80!

Dates and times: 15 April at 7.30pm and 16 April at 2.30pm and 7.30pm.

Tickets cost £5 and £3 for concessions. To book go to the Broadway Theatre website or call 020 8690 0002.

Family Information Service childcare service

The Lewisham Family Information Service is offering its childcare service throughout the Easter holidays and has details of all the play schemes at the various children’s centres in the borough.

You can also contact the service to find out about activities being run in your area by calling 0800 085 0606 or emailingfis@lewisham.gov.uk.