Calshot Summer Fun!

The 5s to 13s focus children and their befrienders had a wonderful Summer activity day to Calshot Activities Centre on Thursday 25th August.

Eleven children and ten volunteers ventured onto the dry ski slope for a thrilling session of ‘ringos’. The squeals of delight could be heard across the whole centre as children and adults launched each other down the slopes in rubber rings! It was hot and thirsty work pulling the ringo back up to the top but the children took it in the stride knowing there were delicious homemade cakes, biscuits, fruit and drinks waiting for them at the end of the session.

After a quick pit stop it was out onto Calshot beach to complete a Scavenger Hunt. The children were challenged to find an array of goodies on the shoreline including a stone with a hole in it (very lucky), two shells still joined together (less commonly known as a mermaids bikini!) and a piece of sea glass (a mermaid’s tear or pirate’s treasure!).

The fun on the beach continued with kite flying, big bubbles, Frisbees and football. Some children also took the time to chill and paint beautiful pictures onto pebbles using acrylic pens. Then it was back into the centre for a climbing session on the Take off Wall. For some of the children this was a completely new experience and quite daunting looking up at the 20m wall! But they all demonstrated their Spiderman skills brilliantly with one focus child reaching the top in a record 13.4 seconds!

The day was finished with a delicious ice cream and a final trip down to beach where pebble throwing and biggest splash contests took place before heading back home.

Sam Hunt said “It was wonderful to have the opportunity to take our focus children and their volunteers to Calshot again after a two year break; they all had so much fun! Many of them had never tried the ringos or wall climbing before but all embraced these new experiences with enthusiasm and confidence. We cannot thank Waitrose Give a Little Love enough for providing the funding for the day’s activities and our thanks also goes to the Saint Vincent De Paul Society for sourcing and paying for the minibus transport and refreshments. It was a truly fantastic day out and there were some wonderful memories made!”