Fun Activities at Gracehill Afterschool Club Ballymena commenced with the children making a new display. The children decided that Space would be the theme. After a lot of research the children were ready to begin. Paint was mixed, and planets were drawn. The space display was starting to take shape. Great fun was had getting all the planets in the right position. The display looked fantastic with the black background and all the planets added. The astronaut finished the display off nicely.
Baking of course was also on the list for Fun activities at Gracehill. The cup cakes were purchased and sheep and ladybirds were created. Icing and mini marshmallows were used to make the sheep, finishing them off with two sweetie eyes. The ladybirds needed bright red fondant icing and again sweets were used to finish off. The children took they treats home and they were really enjoyed. These yummy buns reminded us spring and summer was near.
Fun activities at Gracehill Afterschool Club Ballymena continued with lots of creative work. The Lego is very popular and lots of master pieces built. Arts and crafts still were designed and lots of great pictures were drawn and designed. Some children had a great idea! They decided to use the janga blocks to make a tower. The aim was to be able to use all the blocks. The building work began with a few falling blocks to start with. With a lot of Perseverance the tower was completed with a photograph taken to show of the hard work.
Congratulations also goes to Samantha and Sharon who completed their Level 5 in childcare and Shannon who completed her Level 3 in childcare. Well done to the 3 girls on their achievement.
Easter at Gracehill Afterschool Club Ballymena started with the children getting two weeks off school. Plans were made at club to have lots of Easter fun.
The children, with help from the staff got our new Easter bunny game ready. With aprons on and paint brushes at the ready they were set to get painting. A lovely colourful bunny was created. Easter Fun at Gracehill was ready to begin with lots of very competitive children.
The Easter fun continued at Gracehill Afterschool Club with some baking. The children really love the baking activities at club. Melted Chocolate and shredded wheat were mixed together. Bun cases were filled with the yummy mixture and mini eggs were added to the top. The children got to take these home to share with mummy and daddy!
Easter at Gracehill wouldn’t be the same without an Easter egg! At club the children used icing pens to decorate the chocolate egg. Jelly tots and smarties were used to decorate the eggs. Sprinkles were then put on to finish off the master pieces.
Gracehill Afterschool Club continued the Easter fun with water play. The children were very excited to have the water tray out for a mornings entertainment. The toy ducks, boats and the pouring cups were all used to provide great enjoyment. Even with the aprons on we had a few wet sleeves!
A lovely bright, colourful Easter display was also designed. The staff and children had a lot of Easter fun putting the display together. A beautiful apple blossom tree was painted. The children then added on bunny rabbits and chicks to make it complete. The display reminded us all that Spring was here!
Great Easter fun was had by all at Gracehill Afterschool Club.
Gracehill Afterschool Club Ballymena had an exciting February Half term. A well earned break from home schooling, and a lot of planned activities organised for the week. It was going to be a great half term week at Gracehill!
February half term started with nice new playdough. Carly was in charge of making the colourful playdough. The children really enjoyed making pretend buns and cakes. Each child then kept their own playdough in a bag. This then could be used by the child another day. This was great fun and so relaxing!
Gracehill February half term wouldn’t have been complete without yummy homemade pancakes. Pancake Tuesday was a great excuse for Shannon to get on her apron and get baking. Chocolate spread, butter and sugar or syrup were some of the toppings available. Everyone went home with full bellies. Staff included!
Gracehill Afterschool Club Ballymena also enjoyed a few lovely walks. Gracehill Village is a beautiful place to take a walk. Coats on and the sun in the sky made the walk very pleasant . The hot chocolate back in club was gladly received, not forgetting the marshmallows on top.
February Half Term Talent show was really enjoyable. With so many talented children the show could have gone on for ages. We had dancing, jokes, magic tricks, art and singing. The staff enjoyed watching the wonderful talents the children displayed.
Gracehill Afterschool Club always like to play games. A couple of new games were made. The heart game was popular and with valentines day in February it was very appropriate.
Baking also took place at February half term. Cornflake buns were made and fairy cakes were decorated. Yummy buns to take home and enjoy!
What a busy February half term at Gracehill Afterschool Club Ballymena!
Gracehill Afterschool Club Ballymena had lots of Christmas fun this year. In the run up to the Christmas holiday’s from school the children got busy making pom poms. Different colours of wool were got. The staff cut out the cardboard circles and that was the children ready to make a start on the pom poms. We had some lovely colourful pom poms to take home for Christmas.
The Christmas fun continued at Gracehill with a fantastic wall display. Who else would we have on the display but Santa Claus himself! And of course we couldn’t forget Mrs Claus. Carly, with a few little helpers got started into the display work. The children had great fun painting the finished Santa and Mrs Claus. They both looked brilliant while wearing their masks!
The children at Gracehill Afterschool Club also enjoyed making little elves. These were placed around our lovely wall display. This just gave it the final touch! Christmas pictures were popular for displaying as decorations.
Christmas Fun continued at Gracehill Afterschool Club with a party! Everyone loves a Christmas Party even the adults. With lots of lovely food to eat the children enjoyed some games. Pass the parcel and musical chairs are always a favourite. Lots of music and fun was enjoyed. Everyone likes to receive a present at Christmas. Party bags were given for the children to take home . Thank you to Flossy Treats for the lovely chocolate treats .
Gracehill afterschool Club had lots of Christmas Fun this year!
Gracehill Afterschool club Ballymena had a great two weeks of Autumn Lockdown Fun. School’s closed early for half term, which allowed for extra fun at club. Lockdown Rocks was a great theme for the holiday fun weeks.
We started off our Autumn Lockdown Fun at Gracehill Afterschool with making a new pumpkin game. The children had great fun trying to get the highest score as they through the balls into the pumpkins mouth. We have a lot of competitive children! The swirly autumnal mobiles were made to decorate the room. Felt tips and colouring pencils were used to make these beautiful mobiles. A new display was made with a barn and the children had great fun helping to paint leaves and a barn owl.
Everyone brought their wellies for an adventure around Gracehill village. The garden square was full of lovely crisp autumn leaves and these were great to walk and jump in. The children collected large stones from the garden. These were washed and painted by the children. They were then added to the snake at the Moravian Church Gracehill.
At the end of the first week of Autumn Lockdown Fun we had our very own Afterschool’s Got Talent. What a talented bunch we have. We had singers, comedians, gymnasts and fitness experts as well as an artist. Pumpkin carving is always popular. John and Lily chose what pumpkin faces were to be carved.
The second week of Autumn Lockdown Fun was as exciting as the first week. We had a movie and treat day, with the usual popcorn and crisps to enjoy while watching Mr Peabody and Sherman. Baking was also on the agenda. The children enjoyed making Top Hats and decorating a digestive biscuit with yummy sweets to take home.
Gracehill Afterschool Club look forward to Christmas!
Gracehill Afterschool Club Ballymena re opened in August 2020 after being closed for 5 months due to Covid-19. The staff spent a lot of time and effort making the club safe for everyone. Before re opening the club, a Covid-19 policy was put in place along with a risk assessment. New child friendly posters were ordered to display in the club. These posters were to remind everyone about social distancing and the importance of hand washing. Arrows were put on the stairs so everyone would know what side to walk up and down. Gracehill Afterschool club also got new hand sanitizing dispensers from Galgorm Group Ballymena.
On the 3rd August 2020 Gracehill Afterschool Club Ballymena re opened with all the new safety measures in place. The children were happy to be back to club and enjoyed meeting up with their friends again. The Lego, once again became the favourite, with some children building wonderful master pieces. The children decided to make a display of a rainbow, as this was the symbol used over lockdown to support all those working in the front line.
After careful planning ,the children, assisted by staff members, decided to make the rainbow using handprints. After getting aprons on, the children got their own tray of coloured paint. The children dipped their hands into the paint and then made handprints. After drying off the handprints they were cut out and a lovely colourful rainbow was created.
Gracehill Afterschool club are glad to be re opened and providing a childcare service again to all children and parents. Full time and part time spaces are still available at club. If you would like to enquire about spaces please email office@gracehillafterschoolclub.com or ring the club on 028 25638099.
