Leading Lives are thrilled to share that our first Summer Club for young autistic people and young people with learning disabilities was enjoyed by all, so much so that word of mouth sent new people to us on weeks two and three!
We arranged a variety of activities to happen at our Lowestoft Community Hub and a trip out every week too, which we shared with attendees before they came along.
What We Did!
Week 1
Our Arts and Crafts activities included slime making and T-shirt designing – everyone decided to make their own Summer Club T-Shirt and got all their friends to sign their tops as a keepsake to take home and wear.
The next day we enjoyed Yoga & Clubbersize, we had lots of fun, dancing with flashing glowsticks was a winner!
On Wednesday we all caught a train to Beccles Common, for some of our young people it was their first time on a train so it was an adventure from the start! Once we got to Beccles Common we displayed fairy houses we had made earlier in the woods, and made our very own Den which was good fun. We had a picnic and finally chilled out in our hammock.
Week 2
We decided to do plaster modelling for Arts and Crafts and our young people really enjoyed the sensory delight of tipping the plaster into the moulds as well as seeing the end result.
The next day we put on a talent show – everyone came up with their own talent which included Karate, bad dad jokes, singing, dancing, football skills and hula hoop dancing.
On Wednesday we went to Nicholas Everitt Park to Pets Corner and looked at all the animals, fed goats & chickens, petted pony’s and guinea pigs and even held an owl! We then had a picnic in the park, where we fed the ducks and squirrels, and all ate a yummy ice cream covered in sprinkles and a chocolate flake.
Week 3
Dream catchers and jewellery making – everyone really enjoyed doing this some made gifts for their family carers and others made jewellery for themselves.
Stars in their eyes – our sing along show was brilliant fun! Customers from our day service even came down to the hall to be our audience and then were invited to join in and they sang some songs too! It was a real good mix of ages and talents, with our eldest customer (82 years young) singing while our youngest customer (13 years old) was dancing. Another of our day service customers made medals for all of our talent show performers and presented them to them so everyone was a winner.
Our last day was spent enjoying competitive bowling and arcade gaming, all washed down with bright blue bubble-gum flavoured slushy. Everyone had a fantastic time and our customers and their parents/carers all agreed that they loved the Summer club and would like it to run all day every day next year!
Because this activity was supported by Activities Unlimited we were able to offer this activity at a reasonable cost for all parents, and because it was also covered by HAF funding, some young people were able to access this free of charge too. We are incredibly appreciative of this support as we enjoy providing these opportunities for young people as much as they enjoy taking part! We hope you enjoy this selection of pictures from the several hundred we took!
