Another company that I’ve recently started working for is ‘Phyizikidz’ holiday club and this takes place during school holidays for children ages 4-11. I was recently given this opportunity to create games and assist with making the club fun and enjoyable for the children when external coaches deliver different types of sessions. When starting the role at Phyizikdz I was quite nervous and apprehensive as to what to expect, this was because I know how unpredictable young children can be. In addition to this I didn’t know the whole process of a holiday club and how they are usually run so, I was quite anxious in planning games and activities for them.
In this blog I am going to talk about my time at phyzikidz during February half term. During the week we welcomed many external coaches into the club to deliver a range of different sessions. This can be very beneficial for me as I get to observe several different coaches styles and learn how the best sessions are run. To start the week off, a west end performer came into the holiday club to coach a dance routine and put together a little Mary Poppins performance. As a coach it was good for me to observe the external coach as I don’t have much knowledge in teaching singing and dancing, so it allowed me to understand his coaching style. During the session I was able to support the children that were struggling and help to keep the boys entertained that didn’t really enjoy dancing. This is one good factor of the holiday club because the activities are so varied that at least one day the children will be doing something they love to do!
After lunch myself and Harvey put together our own assault course and egg and spoon race to create a small sports competition. The children really enjoyed this because there were prizes for the winners. As a coach working at the holiday club is very beneficial, this is because I get the opportunity to coach a variety of different things to a large group of children. This allows me to practice delivering sessions I wouldn’t usually deliver in my other jobs.
During the second day we completed arts and crafts which was once again delivered by an external teacher. This type of activity is very different compared to the sessions I usually deliver so it was very beneficial for me to see how it was run. In the afternoon I had the opportunity to set up my own arts and crafts activities.
On the third day we did martial arts with another external company. Once again, I helped the individuals that were struggling and observed their coaching techniques. This type of session was fun and enjoyable for the children as it was a new sport to most of the kids. In addition to this, as a coach I also learnt new ideas on how to make the sessions more enjoyable, for example adding jokes and funny demonstrations to keep the children engaged throughout.
On the fourth day a PE teacher came into the holiday club to do multi sports (dodgeball and crab football). This was fun for everyone and it was an activity I could really get involved in and help with the delivery of the session. If I was to reflect on this situation, I would ask the external teacher questions on how he got the job being a primary school PE teacher and whether he had any advice for myself.
Finally, on the last day another external coach came into the club to do yoga. This session was very calm and relaxing and a lot different compared to the other sessions during the week that were very energetic. During this session I had the opportunity to take a small group of children and deliver part of her session. In the afternoon I then delivered my own games to the group and this allowed me to practice some of my new techniques I have learnt during this week at phyizikidz.
Once again, I really enjoyed working at Phyizikidz and learnt new skills in the process. This is a job I love going to and will continue working at in the future.
SD2200 Work Placement 