Easter fun for children
Children in the West End of Newcastle have been enjoying a host of activities during the Easter holidays as part of Children North East’s work with Newcastle’s Best Easter Ever, a holiday activity scheme, supporting the city’s 5-18 year olds through a combination of sport, play & proper nutrition.
From egg decorating and biscuit making to planting up seeds, the activities provided by our Families and Parenting team have been both educational and fun, giving families a friendly destination during the children’s time off school.
Suzanne Gibson, mum of Carlos, 12 and six-year-old Oscar (pictured above) said she was really pleased to have somewhere to bring the boys this holiday. “It’s something different for the kids. There’s not much for them to do and they would probably be bored of doing the same thing in the house. This brings them out to meet other kids, which is great.”
Manan Abdulla, said bringing her four-year-old twins, Kamal and Algarim, to Cowgate Community Centre had cheered up their school holidays too. “It’s very nice here, it’s happy,” Manan said.
Kamal enjoyed planting up bee friendly seeds with his mum (above) while Algarim was more interested in playing cars with the other children.
Emily Frewin, a sessional family practitioner with Children North East, said the children had got a lot out of the crafts she and other staff had laid on. “They’ve made bunny masks, planted up seeds including vegetables and decorated biscuits – which is always a hit, especially the eating part!”
The activities at Cowgate and Blakelaw community centres are just one part of our charity’s contribution to Newcastle’s Best Easter Ever. Our Poverty Proofing and Participation team have been taking play to people’s gardens through their ‘Playful Lives’ project that ran so successfully during last summer and our youth team have been engaging with young people around the West End through a detached youth work programme.
The programme continues into next week, so any parents interested in bringing their children along to sessions should check out our Facebook page or phone 07895 253160 for details.
