PACS - page 4

Not only do we “play” at Playgroup, we also create! Craft time is always fun and messy of course! With Valentines Day coming up, why not get the glitter out and get creating!

Valentine Cards are always a firm favourite and easy to do at home. All you need is some card or paper, colouring pencils and maybe tissue paper if you have some. Your toddler can draw and stick to their hearts content… excuse the pun!

Heart Garlands are also fun to make. You can decorate your home with hearts… just cut out some heart shapes, allow your toddler to colour them and then if you have some wool or string attach the hearts with some sticky tape. *If your child is old enough, you could let them cut the hearts out themselves (with supervision) as its great for their fine motor skills.

Hand painting is one of our most popular activities and is great for keeping the little ones entertained. All you need is paper and paint and away you go. If you are feeling really brave, they can use their feet too! For extra fun, you could make a character from the hand print with googly eyes for example. 

If you have any spare toilet rolls holders, you can tape them up to make a heart shape at the end. Dip the shape into some red paint and print onto some paper. The result is a beautiful picture of hearts! *Note, if you have any heart shaped cookie cutters, you can use these instead.

One of our favourite “Valentine” activities is to make a vase of flowers from some celery! Put some elastic bands around some celery sticks so they are tightly together. Dip in some paint and print onto some paper. The result is a beautiful bunch of flowers!

What does that mean for a parent?

So it is that time of year again when we look at a new year beginning and sit down and plan our New Year’s resolutions. These could include healthier regimes or new jobs or hobbies. However, when you are a parent, especially of young children how can you incorporate some of these resolutions into your daily life. 

As the Parent and Child Society’s name indicates the Parent comes first. However, we all know as parents that we put our children first and ourselves second, this is not always the best way round and when making resolutions we need to consider ourselves first maybe. 

Every year thousands of people make similar resolutions, more exercise, eating better and healthier, getting more fulfilment from a new job or a new hobby. This articles aim is to show you that being a parent will not stop you from meeting these resolutions but might help you along the way and improving life with your little ones. 

So, you have decided to do more exercise but with a little one at home when will you find the time? Yes, you could wake up earlier and do it before your child raises or maybe in the evenings, but why not consider making exercise part of your day with your child instead. If your child is little why not strap them into their pram and take a walk or run together not only are you getting your exercise, but your child gets to enjoy the environment around them. If you have an active toddler head to the play park and instead of just watching your child on the play equipment, play with them, join in on the monkey bars or on the climbing frame. 

As well as doing more exercise, lots of people have the New Year’s resolution to eat healthier. As parents you are also always aware of the importance of feeding your children the right types of food, so these are two great resolutions to join. Why not try cooking with your children? You could try out healthy recipes together. Try making chicken fajitas packed with lean meat (or tofu), fresh peppers and onions topped with salad. At PACS we have found that foods kids normally will not eat, they are more open to if they have been involved in the making. Also maybe set up a challenge with your child to eat their 5 a day and you will naturally find your intake will increase too. At PACS some of our healthy foods to make with kids include veg packed pasta bakes and fruit smoothies. Both recipes encourage healthy eating and kids get to improve their fine motor skills by chopping up the ingredients. 

Maybe your new year resolution is to get a new job or return to work after having your children. You might be experiencing guilt about leaving your child behind. But its important to remember that what is right for you can also be right for your family. If you are feeling that you need the new challenge at work then take it because staying as you are may actually have a negative impact on you, which will affect your relationships at home too. Just find the right balance for you and your child.

A lot of the time when you become a parent you start to forget about yourself, but this could be the perfect time to take back some “me” time and start a new hobby or rekindle the love for an old one. Find one that you can fit around your home and work life, maybe an evening course or class, the Gibraltar College offers a range from languages to cooking. Remember, to take time for yourself to do something you enjoy.

Like with all New Year’s resolutions do not go too hard and fast, take little steps to achieve your longer lasting resolutions. Here at PACS we wish you the best of luck for your new year. 

2020 has been an interesting year for individuals, families, businesses, and charities alike. We have all had new challenges to face. As the year draws to an end and as we are writing our annual report it is a great opportunity to reflect on the year. 

In January, the year started on a positive note as PACS started its relationship with Insight Magazine and our monthly ‘What’s on at PACS’ article began. We have covered topics like dealing with isolation, the benefits of playgroups and messy play. This has required our volunteers to discover their writing skills and we hope the readers have found them entertaining and informative!

Like most charities we rely on donations and in February we held our annual Flag Day, and the community of Gibraltar were so generous that it was our best year yet. The money raised on that day and from the play sessions we ran before lockdown has meant that even with months without donations, we have been able to meet our annual operating expenses that continue if we are running sessions or not. 

Before lockdown we had managed to run 89 session which meant interacting and supporting over 73 children and their families per week over our four sessions. At these sessions we helped children grow and develop key skills in interaction, motor development, speech, and socialisation. Our sessions include free, sensory, and active play along with story and song time,craft and cooking sessions.

Unfortunately, the worldwide pandemic put PACS sessions in their normal form on hold. However, with the help of our dedicated volunteers and their families we switched to offering ‘Virtual Playgroup’ instead. We had volunteers demonstrating crafts and play sessions, giving cooking lessons, reading stories, and singing nursery rhymes all via our Facebook page. This allowed us to keep reaching out to our families and offering help and guidance through the difficult time. As Gibraltar started to emerge out of lockdown, we were able to start our Bumps and Babies session in person once a week thanks to the Living Room Café and the Methodist Church. This offering was increased to include twoplaygroup sessions back to back since September. Although these sessions require more administration and adults have to follow new restrictions, it has meant we can get back to some sense of normality and begin to deliver our sessions to support the community of Gibraltar. 

The safety of our sessions has always been important to us as a charity and we at PACS know that at this time it can be worrying for parents to know what are safe activities to take their little ones along to. At PACS we take every step and measure we can to make our families feel reassured, these include;

* playgroup sessions having a booking system and contact tracing procedures to make sure we are within the government’s guidelines

* all play equipment is cleaned at the beginning and end of sessions

* volunteers and adults attending wear masks 

* each session is manned by volunteers who have been police checked, trained in first aid, safeguarding and mental health.

* we are a registered and insured charity

All of this helps you to know that when attending one of PACS sessions you are safe

We hope that as we come to the end of 2020 that the new year may give us the opportunity to get back up to full strength with our sessions and we can continue to grow as a charity in Gibraltar. If you are interested in finding out more about us, our sessions or even feel you would like to volunteer then please get in touch via our Facebook Page; Parent and Child Society Gibraltar.

It’s been a funny year for us all. Lockdown, social distancing and self isolation have become the “new normal” for everyone. As Christmas approaches, it may be hard to get motivated but if you have a toddler in the house, it really can be the most wonderful time of the year! At PACS we will of course be having some socially distanced Christmas fun at our Playgroup’s throughout December. You can also create this at home with your little ones. Here are some fun ideas!

Christmas Sensory Bin

This can be fun for both toddlers and older children. You can either put the items together in a bag, a bucket or box with a lid. Fill it with Christmas items that you already have at home so it doesn’t cost anything. Plastic baubles, ribbon, wrapping paper, a stuffed toy, pom poms and anything else you have stored away for those crafty afternoons! Toddlers love to try and guess what’s in the bag and feel different textures. You can have hours of fun!

Homemade Christmas Cards

This was always a big winner in our house. Card, colouring pencils and glitter. Because its Christmas they can make their card as glittery as possible. A great way to spread some Christmas cheer!

Jingle Bell painting

If you can’t access any small bell’s then you can use marbles as an alternative. All you need is a small tray to put some paint in, some paper and some small bells. Dip the bells in the paint. Try using a few trays for more colours. Roll the bells over some paper and the result is a beautiful Christmas picture! This activity is great for their fine motor skills and hand to eye coordination as they roll the bells around the paper.

Christmas tree decorations! 

Always a fun thing to do and the more sparkle the better. One of my favourite things about my tree is the decorations that my children made when they were toddlers. Always a happy memory!

Christmas would not be Christmas without a Christmas Cooking Club!

Unfortunately we can’t operate Cooking Club at the moment. But all is not lost! Christmas time is a great opportunity to get together with your little ones and get some baking in. Here are some of PACS favourite ones to make.

Melting Snowman Biscuits

Ingredients

• Plain Digestive Biscuits (you can make your favourite biscuit if you want)
• White Marshmallows
• Food icing pens
• Smarties
• Icing sugar

Method

1. Mix together the icing sugar in a small bowl with a small amount of water. Add it slowly as it won’t take a lot and you are looking for the icing to be thick and stick to the back of your spoon.
2. Dollop a spoon of icing sugar onto each biscuit.
3. Take the marshmallow and add to the top of the biscuit for the head of the snowman.
4. Add a couple of smarties for the snowman’s buttons and then use the food icing pens to make him some arms and a face on the marshmallow.

Mince Pie Parcels

Ingredients

• Ready rolled puff pastry
• Mincemeat
• Sugar
• Egg (beaten)

Method

1. Roll out the pastry and cut out four large square out of the pastry
2. Place a tablespoon worth of mincemeat in the middle.
3. Brush the edges of the pastry with the egg and fold the top left corner over to join the bottom right one to make a triangle.
4. Brush the top with the egg and sprinkle with sugar
5. Repeat for the other 3 squares
6. Place on a baking tray for 20 minutes at 200.

And of course we can’t forget our favourite Christmas Gift Idea….

One of our more popular sessions at Christmas time is to make a cooking craft that you can give as a gift, a “Christmas Cookie Making Jar”. We encourage the children to layer up an empty large glass jar (pickle or coffee type ones) with the dry ingredients and create a label with the details of what the receiver needs to add to make into chocolate chip cookies. Alternatively, I have personally made these with my own children and then made the cookies on Christmas Eve to leave out for Santa.

Ingredients/ Equipment

• 500g Glass Jar
• Christmas ribbons, bows, stickers and a large gift tag
• 100g Golden Caster Sugar
• 175g Plain Flour
• 50g Cocoa Powder
• 175g Chocolate Chips (Milk, Dark or white)
• Wet ingredients to be added to the label
• 100g Butter
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp Vanilla Essence

Method

1. Take an empty 500g Glass jar. Place in the dry ingredients one at a time in layers, e.g. first the flour, then the Cocoa powder, followed by the sugar and then the chocolate chips.
2. Place the lid on top and decorate the jar with Christmas ribbons, bows and stickers. Tie a gift tag onto the jar and write the following steps onto it.

PREHEAT oven to 180° C. Beat 100g of softened butter/margarine, 1 large egg and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Add cookie mix; mix well, breaking up any clumps. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Leave to cool before eating.

Enjoy!

We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and that the New Year brings new beginnings for us all! Thank you for your continued support this year.
Love PACS