Fun Holiday Programmes

Have a look back at our April Holiday Programmes in the Learning Centres:
‘Lego Animation’ is always a good way to kick start the holidays! We had our young movie buffs directing and producing their own short animated movies over at Te Hāpua: Halwell Centre.

At Upper Riccarton, it was all about “reduce, reuse and recycle” with our new Earth Smart programme. The children loved the activity with the miniature recycling bins.

Here at South Learning Centre, the kids had fun completing challenges using the MBots in ‘Robofun’.

Kids at South also delved into 3D printing. Their challenge was to create their own desk organisers.

Everyone loves to receive positive feedback and we did for our ‘Chill Out Tunes’ programme in New Brighton.

“I’d like to provide glowing feedback. She loved it, learned a lot, and is excited and abuzz about the programme. As a parent, I loved that I got to hear the music she’d made, and got the music emailed to me. She also had a poster of herself as David Bowie, and a CD with a cover she’d made herself.  Big thanks and Kia ora to everyone involved”.

So, if you didn’t get a chance to pop in and see what was happening, then make sure to check out the ones coming up in July.  We have a few new goodies in there! So, watch this space (new holiday programmes will go live on Friday 1 June).

Tai Sila
Programmes, Design & Delivery Team

School holidays! Holiday programmes, events, and activities – December 2016 to January 2017

School holidays are on – find out what’s on for Christchurch children. Check out the holiday programmes and activities at our libraries and learning centres, and shows and performances for kids.

Library and Learning Centre holiday programmes and activities

Our libraries and learning centres offer a variety of accessible, safe and affordable activities for children during their school holidays. Programmes and activities are aimed at children between the ages of five and 15 years:

• Visit our page on library and learning centre holiday programmes
• Explore all the classes and activities at libraries and learning centres
• Join the Summertime Reading Club

Activities include LEGO animation, Maker Space, Minecraft, LEGO mindstorms robotics, summer sewing, photo fun, and Bee-bots story adventure.

Christchurch holiday programmes

The following organisations are running holiday programmes for kids in the summer holidays:

• Christchurch Art Gallery – Drop on in; Santa’s coming
• Tinkerlab ’17 Science Alive and the University of Delaware
• Christchurch Botanic Gardens
• Creative Junk workshops
• Court Theatre
• Imagination Station
• Air Force Museum – Crafty Christmas Critters
• International Antarctic Centre
• Neighbourhood Trust holiday programmes
• M*A*S*H

Search CINCH, our Community Information Christchurch database, for more Canterbury holiday programmes.

Find an OSCAR programme (Out of School Care and Recreation) and view this map of OSCAR programmes in Christchurch.

Shows, movies, and performances

• Music trails through the libraries Over the course of the year, CSO ensembles will visit ten libraries across Christchurch.
• The Nightmare before Christmas Christchurch Art Gallery
• A Christmas Carol and Jack and the Beanstalk at the Court Theatre
• Southern Ballet presents Peter Pan
• Summer Theatre Robin Hood from 1 February

Kid friendly movies on in the holidays include: Moana, Sing, Rogue One, Ballerina, Middle School: The worst years of my life.

Outdoor movies

This summer there will be some outdoor movies to enjoy!

Outdoor Cinema at the Arts Centre

Outdoor Cinema at the Arts Centre movies will be shown free-of-charge at 5.30pm and 8pm, the first for children followed by a later screening for the adults. North Quad, Arts Centre.

• Fri 09 December: 5.30pm: The Muppet Christmas Carol; 8pm: Love Actually
• Fri 13 January: 5.30pm: Finding Nemo; 8pm: Goldfinger
• Fri 10 February
• Fri 10 March

Christmas movie night at Re:START

Grab the family and get into some free Christmas entertainment at Re:START. Bring a cushion and head down – the outdoor screening begins at 6:30pm and in addition there’s late night shopping hours until 9pm and extended food options, with some of the city’s best food trucks on hand. The new Re:START Play:ZONE will also be available!

• Fred Claus Thursday 15 December
• Arthur Christmas Friday 16 December
• How the Grinch stole Christmas Thursday 22 December
• Elf Friday 23 December

Summertimes

Summertimes includes lots of local events to enjoy in Christchurch. Check out the list of events aimed at whānau and kids, including:

• Community Christmas Party, Sunday 18 December, 12pm to 3pm at the Banks Peninsula Rugby Club Rooms
• Lyttelton Summer Pool Party Sunday 15 January, Norman Kirk Memorial Pool
• Kite Day Sunday 29 January
• Farm yard fun at Jellie Park Saturday 4 February

Things to do, and places to go in Christchurch

• Air Force Museum
• Arion Farm Park
• Canterbury Museum
• Christchurch Art Gallery see Family and kids events
• Christchurch Botanic Gardens
• Christchurch Gondola
• Christchurch Tram
• Climbing boulders at the Up, Up, Up! playground by the Bus Interchange in Tuam Street, and at the Botanic Gardens.
• Ferrymead Heritage Park
• Imagination Station
• Inflatable World
• International Antarctic Centre
• Mega Air Trampoline Arena
• Orana Park
• Playgrounds as listed in Find:Chch. The Margaret Mahy Family Playground – Tākaro ā poi is a popular destination.
• Pools
• Rutherford’s Den at The Arts Centre. Interactive, science-themed family fun.
• Willowbank Wildlife Reserve
• YMCA Clip ‘n Climb

For more events and activities, search Be There and Eventfinda.

Library and Learning Centre holiday programmes

Some people may be back at work, but the holidays roll on for the kids.  Want some ideas of things to do? Have a look at our list of holiday programmes, including Minecraft, Lego animation, Claymation, and more.

You can also find our holiday programmes are being advertised via www.bethere.co.nz.

Looking forward to seeing you here!

More holiday tips

• Summertime reading club – Kōrero pukapuka ā te wā o raumati
• Summertime Babytimes and Storytimes
• Holiday programmes, events, and activities
• The Parents’ Holiday Survival Guide

The Parents’ Holiday Survival Guide

Christmas can be a stressful time of year and whether you’re heading away on holiday next week, or staying in town if you’ve got children you’ll be looking for ways to keep them happy and entertained over the school break.

Christchurch City Libraries has heaps of resources and recommendations to help out frazzled parents and caregivers this festive season.

Have kids, will travel

Going on a trip out of town? Long road trips (or air travel) can be a strain as boredom easily sets in. Get organised ahead of time with a range of activities and reading material to keep everyone occupied.

• Kids music CDs for the car stereo (it’s sadly true that as much as you personally might hate The Wiggles, you’ll hate it less than the sound of complaining and crying). Or try Little Boppers: Pop hits for kids, or Pop for Tots for something a bit less “toot toot, chugga chugga, big red car”.
• Kids audiobooks might be a slightly more palatable option. Listen as a family to favourites like Harry Potter, or download digital formats onto individual devices (with headphones). There’s something for every age group and taste.
• DVDs. If you travel with a portable DVD player, then we’ve got television favourites like Peppa Pig, Fireman Sam and Horrible Histories as well as a range of kid-friendly movies to kill time between rest stops.
• Books. Anything that’s likely entertain. Check out our Holiday reading guide for some ideas. But also consider the following –

• In a rush and choosing’s just too time consuming? Pick up a Stories To Go Bag. Each one has age-appropriate fiction and non-fiction books, a DVD, a music or story CD, and a toy or puzzle and come in a sturdy bag that’s ready to travel.

For Kids in Christchurch

There are a bunch of activities, places to go, and things to see for families staying in town over the holidays. As well as the music, books, and DVDs mentioned above you might like –

• Our Summertime Reading Club for kids 0-16 years, which starts today. Keep a tally of the minutes spent reading over the summer and go in the draw for prizes.
• Summertime Stories in libraries begin in early January, with sessions for both babies and older children.
• Our Learning Centre Holiday Programmes start mid-January. Check out our calendar for Holiday Programme classes.

For more information and links to kids’ activities and organisations in Christchurch read our Holiday programmes, events, and activities page.

Coming soon to Central Christchurch

Christchurch Art Gallery opens tomorrow and the Margaret Mahy Family Playground opens next week, both offering free, interesting diversions for the younger members of the family.

Have you got any tips or recommendations for entertaining kids over the holidays? If so, please share.

 

We’ll remember you when we’re famous

We’re going to be on TV!

Or at least, some of the kids who took part in a stop motion animation session (part of our holiday programme) at South Learning Centre will be. This Sunday. On What Now.

So keep your eyes peeled. Here’s a sneak preview from our Flickr – photos of the What Now crew filming the other week.

KidsFest 2015

KidsFest is full of winter holiday fun for kids in Christchurch and Canterbury. It runs from 4 to 18 July 2015. Book now – KidsFest is always popular and many events book out quickly.

• See KidsFest events at Christchurch City Libraries.
• Browse the KidsFest website for events.

Preschoolers ‘Have a Go’ Day – Saturday 11 July

Come on down to the ‘Have a Go’ day at Pioneer Recreation and Sport Centre to have a go at some of the fun activities that Christchurch City Council offers. All activities on the day are free! Includes Bubbletimes, Storytime, The Southern Centre and Tumbletimes.

KidsFest at the library

2015 KidsFest events at libraries include:

Stop motion animation 8 to 12 year olds
Discover the process of producing animated movies. Plan an original story, create your own characters and craft your own movie using stop motion photography.

Minecraft 8 to 12 year olds
Minecraft game zone is a 3D gaming experience, and also sessions about Minecraft for absolute beginners.

Family game time
Game on! This is a chance for a family play-off using both traditional board games and online games.

Book ‘n’ Beats 10 to 13 year olds
This is an introduction to the iPad music app Garageband.

Let the book bug bite 4 to 7 year olds
Children will re-create their own bug story using a ‘story creator’ app on the iPad.

Creating comics: Who’s the star? WORD Christchurch event for 8 to 13 year olds
Creating comics: Your wonderful world WORD Christchurch event for 8 to 13 year olds
Join famous cartoonist, author and designer Sarah Laing and find out about creating cartoon characters and worlds.

NZ stories with Sharon Holt
Join award winning author Sharon Holt as she presents her Te Reo singalong books.

Back with the future 8 to 12 year olds (and their grandparents)
Bring your family history into the future! Record a conversation between you and your grandparent/grandchild using old family photographs and the interactive story telling iPad app, Puppetpals.

Fly story Fly – Kirsty Collett
Fly Story Fly is an interactive storytelling experience that brings picture books to life

Science Alive! will be bringing their Mindball sessions to our libraries too.

See the full list of KidsFest events at Christchurch City Libraries. Bookings open 9am Tuesday 2 June.

More KidsFest events

Here’s a few events that sound awesome:

• Creepy crawly night at the Museum
• The Press Night of D’Light at the Botanic Gardens
• The Christchurch Brick Show
• Explore the world of tiny houses
• Imagination Playground
• More FM Lantern Parade

See the full list on the KidsFest website.

Find out more

• Read our page on KidsFest and its history
• Browse the KidsFest website for events
• Like KidsFest on Facebook

‘Cracking’ Easter holiday programmes at our libraries and learning centres

Cracking holiday programmes saw many happy children having lots of fun this Easter.

Lego animation – children created fun characters for their stop-motion movies.

Family Games Fun at Linwood – indoor bowls and badminton were great challenges for all.

Family Games Fun at South – posed a lot of thought in outdoor chess.

Minecraft – lots of banter, bargaining and laughter as students created and survived in the virtual world! This is always popular.

3D Tinker Workshop – students learned 123D software design to create key rings and helicopters then delved further into 3D wire sculpting, paper craft and Hama beads. Students made badges and fridge magnets with fabulous designs.

3D Doodler Pen

3D badges – Hama Beads

3D papercraft

3D Printing

There were lots of new experiences! Cracking fun!

South Learning Centre holiday highlights

Our first ever Minecraft Craft Holiday Programme – including 3D printing, Sketch Up to design keyrings, Huma beads of Minecraft characters, Printcraft to design students own buildings, Tinkercad to design and 3D print jewellery and electronics to make a Redstone light.

Wicked!

Keep your eyes peeled for more afterschool and holiday programmes at your library.

Lego animation, Minecraft craft – Learning Centre Holiday Programmes

Check our the Learning Centre holiday programme – starting after Easter. Digital storytelling, Lego animation, Minecraft craft in combination with the awesome MakerCrate crew – lots of fun and learning for kids.

Take a look at what the kids did in the January holidays.

Film School Competition

Film School 1st Prize Winner

Film School 2nd Prize Winner

Trendy Trading Cards

Digital Illustration

Dancing at the library: School holiday fun at Aranui Library

Aranui Library’s holiday activities started off with a couple of spontaneous bursts of creativity making Christmas cards using old book covers, and scrap paper.

Next on the agenda was Josh‟s big plan to hold stencil art workshops to coincide with the Rise Art Exhibition happening throughout the city. We held these every week which helped build enthusiasm and momentum for our trip to the museum at the end of the holidays.

Ebony created a quiz, the answers to which could be found all around the library. 1) It would be something to do while waiting in the computer queue and 2) it would require the participants to walk around and explore the library. Ebony challenged the kids to an Xbox Dance Central game and if she won, they’d do the quiz.

This segues quite neatly into the next phase of our holiday activity programme which was our Dance Central competition on the Xbox Kinect. The idea behind this was that we would give a prize to the person with the highest score at the end of the holidays. This particular activity required very little input from staff apart from when they felt we needed a challenge as well. Nicole and Ebony donated their dancing prowess to the cause.

Throughout all this we kept 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles going; two Wasgijs and two normal ones.

All our activities attracted roughly equal numbers of both boys and girls and gave us plenty of opportunities to spend quality time and bond with our youth customers.

Yay Aranui it was fun for all of us!!